More N.L. parents speaking out following 'discriminatory' daycare dismissals for kids with exceptionalities

Two mothers of children with arthrogryposis, a physical disability that makes muscles and joints stiff, say that their children have been facing discrimination when it comes to finding childcare, just like parents of children with autism who have been dismissed from daycare. 

Lindsay Chafe and Selian Dixon both have daughters with arthrogryposis and say they have been battling discrimination when it comes to finding services like childcare, after-school programs and summer camps.

They say they were upset when they heard earlier this week that children with autism were being dismissed from daycare due to a shortage of ECE's.

"It's unfortunate that there's parents, additional parents going through what we've been going through for years because we know what it feels like. We know the frustration." said Lindsay Chafe, mom to Caci who uses a wheelchair. 

Two children with autism, William La Montagne and Benjamin Pike, who both live in Paradise, have been dismissed from different daycare centres because there is a shortage of early childhood educators and inclusion workers needed to support them. 

The loss of childcare is forcing William's mom, Kristen Parsons-La Montagne, to consider leaving the province for Alberta, where she said she has already found three inclusive daycare centres in Calgary that will accept her son. 

The Pikes say they will have to juggle their work schedules until their son goes to school in about a year-and-a-half.

Both families call their children's daycare dismissals discriminatory.

Chafe said her daughter was dismissed from an after-school daycare program back in 2020 after she wrote a letter inquiring about getting an inclusion worker at the daycare.

"I was met with a letter when I dropped her off one day saying that she was terminated. I think dismissed is too nice of a word. I say that she was kicked out," she said. 

Chafe said the daycare told her that it was unable to meet her daughter's needs. She said she had to scramble to find a solution and managed with some help from her daughter's grandparents, but it's a struggle for them too, since they can't lift Caci.

Chafe said years later she's still scrambling and skips lunch breaks to manage.

"My whole life revolves around trying to figure out solutions and it's exhausting because you're constantly trying to find a resolution for a problem and there is no fix at this point," she said.

Chafe said her daughter was in daycare for socialization because things like socializing and attending birthday parties can be difficult for children with disabilities because of issues with accessibility.