Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today on behalf of an NWT resident whose child has Autism Spectrum Disorder. This young adult has been supported through their school years, and as a testament to that support and their own perseverance, will be graduating high school this month. We do a good job of providing the extra, necessary support for special needs students in our primary and secondary schools, but apparently, that’s where the support ends. Let me explain.
There are several colleges in the South which offer transitional vocational programs, a program that fits the post-secondary needs of this young person. Like many specialized programs, they’re not cheap: about $15,000 per year. Most students, when they graduate from high school and get accepted to a college or a university, can get financial support from the GNWT via the Student Financial Assistance program. Disabled persons, as full-time students under current Student Financial Assistance guidelines, are eligible for a study grant of up to $8,000 per academic year. But, of course, there’s a catch. The catch is the student has to be enrolled in an academic program. Transitional vocational programs are not considered an academic program and thus are not approved by Student Financial Assistance for funding.
There’s no question in the mind of Education, Culture and Employment that an autistic person is a disabled person. There is also no question in the mind of ECE that all NWT post-secondary students
should be taking an academic program; a thoroughly unrealistic goal, in my mind, especially for challenged students.
Transitional vocational training is not an academic program. It is about advancement, ensuring people learn the skills they need to transition from a supported environment to living on their own. Consider this quote from Hansard February 25, 2000: “We have to look clearly at how we deal with disabled people and students. Right now there is no way to deal with them. There is no access for them. Students who are disabled and have special needs have to go to various departments with their hat in their hand, trying to cobble together financial arrangements to go to school.” Unfortunately, nothing has changed in the 12 years since the MLA for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger, stood in this House to voice his concern.
There is an opportunity here for a hardworking NWT resident to advance from a dependent to an independent person to become an involved, contributing member of NWT society.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted