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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, A pr il 11 ,2 01 9 | 16 40%Off 40% off any order of $1000 of more. $300 off any order of $700 or more. Not valid with any other offer. Free installation with any complete unit order of $500 or more. With incoming order, at time of purchase only. Plus Free InstallatIon Imagine your home, totally organized! Custom Closets, Garage Cabinets, Home Offices, Pantries, Laundries, and Hobby Rooms Call for a free in home design consultation and estimate www.closetsbydesign.ca 844-612-9943 OB 2013 © All Rights Reserved. Closets by Design, Inc. Follow us SPECIAL FINANCING Available! With approved credit. Call or ask your designer for details. Not available in all areas. Controversial changes to the province's Ontario Autism Program (OAP) have been postponed six months from the initial April 1 deadline, providing a temporary reprieve for parents and school boards across the province. The announcement from the government was made the day following a regular meeting of the Hal- ton District School Board, where preparations were discussed for an influx of more than 103 students with autism who would be "increasing their atten- dance" at HDSB schools, said Mark Zonneveld, su- perintendent of Education, Student Services at the March 20 meeting. Although Zonnefeld said the board was ready for the April 1 deadline - as new students regularly come into the system - the difference was in the num- bers arriving at once and the complexity of needs. Another detriment to the quick turnaround was the timing in the school year, added Stuart Miller, director of education, at the meeting, putting pres- sure on the children and staff to implement unfa- miliar routines within the remaining three months. "Many of these students have routines and their routines work well for them and their routines will change." The most recent an- nouncement from the Min- ister of Children, Commu- nity and Social Services minister, Lisa MacLeod, was welcome news, said Miller. "And I believe it will pro- vide us more time to be pre- pared for either an influx of students and/or some at- tending our schools full time (some students are al- ready in the system, but do not attend every day)," commented Miller. "We ab- solutely do our best to sup- port and accommodate all students in our system and in particular those with special needs. We do so by being prepared and in- formed of the needs of the students prior to their ar- rival (as part of the pro- cess). Although the board was preparing for students coming back or becoming full time through the OAP, the delay will enhance its efforts to do so, added Miller. In its quest to clear a backlog of 23,000 children on the waitlist for private behavioural therapy, a new funding model was pre- sented by the government in February that sent par- ents to the streets in pro- test, and boards scurrying to determine numbers of children they could expect through their doors come April 1, their specific needs, and where resourc- es to meet those needs would come from since no new money was forthcom- ing from the province. The impact of the changes is "definitely pushed back" for the board, but an impact has already been felt, commented HDSB board chair Andrea Grebenc in an interview following the minister's lat- est announcement. "We've had to divert re- sources to try and figure out the situation," said Gre- benc. "I'm glad the govern- ment is now actually doing some research into what's the best course of action be- cause they were kind of leaving everything up to the school boards to figure out on their own. It does give us a little time and al- lows potentially, for some actual, gradual transition- ing as opposed to the lack of gradual transitioning." "We're encouraging staff to reach out to differ- ent public and private facil- ities who provide ABA therapy to contact the board sooner rather than later. When we were put in HALTON DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD WELCOMES POSTPONEMENT OF AUTISM PROGRAM CHANGES KATHY YANCHUS kyanchus@metroland.com NEWS See - page 17 "We absolutely do our best to support and accommodate all students in our system and in particular those with special needs." - Stuart Miller, director of education