They settled on 15 hours of therapy per week, per child, less than what's generally recommended. That's $1,500 per week, and about $78,000 per year.Īlberelli is a stay-at-home mother of four, and York works for the city driving a garbage truck. In the end, Alberelli and York decided to go the private route, to get the children help sooner than later, and to pay for it themselves. Private autism therapy costs more than $78K per year Not everyone can … but I'd rather just have a lifeong debt or any other option than having to just save enough money until they can be cared for forever," Alberelli said. ![]() "You can either spend the money now, or save the money so you have care in the future. … I'd rather pay money for the rest of my life and get the therapy now. But she learned that the younger a child is when treatment starts, the better. She thought the twins might have autism, she knew they'd need therapy and she knew there'd be a waiting list to get that help through the government.Īfter doing the math, Alberelli estimated the children might be as old as five before getting any treatment. 'If we can provide clean, safe needles for people who are intravenous drug users, then we should be able to provide therapy for children who didn't have a choice the way they were born.'-Autumn AlberelliĪt that point, Alberelli started doing her own research. The twins weren't talking by then and after spending some time at First Words, they were referred to the Ottawa Children's Treatment Centre, which works in partnership with the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario. ![]() So they decided to see a family doctor, who told them there was probably nothing to worry about and that if the twins weren't talking by 1 ½ years old, the family could go to First Words, an Ottawa preschool speech and language program. Mother suspected something in autism spectrum They're there, but when you have Christmas or you have these times where maybe someone comes over or things like that, they're retreating to their rooms or to a quiet area in the house, they're covering themselves with a blanket, and they can stay like that for hours if you let them," Alberelli said. "You have two children that just aren't a part of your family. ![]() Oscar was born with a serious heart condition, and so the behavioural indications that something might be wrong sat on a back burner until his condition stabilized, which took about a year.Īnd when York and Alberelli finally had time to breathe, what they noticed was "strange." They just liked to be alone, not be bothered or touched."įriends and relatives wondered how York and Alberelli could handle twins on top of their young girl, but because the twins were so quiet and content, the parents thought it was a breeze.Īutumn Alberelli, who stays at home caring for her four children, started doing her own research about what might be responsible for her twins' behaviour before they were diagnosed in 2011. "They just wanted to be alone," said their father, Ken York. ![]() Sophie, meanwhile, would sit quietly chewing on toys, sometimes for hours. And there was my backyard, all tidy on the picnic table." And you sort of laugh because any other child … toys are just scattered everywhere, they don't pick anything up. "I looked out at our backyard and we had a kiddie table, and he had found all the little toys in the backyard and they were right across the picnic table. This was always a big thing, and it'd be a line, all just random places," said the twins' mother, Autumn Alberelli. "Well with Oscar, you'd find all these things lined up around the house, random items. Twins Sophie and Oscar York, who will soon be turning four, were diagnosed in 2011 with autism on the severe end of the spectrum.
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