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economist sunsuntribune health saturday jan 12005 staff photosjoerd witteveen speech therapist yvonne bricks has founded speechfix a private service to help york region residents on waiting lists private speech therapy clinic tackles long waiting lists by chris traber staff writer york region residents on waiting lists for speech and language therapy are being offered a private alternative yvonne bricks a specialist in the rehabilitation of speech language and swallowing disorders has started speechfix a private richmond hill- based service for those who cant wait for an appointment at a publicly funded clinic born partially from the frustration of a diminished caseload due to dwindling provincial funds and from witnessing the anxiety of families on waiting lists for services ms bricks provides therapy at the standard 1 10 hourly rate most private medical plans will cover from six to nine appointments of speech and language therapy services she said our goal is to give patients immediate treatment i understand there are hundreds of children in york on wait lists for speech and language therapy children with speech difficulties such as articulation problems delayed language and stuttering need to be seen as early as possible to begin the inter vention process she said speechfixs registered therapists make house calls and involve the patients family so they can provide con tinuous treatment we try our hardest to incorporate parents into the sessions so they learn how to facilitate therapy on their own we provide home guidelines so families can begin working with their children until they can be seen by the school or hospital system if families dont have private cover age or are disadvantaged speechfix offers shorter sessions focused on guid ing the caregiver to help the patient my organization would like to be a stop gap ms bricks said the ccac community care access centre of york region provides funding for some speech pathology therapy services but it cant support them all i know thera pists who can handle 35 patients a week but are only given 10 because of a lack of money centre executive director bill innes whose organization provides and con tracts health services with funds from the ministry of health said there are no waiting lists for adults requiring speech and language therapy at the high school level ccac treats 400 patients a week but there are about 900 children on the waiting list the average wait is 203 days mr innes said our contracted suppliers are booked from now until march were all working hard together its a matter of supply and the financial situation he explained at markham stoufmlle hospital home of the york region preschool speech and language and triregional infant hearing programs waiting lists have doubled in a year were looking at a sixmonth wait for assessments administrative assis tant simone reali said it used to be three months but we now have less staff and less funding the recent provincial commitment to fund 10 childrens treatment centres in york and simcoe- will eventually pro vide more speech therapy ms bricks said however the infrastructure will not be in place for another 36 months i dont understand why speech ther apy isnt funded properly she said its what distinguishes us from animals if you cant communicate properly youll have a hard time getting on with life information on speechfix services is available by calling 9057801755 program teaches parents to help autistic children centre helps parents learn therapy province wont provide byamylazar staffwriter when david lowreys son was diagnosed with autism he was told to concentrate on his other child because andrew would eventually need to be institutionalized today the eightyearold is thriving at a private school working oneonone with a therapist and spending satur days at leaps and bounds a day program for autistic children in richmond hill andrew began intensive behavioural intervention ther apy when he was four years old and now hes functioning in school and he looks like a regu lar kid said mr lowrey who shudders to think that he could have institutionalized his son studies show intensive behavioural intervention which is an expensive one-on- one tactic is highly effective with autistic children but par ents are only eligible for govern ment funding if their child is under the age of six parents who wish to contin ue the program past that age often pay up to 50000 out of their own pockets with more than 1200 chil dren are on waiting lists for sub sidized treatment in ontario and the high cost of private care parents are looking for alterna tive care another option will be offered by leaps and bounds beginning next month psychologists and inhouse staff photos5joerd witteveen leaps and bounds instructor therapist kim farquhar works with jerry meirovich therapists will invite parents to learn ibi techniques as well as the applied verbal behaviour theory im so glad they are expand ing their services because it is so desperately needed for parents to be trained on the theory behind the therapy said regional support leader of the autism society of ontario lynda beedham whose 22- yearold son is autistic the parent training while the child is receiving treatment is quite unique and is to be applauded there are no similar verbal behaviour clinics for parents in the area director deanna pietramala said the geneva centre in toron to offers a training program on behavioural intervention for parents but it is funded by the government is not groupbased and is only open to families within the city limits kerrys place in york region holds support groups for par ents but concentrates more on consultative services if we can offer parents tips and procedures that will empower both them and the kids will benefit said senior therapist keli mahabir who works with threeyearold shane mathivathanraj they sat together cross- legged on the carpet with three other children and therapists each took turns choosing a card with a symbol that would tell the group which song to sing next a colourful room with a red border of childrens handprints a wall of mirrors and chalk board might be distracting but the group of autistic children were focused on the task at hand singing alice the camel and five little speckled frogs not every child with autism is enrolled in an interactive therapeutic program in fact most are lucky to be diagnosed by age two said leaps and bounds assistant director linda cross children need a formal diagnosis before they can get government funding she said adding that parents can seek private therapy such as leaps and bounds offers but often need financial aid for those services as well the parent clinics will cost 45 per hour but ms mahabir said the time is worth a lot more most of them already have the skills they just need the confidence to carry out the les sons with conviction said the therapist aliza bernstein listens to a song at the richmond hillbased leaps and bounds 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