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Angry parents give LHIN's in -school therapy program an F
Long waits, insufficient physio, speech therapy unacceptable, parents say
ILaulriie IFagan ° CNBC: (News ° IPosted: IFelb 27, 2018 4.00 AM IET 1I ILast Updated: 5 Ihouirs ago
14-yealr-olid Anna .Sairaiiva and her mother IFiilliipa at their Iholme iiia Mountain, Ont., about an Ihour
south of Ottawa (Lauiriie IFagan, CIBC )
Anna Saraiva is in tears after a painful stretching session in the living room of her
family's home in Mountain, Ont., just south of Ottawa.
Anna's mother, Filipa, offers her daughter her white bunny to stroke.
"Here's Evie, now open your hands and pet her," Filipa prompts the girl.
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2/27/2018 Angry parents give LHIN's in -school therapy program an F I CBC News
Anna's tears melt into a smile as she holds the animal, and she begins to make happy
sounds. The 14 -year-old, who has cerebral palsy, is non-verbal and uses a
wheelchair.
She's just spent 15 minutes in her "stander," a device designed to keep her upright
and help build density in her bones.
Anna's sessions in the stander, plus the other hands-on daily exercises her parents
put her through, happen at home now.
They believe the monthly physiotherapy sessions she receives at school are failing
her.
Concerns over quality, wait times
Filipa Saraiva and other parents of students with special needs are angry with both
the quality of care and the wait times for physiotherapy, occupational therapy and
speech and language treatments provided at area school by the Champlain Local
Health Integration Network (LHIN).
I have a very serious problem with this
model. It's not serving our 1dds, which is
insane.
- Filipa 5 r aiva, mottier
The Champlain LHIN hires therapists to provide services to 5,000 students with
moderate to severe disabilities in both elementary and high schools through its
school health support services.
A nurse comes to Anna's school each day to feed her through a gastric feeding tube.
Physiotherapy began last November with a one-hour session, once a month.
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2/27/2018 Angry parents give LHIN's in -school therapy program an F I CBC News
"The sad thing is we thought Anna would be getting a lot more physiotherapy than
she gets," Saraiva said.
Alma Saraiva stirolkes Iheir pet bunny IEviie, bidngi ng a slrri lle to the girll's face after a painfull therapy
session at Iher Ihoirne in Il ointain, Ont. (CIBC)
Physiotherapy limited
Saraiva describes the sessions as "consultative," because they mostly involve the
physiotherapist instructing an educational assistant.
"The physiotherapist is not actually touching my child. She doesn't do active
physiotherapy on her, she doesn't do any massage, she doesn't do any stretches or
anything like that," Saraiva said.
"I have a very serious problem with the model. It's not serving our kids, which is
insane."
Saraiva said her husband's insurance plan has paid for a few treatments, but it's
difficult for the single -income family to cover any more.
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2/27/2018 Angry parents give LHIN's in -school therapy program an F I CBC News
Anna will undergo an operation on her spine this summer, and the family has been
told frequent, hands-on physiotherapy will improve the outcome.
"OHIP doesn't cover Anna for any physiotherapy. It's all on us, and I know we're not
doing enough," Saraiva said.
4 -month wait
According to the Champlain LHIN, as of January nearly 600 students had been
waiting four months for therapy.
"The prime goal of the service is that the kids can get their education," said
Champlian LHIN CEO Chantale Leclerc.
"It really isn't designed for rehabilitation purposes or to get the person functioning
better beyond what they would require to attend school and participate."
Leclerc acknowledges a four-month wait isn't ideal, but said the limited goals of the
program are communicated to families before therapy begins.
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2/27/2018
Angry parents give LHIN's in -school therapy program an F I CBC News
Clhalrntalle ILeclerc, CIEO of the Chalrnpllaiin IL.ocall Health Ilirntegratiiolrn INetwork, says the average wain
tii me for clhilldlren with diisab lliitiies to Ireceiive therapies at sclhooll its four mointlhs (IL.auide IFagann CIBC
'What would you doT
Ten -year-old Cheyenne Brown loves to dance and dreams of one day becoming a
baker.
Born with hemiplegic cerebral palsy, leaving one side of her body weaker than the
other, she wears braces on her lower legs. For Cheyenne, walking down stairs is a
painful challenge.
Cheyenne's mother, Parul Shah, says her daughter also has cognitive difficulties,
affecting her speech and language.
"No one could understand her. It was like she had a stroke," Shah said.
For six years the family has paid for private speech and language therapy outside the
school.
"The problem is not everyone can afford that," Shah said.
"Imagine if you were a single parent and didn't have the income to provide that
private service. What would you do?"
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IParull Shah says she fought for several) years to get in -school) speech therapy for Iheir daughter
Cheyenne, onlly to hose it after just three sessioirns„ (Laurie IFagan CIBC
Girl deemed 'grey area student'
Shah said she fought for 19 months after her daughter entered junior kindergarten
to get her rehabilitation services at her public school.
Cheyenne is now receiving physiotherapy, and has had a few sessions of
occupational therapy.
But Shah said an initial assessment determined Cheyenne was a "a grey area
student," meaning her speech disability wasn't severe enough to warrant help at
school.
As they watched their daughter's speech and grades deteriorate, her parents paid for
a psycho -educational test in Grade 1 which revealed Cheyenne was already two years
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2/27/2018 Angry parents give LHIN's in -school therapy program an F I CBC News
behind on language acquisition.
The LHIN responded by placing her on a waiting list for speech services, but the
family was told it would be up to 18 months before she'd receive any therapy.
Last October Shah was elated when she received word her daughter would be seen
by the speech language pathologist at least once a month, possibly even twice.
But in January, as suddenly as they had begun, the sessions ended. The family was
informed by letter that Cheyenne had "resolved many of her speech errors."
'I was just livid'
"I was just livid," Shah said. "How can you judge a student after you've seen her three
times?"
Filipa Saraiva said she had a similar experience. "I have to fight to get services for my
daughter," she said. "I often get, 'She doesn't look disabled, and she's talking — why
does she need it?"
Champlain LHIN CEO Chantale Leclerc blamed the long waits on a shortage of
qualified staff. Pediatric therapists are scarce and the LHIN has to guarantee them
work for the entire school year, Leclerc said.
"At the moment it isn't a money issue. We have the funds to provide the services to
all the children," Leclerc said.
The Champlain LHIN took over the school rehabilitation therapies in May 2016, but
the service will be transferred to the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario and the
Ottawa Children's Treatment Centre on April 1.
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The province says it's working on a new delivery model through its special needs
strategy.
"This includes effective speech language therapy, occupational therapy and
physiotherapy services from birth through to the end of school," according to
Ontario's Ministry of Children and Youth Services.
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