B.C. parents question no-wait 'circle of care' system for neurodiverse kids

British Columbia is set to launch one-stop support centres for children with issues like ADHD, autism and Down syndrome, but parents say promises of a no-wait system that won't require assessments or a diagnosis seem unrealistic due to a shortage of health-care professionals.

British Columbia is set to launch one-stop support centres for children with issues like ADHD, autism and Down syndrome, but parents say promises of a no-wait system that won't require assessments or a diagnosis seem unrealistic due to a shortage of health-care professionals.

The plan is to open 40 so-called family connections centres, or hubs, across the province.

Four are slated to provide services under a pilot program from next year - three in northwestern B.C., and another in the central Okanagan.

The province has given community agencies until July to tender for initial implementation of the program, and contracts are expected to be awarded in the fall. More proposals will be sought for the remaining centres that are to begin operating by 2024 to support neurodiverse kids and youth up to age 19.

Families of autistic children will then no longer get the current funding of up to $22,000 a year until age six, and $6,000 annually to age 18. Instead, they will be provided services through the new system.

Julia Boyle, executive director of Autism BC, said the province has not provided information about staffing and protocols for the “complex transition” to a new system that could have parents of thousands of neurodiverse kids “knocking on the doors of these hubs.”

There is not enough time for consultations with advocacy groups before the pilot program starts, and to fully shift from individualized funding for autistic kids to the new hubs is another major change in two years, Boyle said.