Ottawa Citizen: Why some Ottawa families continue to face autism stigma, isolation

Reporter Abyssinia Abebe profiled a Kanata family for the Ottawa Citizen. The article describes the planning needed for an after-school event and the family's experience of support from school staff but judgment from some other parents.

It struck me how different the school staff treats us, versus the parents.

The Citizen reports that the family sometimes avoids events when the setting may be overwhelming. Constantineau also described feeling isolated by other parents' reactions when her daughter joined her peers.

A lot of people push for inclusion until behaviours are overwhelming and inconvenient.

The article also includes the view of Emily Jenkinson, an Ottawa educational assistant. She said children learn inclusion by spending time with peers who have different needs.

Then they learn how to interact with them.

End The Wait Ontario in the Story

The funding wait is part of the family's story. The Citizen reports that the family remains on the list for Ontario Autism Program core funding. To show the scale of that wait, the article cited End The Wait Ontario's analysis.

Constantineau told the Citizen that managing the schedules and appointments that come with raising a child with special needs is like a full-time job, one the family carries while they wait for core funding to come through.

This page summarizes the article in End The Wait Ontario's own words, with brief quoted excerpts. Published by the Ottawa Citizen, June 21, 2026, by Abyssinia Abebe. Read the full article on ottawacitizen.com