Why some Ottawa families continue to face autism stigma, isolation

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Jenkinson said the same thing applies to parents.

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“Every parent wants to see their kid succeed and thrive, and parents being able to see their child interact with other kids on the spectrum would definitely help expose them.”

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Jenkinson said she often comes across some people who don’t have the social awareness needed to be respectful.

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“A lot of the times, I’ve had to have a conversation with some people who stare and look, and had to say, ‘Hey, our kids have some special needs, you can mind your own business, there’s no need to talk about them while they’re right here. They can hear you and they can understand you.'”

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She said it is unfortunate that those conversations are needed, but that in the long run they are important because “exposing the world to different types of needs and different types of people makes a change.

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Celeste Constantineau, seen with her six-year-old daughter, Evelyn Zanivan, is sharing her experiences to help raise awareness about autism and the challenges families can face in finding understanding and inclusion within their communities. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia

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“And that also shows the kids that, ‘There’s nothing for me to be embarrassed about.’ ”

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For Constantineau, the journey of raising her child has helped her grow.

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“I might not be as profoundly autistic as my youngest child, but it’s interesting to see the dynamic, and I never realized that people were as impatient or as standoffish as I see when I have my child.”

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Looking back, she says she suppressed a lot of behaviours that she now realized she was trying to hide because they got her in trouble.

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“It’s been a lovely healing source being able to provide my daughter with things that I necessarily didn’t have growing up,” Constantineau said, adding that though her daughter may likely not notice other parents’ perception of her, the experience has brought up childhood wounds of her own.

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Constantineau said her daughter is energetic, enthusiastic, athletic and has got a sense of humour.

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“She has this huge personality and she’s got attitude,” her mom said affectionately of her youngest. “There’s a lot of nuances to being a parent with a child with disabilities.”

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But the hardship is not limited to a social one. Getting funding has not been an easy journey for Constantineau and her family, who said her daughter has been inching towards the top of the list for Ontario Autism Program’s Core funding for years now.

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The funding is meant to cover equipment, therapy and care, according to Constantineau.

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“I’ve had her on the list since she was just under three,” Constantineau said. It’s going to be another year-and-a-half to two years before the funding is released.

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According to a March 2026 analysis published by End The Wait Ontario, an advocacy organization that tracks funding and waitlist results of Ontario’s autism programs, there were 89,799 children registered in various funding programs that year.

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This number is up by 121 per cent from 2020 when there were 40,700 registrations.

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Meanwhile, the report says the funding for the autism program has only increased by 61 per cent since 2020 (going from $600 million in 2020 to $965 million in 2026).

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As a result, the report says 69,166 children with autism are without funding despite the $965 million allocated for the Ontario Autism Program in the 2026-2027 budget.

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Despite the “largest single-year increase in program history,” per-child funding is 27 per cent lower than 2020 because registration growth outpaced funding growth, according to the report.

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This data was last verified by the organization on March 4, 2026.

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“It would be nice to share with the public that we are working so hard to make sure that our child has all the resources that they need,” Constantineau said. “It’s like a full-time job to manage the schedules and appointments of someone with special needs.”

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