Major overhaul of autism and special needs supports causing concern, confusion for some B.C. parents

Changes to the province's delivery of supportsto families ofchildren with autism and other developmental disabilities arecausing concern and confusion forsome B.C. parents.

Currently, children with diverse needs in B.C.need a medical specialist's diagnosis to get the help they need.

Under theMinistry of Children and Family Development'snew"one-stop family connections hubs" system,parents will be able to quickly access support including expert intervention and therapies without a diagnosis.

But the announcement of the new system has left many advocates and parents with more questions than answers.

Sam andLana Kirkspent nearlysevenyears learning howthe currentsystem works to get an autism diagnosis for theirhigh-functioning eight-year-old son, Matthew.

The Kirks say they are worried the new needs-based system for such a broadly-defined neuro-disorder will meanMatthew's supports won't be focused on his particular needs.

"Now what they're saying is'we are going to do it in this hub, and we will decide who the providers are,' instead of us finding the right providersthat fit with the needs that our child has," said SamKirk.

As part of B.C.'s currentfunding model for autistic children, the Kirks receive $6,000peryearand are able to pick and choose what supports are best for Matthew.

For Michelle Boshard,the current autism funding model has been criticaltofinding the righttherapists to support her17-year-old son, Aaron, whosebehavioural complexities include a tendency to self-harm.

She says she wonders how dangerous her son's behaviourwould have to get before they would be given the helphe needs.

"In an already difficult situation where parents are already having limitations, it's quite possible the structure and the function of the hubs will be a challenge," she said.

But forparents like Bonnie McBride, whose four out of five children have special needs, including fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) and cerebral palsy (CP), the move to the new hub model is providinghope.

"The model the province has always used has always been diagnosis-based and that's created an environment of exclusion for families that don't fit within that particular diagnosis," McBride said.

She said the currentmodel is creating what she calls an "autism funding bubble," renderingservices that are made affordable to families with an autism diagnosis unattainable for others like herchildren with FASD and CP.

The provincial government says its one-stop family connection widens access, regardless of diagnosis or referral.

Advocacy group BCEd Access says families with children who have complex needs need to be consulted before the connectionhubs open so they aren'tleft out of core services.

Hubs will open in certain parts of theOkanaganin 2023 beforelaunchingacross the provincein 2024.

When that happens, the province says parents and caregivers who are receiving individualized autism funding and school-age extended therapy benefits will have the option to continue with the supports they have, or to opt into the new hub's services.

The option to receive individualized funding will bephased out by 2025.