B.C. children with disabilities, neurodiversity gaining more access to info, therapies

B.C. is gearing up to offer more support to children with neurodivergencies and disabilities, along with their families.

Starting in 2023, one-stop family connection hubs will give quick access to information, expert intervention, and therapy to anyone under 19 years old. According to B.C. Children and Family Development this program will be based on a child’s “individual needs, regardless of whether they have a referral or diagnosis.”

Hubs will open in the Northwest and Central Okanagan in 2023 before being launched provincewide in 2024.

Parents and caregivers receiving individual autism funding or therapy benefits can choose to keep them until 2025. After that, individualized funding will be phased out.

Right now, many kids, including those with Down syndrome, autism, or fetal alcohol spectrum disorder don’t qualify for support, according to the province.

The Minister of Children and Family Development, Mitzi Dean, says the current “patchwork” model leaves too many children behind.

“That’s why we’re putting children and youth at the centre of our new system and making it easier for families to get the high-quality services they need, regardless of where they live in the province,” Dean said.

Dan Coulter is the Parliamentary Secretary for Accessibility and vice-chair of the Minister’s Advisory Council for Children and Youth with Support Needs. He says this approach will ensure children and youth receive faster access to services and supports, “helping them reach their individual goals.”

“No child should be refused help meeting their needs because they don’t have a specific diagnosis,” he added.

@MitziDeanBC adds this new system will be more “flexible” and easier to navigate, but costs details not shared yet.

She adds this transition will be phased in over the next few years because it’s clear the current system/approach is too fragmented. #bcpoli @CityNewsVAN

— Marcella Bernardo (@MBernardoNews) October 27, 2021

Around 8,300 children are expected to benefit from these new services, according to the province. This is a 28 per cent increase in the number of children who will be able to access disability supports and services.

“The very important thing about this transition is putting children and youth at the center and making sure that we are creating a system that delivers services that match up to the needs of children and youth,” Dean said. “We know and we’ve been told by the representative for children, youth and so many families that the current programming is just fragmented. We’ve seen with a pandemic that it’s a flawed system and parents were terribly let down and services weren’t available.”

“So we knew that we needed to build a system where services are available, delivered by community, in community, and respond to those needs that children and youth have. And that they will be able to walk into a family connections hub, get connected with a professional, and get linked up to a multidisciplinary team (eg. occupational therapists, physiotherapists, mental health clinicians.) ”

Details on how much this will cost have not yet been released.

– With files from Marcella Bernardo