The Ontario Autism Coalition is furious with the provincial Liberal government's decision to cut off Intensive Behavioural Intervention (IBI) therapy for children aged five and older.
Currently, children with autism get 20 to 40 hours of therapy weekly, but that number is being reduced to two to four hours for older children.
President Bruce McIntosh says it's a misguided decision that won't reduce wait times as the government hopes.
He says it could negatively impact the kids later in life.
"We'd like to see our kids be able to hold down jobs, actually be taxpayers, and actually have ways to cope," says McIntosh. "It's about human dignity, and we don't want them to end up warehoused in a group home or some other place that they're not going to have fulfilling lives."
McIntosh says IBI therapy can cost anywhere from $40,000 to $60,000 per year but says that's better than spending over $100,000 for support down the road.
A letter writing campaign is underway, with the hope of reversing the cut.
Click HERE for the online petition. It'll be presented in the legislature by NDP MPP Monique Taylor April 12.