Autism Therapy for Austin. Give Our Future a Voice.

Hi, my name is Caitlin, and I am fundraising for my dear friend and colleague, Rebelene and her two year old son, Austin, who has level 3 Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Rebelene immigrated to Canada in 2012 from the Philippines. Like many people, her dream was to plant roots in Canada and have the privilege of raising a family in a country with world class education, healthcare, and patriotism.

When Rebelene met her husband, Arwin, it was love at first sight. Marvel and DC comic nerds to the core, Rebelene and Arwin would lovingly ask one another what super power they wished to have. Rebelene always picked “the ability to fly” like Superwoman. With so much in common, they quickly fell in love and got married in 2019. A few years later, baby Austin was born.

Austin was an “easy” baby, never fussing and always complacent. Rebelene and Arwin loved every second of their new role as parents. As time went on, Austin started to fall short of his developmental milestones. Rebelene noticed a dissimilarity between him and his peers. His repetitive motions, heightened surges of energy, constant rocking, and avoidance of eye contact had Rebelene worried. By 2.5 years old, Austin had only 3 indistinct words and since then, has not uttered anything more.

After a stressful and lengthy examination, Austin was diagnosed with ASD - level 2 for behavior and level 3 for social communication.

In the weeks that followed, Rebelene and Arwin experienced a range of emotions. The continued silence from their boy tore their hearts to shreds. Rebelene told Arwin that she no longer wished to fly like Superwoman, but that she wanted her super power to be “Mind Reading” so that she could hear what Austin was thinking.

Despite their worry, what truly resonated above all else was Rebelene and Arwin’s fierce determination to give their son every opportunity available for growth. They were going to be his superheroes.

Rebelene applied to the goverment funded Ontario Autism Program and was immediately hit with the reality of an overcrowded and provincially-underfunded government sector.

Austin’s doctors recommended starting ABA therapy immediately, as the window for life changing improvement is before the age of 5. Unfortunately, families in Ontario with newly diagnosed ASD children are placed on a financial aid list with a wait time of up to 7 years. A wait of this length can have devastating consequences for kids like Austin, permanently closing the door on early intervention and negatively impacting his chances for life changing and meaningful progress, forever.

Rebelene is a dedicated and caring Registered Nurse at Humber River Hospital. In addition to her shift work at the hospital, she recently started a second career as a telehealth nurse so that she can work at the hospital during the day and work from home at night. Arwin is a product builder who takes advantage of every opportunity he can in order to provide for his family. Even with both their salaries combined, it is not enough to get Austin the ABA therapy he desperately needs, which can range from $125-$175/hour with a behavioral clinician.

Currently, Austin is receiving 1 hour a week of therapy provided by the OAP for only 12 weeks. He is only provided one program per fiscal year. This is severely below the recommended amount of therapy for young children newly diagnosed with ASD. The National Autism Research Council (USA-based) recommends 15-25 hours of intensive ABA therapy per week for young children. Furthermore, children who start IBI before age 4 show better outcomes than those who start after age 4 on a variety of outcome measures.

Unfortunately, our Canadian government programs are failing our neurodiverse children. Therefore, I am humbly asking for your help in giving Austin a chance at a brighter future. With the help of you donations, I would like to raise enough money to get Austin into an Intensive Behavioral Intervention (IBI) program which will provide him with 18 hours of ABA therapy a week, three days a week, for 6 months. There is no cure for Autism but with IBI, Austin will have a chance to learn how to speak, verbalize his needs, regulate his emotions and blossom into a boy who will not be permanently victimized by financial hardship.

As a fellow parent of an autistic child, we must remember that we are the voice for our children who cannot speak. We are the protectors of those who cannot protect themselves. Please give Austin a voice with your generous donation. With your gift, I am certain his first words will be “Thank You.”