Application forms are now available for autism support and funding for families in Saskatchewan, the Saskatchewan government announced on July 17.
Starting in 2018, $2.8 million has been directed towards programs for children under six with families receiving $4,000 per child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Shelley Kolisnek, autism consultant for Humboldt and area through Autism Services in Saskatoon has 40-50 clients accessing her services at any given time and sees the need for autism funding in rural areas.
“People in Humboldt have to travel so there’s always the little bit higher need when they’re looking at plans. They do have travel mostly to get services such as speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, and mental health services.”
While the funding is welcome, each family is going to have different needs, she says, with $4,000 per child being more than enough for some while not even scratching the surface for other families, says Kolisnek.
It all depends on the individual, she says, with travel expenses always being a part of the needs of the family.
“Children that have higher needs that might have to go more often to a speech and language person or needs occupation and physical therapy, travel expenses, babysitting or respite; somebody that needs to have that will definitely have higher need (for funding),” says Kolisnek.
Families who have applied and meet the funding criteria will start receiving funds by August 2018, says a Saskatchewan government press release with the Ministry of Health also connecting families to autism service providers; like behavioural consultants, physical and occupational therapists, psychologists, social workers, and speech pathologists.
Kolisnek says there are not enough of these services available for families within Saskatchewan, especially in rural areas without traveling to bigger centres.
In Humboldt, for example, there are only two private speech pathologists in the area who would be available to take children with autism as clients but there are more children that could require that service.
The further out from Humboldt we go, the more people that need the service, says Kolisnek.
Even if families were to receive funded services in the city, that does not make the expenses any less with travel and childcare expenses making receiving funding more difficult.
“It’s not they have this money and now there’s all these services there. It doesn’t work like that. There’s always need for more service and more support, that’s just the nature of it.”
Every family is different and every family requires support finding and accessing services, says Kolisnek.
