St. Thomas parents furious as kids with autism left without enough in-school support

Parents of some kindergarten students living with autism worry the lack of educational assistants (EAs) in schools will have dire consequences for their children who have high needs and require extra support in the classroom.

“It’s heartbreaking. You’re concerned about your children’s future and that they won’t get the support they need to get an education to thrive in the future,” said Katelyn Andersen, whose four-year-old son with autism is a student at Locke’s Public School in St. Thomas, Ont., which is part of the Thames Valley District School Board.

Andersen is among parents calling on the province to increase special education funding so school boards can hire more EAs to meet keep up with demands.

Andersen’s son has level-two support needs, which means he has significant impairments in daily activities, struggling with verbal communication and focus. He needs help with toileting, getting dressed and has a tendency to wander off into traffic or bump into other kids, she said.

Since November, an EA was providing him with one-on-one support, which Andersen said made major improvements in his behaviour and social skills. But last week, school officials abruptly told her the EA would be moved elsewhere after Jan. 23, with no set plans for her replacement.

It’s a similar case for Nicole Grove, whose son Harrison attends Pierre Elliott Trudeau French Immersion Public School in St. Thomas and also has level-two needs.

“Basically, we’re just a line in a budget to the Thames Valley School Board.”– Katelyn Andersen

Harrison had one full-time EA dedicated to him and two other kids, but as of Feb. 2, the school is cutting the full-time allotment, leaving only one EA for the entire school working half days.

“He uses specialized transportation so [the EA] would help him get in and out of the van and keep an eye on him so he doesn’t try to escape from the yard. Losing those supports is going to be tough, I don’t know how he’s going to be at school day-to-day,” said Grove.

EA staffing adjusted based on needs, says school board

Both moms said the schools told them the change was due to budgetary constraints. They fear this will cause their children to regress academically or seriously injure themselves and others.

“Basically, we’re just a line in a budget to the Thames Valley School Board,” said Andersen.

“I honestly don’t foresee how my son can continue on in regular kindergarten. His needs are great enough that he absolutely requires additional support to thrive and without it. It’s just a daily battle until he either injures himself or someone else, and we get called to pick him up.”

In a statement to CBC, the school board said its “special education department regularly adjusts EA staffing numbers at schools to address the dynamic needs that exist throughout Thames Valley,” adding that Lockes was provided with temporary EA support in November, which has now been shifted to another school to address changing needs there.

“There has not been a reduction in EA support across Thames Valley. Our EA staffing levels continue to reflect the changing needs across our system,” the statement said.

“At the school level, EA support is moved from class to class to support the students who present with the greatest need. Principals have the autonomy to allocate EAs in a way that best meets the needs in their school.”

However, Grove believes the school board is not taking into account the impact these changes will on educators and both special needs and other students.

“I just think if EAs are moved around based on needs then how does one class with three special needs kids in it not need extra support?” she said.

“Once you pull that support, the whole class is going to suffer because educators will have focus more on helping the kids who had the EA support and the rest of the kids will suffer. So you’re impacting an entire class or even an entire school. This isn’t just impacting three kids.”

Thames Valley District School Board is under provincial supervision due to an investigation of financial mismanagement. Its preliminary budget projected a $10.5 million deficit for the 2025-2026 school year, and some $22 million in unappropriated accumulated deficit.

‘Less money, more needs’

Although the number of EAs has remained fairly consistent throughout the years, the needs of students has increased exponentially and funding hasn’t kept up with that, said Mike Thomas, president of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) Thames Valley.

“Certainly there are gaps in special education funding,” said Thomas. “There’s less money and more needs so it appears there are fewer supports in schools but it’s just that the needs have gone up significantly and that’s having an impact.”

He said years of underfunding from the province has forced school boards to “triage” the very limited supports they do have. He acknowledges Thames Valley is in a unique situation being under provincial supervision.

“As it stands right now, the schools are hanging on with extremely limited funding,” Thomas added.

Last week, during a news conference at Queens Park, Premier Doug Ford said his government is funding education at an unprecedented amount and will hire 6,000 teachers and EAs.

Meanwhile, the pair of moms from St. Thomas say the school board should consult with parents and include them in major decisions that affect their children.