‘My child was being treated so unfairly’: Sask. parents call for more school resources after children with autism sent home

WATCH: The parents of children with complex needs are calling attention to a lack of supports in schools.

Two mothers are calling for action after each of their complex needs children were switched to a modified school schedule.

“I’m not working. Many families are finding it impossible to have full-time jobs because somebody has to be on constant call. Somebody has to be able to go to the school on a moment’s notice. It affects families a lot,” Erin Gerwing said.

Rochelle Young found herself in a similar situation after enrolling her son in a school which initially had a full-time educational assistant for her son who has autism.

“I was contacted and told by the principal that he was spending lunch in her office because it was a safety concern. When I asked, ‘safety concerns?’ She replied, ‘well, he doesn’t have any EA support....for the rest of the school year’. So we were not informed of any of that happening,” Young said.

• What is autism? What do we know about what causes autism?

The mothers say they have seen a noticeable decline in the resources available for their children.

Gerwing says her son’s school used to have a sensory room, which provided a quiet space for neurodivergent students to regulate their nervous systems. However, the room had to be converted into a classroom due to growing classroom sizes.

“There’s no one trying harder than an autistic child in school. They’re expected to regulate themselves in environments filled with noise, movement, constant sensory demand, changing staff, lack of staff - and imagine being overwhelmed to the point of panic and being told there is nowhere for you to go, no one for you to turn to and to try harder,” Gerwing said.

The parents both express frustration with the lack of funding dedicated towards complex needs students.

Both the Saskatoon Public School Division (SPSD) and Saskatoon Catholic School Division (SCSD) told CTV neither organization has laid off any educational assistants this year, and they are each seeing a high demand for the position.

When it comes to the modified scheduled, the SPSD says in some situations “this complexity may require a short-term, modified schedule to ensure appropriate safety, regulation, or medical support is in place.”

The Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) says while changes to federal programs such as Jordan’s Principal have contributed to the issue, education falls under the jurisdiction of the province.

“Ultimately, this is still the responsibility of the provincial government. We need to continue to see those improvements in funding. And last year was really encouraging to see that improvement in our per student funding,” Samantha Becotte, president of the STF said.

In a statement provided to CTV, the province says the 2025-26 school operating fund will receive an additional $186.4 million.

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“Our government is working to ease the pressure and complexities in Saskatchewan’s classrooms through initiatives like the expansion of the Specialized Support Classrooms to an additional 50 classrooms this year and funding for additional classroom complexity teachers through the recent collective bargaining agreement,” the statement read.

For Gerwing and Young, those additional classrooms can’t come soon enough. Young says the process of having a child’s school schedule altered due to a lack of complex-needs support is not one she would wish upon anybody.

“It was incredibly stressful for us as we did not have any childcare lined up for our child. I cried a lot of tears, and I was incredibly angry that my child was being treated so unfairly because of a funding issue,” Young said.