Parents of Ontario boy with autism fatally hit by bus call for more special needs resources

TORONTO – Max Simao had three loves in his life, his parents said. 

The seven-year-old boy loved his iPad, recently grew fond of Christmas and enjoyed the time he spent in school. 

But Chris Simao said his son, who had autism and was non-verbal, was put on a modified schedule at school in October because there was no longer an educational assistant available to work with him. 

That was the reason Max had to leave school early with his mom on the afternoon of Dec. 11, the day he was fatally run over by a Hamilton city bus. Hamilton police have said they do not believe the actions of the bus driver were to blame.

Simao said the tragic death was preventable and that Max should have been at school when the accident happened.

“We feel robbed and cheated on our future with Max,” a visibly emotional Simao said during a press conference at Queen’s Park on Wednesday, as his wife, Emily, stood beside him with a photo of Max in her hands.

“We are so heartbroken and mad, he should still be here with us and should have had a chance to celebrate Christmas that he was so excited about,” he said, adding that his son was “such a sweet little boy, who brought such joy and happiness to everybody that knew him.”

Simao said he initially thought his son’s school schedule was modified for a few weeks, but it went on for months despite the family repeatedly asking when Max would return to full-day school.

He said he doesn’t blame the school or the school board because they don’t have the resources they need. 

“We’ve come to learn that exclusions like this are very common across the province and are a direct result of chronic underfunding that tends to affect students with special needs the most,” he said. 

Kate Dudley-Logue, the vice-president of community outreach at the Ontario Autism Coalition, said tens of thousands of children with special needs are experiencing some type of exclusion in Ontario, with the primary reason being that the school lacks the resources to safely support them in their classrooms for a full day. 

“I wish I could say that Max being excluded from school due to lack of supports was an isolated incident but the reality is that this has become a provincewide pattern,” she said.

Dudley-Logue said families are being put into precarious situations.

“How are parents supposed to maintain employment when their children are not permitted to attend school full time?” she said.

Dudley-Logue called on the Ford government to provide more funding for schools, including special education workers.

In response to a request for comment, a spokesperson for the minister of education referred The Canadian Press to remarks Premier Doug Ford made at an unrelated press conference Wednesday.

When asked about the Simao family’s call for more support in schools, Ford said his government is providing “an unprecedented amount” of funding to hire educators.

Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles, who spoke at the news conference with Max’s parents, said the government has the power and the budget it needs to address the issue but chooses not to do enough, calling on Ford to “take some responsibility.” 

“We all know it’s not the school boards that decide where money is spent. It is the provincial government. They give them the money and they decide where it’s spent,” she said. “And this government, despite their lies, is not spending enough to protect our children.” 

Max’s parents said they are speaking out to make sure other families don’t go through the pain they have experienced. 

“We cannot bring Max back, but we can speak his name and tell his story and demand that every child with disabilities (is) no longer excluded, sidelined,” the boy’s father said with a shaky voice.

“This should never have happened, and it must never happen again.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 21, 2026.