A provincial plan to help families with autistic children is not impressing those in the north.
Danielle Pannanen is with Northern Autism Families, and says it’s a pilot program set to start in March, offering help to 600 children, chosen from a selection process the government has not revealed. “600 children sounds like a lot, however, it only represents a little bit less than 1.3% of the 43,000 children on the wait list right now.”
Pannanen adds it will be years before the other 42,000 plus families get the help they need.
For the time being, existing funding will be reviewed. So for most families, they are only going to get $5,000 for the year, for therapy, if their children are over the age of 6. If they are under 6, they will get $20,000.”
She notes there are some families needing $100,000 a year.
The Northern Autism Families group also points out those chosen will be assisted by care coordinators with very little training. “They’re going to go through this needs assessment, and they’ll determine their funding allocation. Once those families get that funding, they say they’ll be able to access the clinician of their choice.”
Pannanen says the funding for many families falls short of their needs.
