Ontario to disabled teen: lose funding or independence

Guests: Rob Hickey and Erin Sheldon, parents of Maggie Hickey

The government has given the Hickey family an awful choice. Maggie Hickey has Angelman syndrome, a genetic disorder that causes significant physical and intellectual disabilities. While she is non-verbal and developmentally delayed, she is a happy 19-year-old woman with a group behind her supporting her needs. The arrangement is called a Microboard, a group of individuals including her parents, personal support workers and others who all help take part in decisions about her care and help keep her independent. But now some of Maggie’s home care funding has been cut because some government agencies don’t recognize the arrangement. Her parents join “This Matters” to discuss why they are launching a human rights complaint to fight for their daughter’s rights.

This episode was produced by Alexis Green, Paulo Marques and Raju Mudhar