[FEAT BC Admin]

This area is for discussions in general topics.

Topic

[A Father]

Andrea:

Today's press release should serve as a rude wake up call to all parents. The government can take away the little funds they provide us at any moment. Without this service being covered by Medicare we are sitting ducks at the mercy of whatever crooks are in power at the time.

The pressure to move us from Direct to Invoice is interesting as it will cost even more for the government to administer this and will NOT be beneficial to the parents.

This change looks like poison with a little sugar on top to make it taste good.

A quick review of this announcement makes no sense to me. Perhaps others who understand this language can enlighten me…

"Effective April 1, 2010, funding will be increased for children diagnosed with autism who are under six years of age – from $20,000 to $22,000 per year."
– What difference will 2K make when this costs approx 80K per child? This is just a token to make this change appear like a positive.

“These changes are a reflection of government’s priority to provide – and protect – critical supports for vulnerable children and their families, including children and youth with special needs,” said Polak.
– Since when is this their priority and if it was would this change be reflective of that? This statement would be funny if it were not directly impacting so many lives.

"The Ministry of Children and Family Development’s budget for autism intervention and funding programs is more than 10 times the 2001 budget of $4.1 million, totalling more than $46 million in 2009-10, including a $1.6-million increase this year. As a result of these budget increases, more than 6,000 children and youth diagnosed with ASD and their families are served now, compared to only a few hundred prior to 2000."
– While someone outside the ASD community might be impressed with this statement it is less impressive to me. Why don't we define what they mean by "served." Ignored? Misplaced? Pushed aside? etc.

"Effective October, 2009, the ministry will begin moving families from Direct Funding to Invoice Payment in the Autism Funding Programs in order to improve accountability and increase efficiency."
– WHY? I know this has been a long time goal of the government and they always try to convince new families to pick this model but very few do because it does not work as well. This seems like the goal of this change but it is unclear what the end goal is for the government by doing this. Anyone know what the trick here is?

"Effective January 31, 2010, the ministry will discontinue funding the province’s Early Intensive Behavioural Intervention (EIBI) programs that currently serve 70 children in seven communities at a cost of almost $5 million annually."
– I am sure the families of those 70 children are proud to be Canadian and will enjoy attending the Olympics (not).

"Savings will also be re-directed to fund the increase in ‘Autism Funding: Under 6’ to more than 800 families."
– Savings? What savings? There are savings? redirected how? Is this the 2K? How do they make these decisions?

"In these challenging economic times, we have given priority to our most needy children and continue to provide immediate individual funding as soon as a child is diagnosed with ASD,” said Polak."
– no comment needed here…

[Andrea Finch]

Link to B.C. Government announcement

Further to Todd's earlier post, here is a link to the News Release – http://www2.news.gov.bc.ca/news_releases_2009-2013/2009CFD0003-000348.htm – if this doesn't work, it should be on the government's website.

The gist is: the funding for those who run home-based ABA programmes remains in place. The government-contracted EIBI programmes, which apparently serve 70 individuals in 8 B.C. communities at a cost of $5 million per year, will be terminated as of January 2010.

I think one of the key pieces for those of us running home-based ABA programmes is the move away from Direct Funding to Invoice Payment – here is the excerpt:

· Effective October, 2009, the ministry will begin moving families from Direct Funding to Invoice Payment in the Autism Funding Programs in order to improve accountability and increase efficiency.

o Direct Funding: Families manage their child’s funds and pay service providers.

o Invoice Payment: Families choose the service but the ministry manages the child’s funds and pays service providers when it receives an invoice.

Given that the government wants to start moving in this direction next month (ie. starting in a couple of weeks), I would really appreciate either public posts to this board, or messages sent to me privately at andreafinch@shaw.ca, from any FEAT families who can offer perspective or commentary on whether this has ever arisen in the past, and if so, what if anything was discussed.

Thanks all,
Andrea

[Todd Dea]

MAJOR AUTISM PROGRAM CHANGES TO BE ANNOUNCED !!

Anyone seen this yet ?? The announcement is supposed to be at 11:30 this morning !!

http://www.publiceyeonline.com/archives/004273.html

[Super Dad]

*** REMINDER ***

North Shore ASBC Lecture Series

The North Shore ASBC Support Group proudly presents:

Supporting our children in school:
the law, the IEP, and the advocacy
by
Mike Hancock
and
Harmony House
at
7:00pm, Sept 15
in the North Building of the
Delbrook Recreation Centre in North Vancouver

We are very pleased to have the following guest speakers at our upcoming session:

1. Mike Hancock: Mike is a parent of a child with autism, and a former in-house counsel for the Vancouver School Board. He has also previously worked in private practice with a focus on education law. He will review our children's right under the School Act.

2. Bohdanna Popowycz Kvam and Michele Shilvock: Bohdanna and Michele are behavior consultants with extensive experience in the school setting. They will review the art of writing an IEP.

This is a great opportunity for anyone with a school-aged child, or with a child coming up to school age, to learn and ask questions about how to work at integrating your home-based ABA programme into the school system.

DATE: Tuesday, Sept 15, 2009
TIME: 7 – 9 pm
LOCATION: Delbrook Recreation Centre, North Building (600 West Queens Road, North Vancouver)

For those going north/west on Highway #1: take exit 17 for Westview Dr, turn right at Westview Dr, and then turn right at Queens Rd. For those going east on Highway #1: take exit 17 for Westview Dr, turn left at Westview Dr, and then turn right at Queens Rd.

Coffee/Tea and snacks provided. Donations are greatly appreciated.

Please RSVP to Carol at colemanmoser@hotmail.com

Carol and Tony
(Co-facilitators for ASBC North Shore Group)

[Nancy Walton]

Thanks for a great summary Peter.

I'd like to add that you can buy your child's tickets at Safeway and save $3. You can buy a combo PNE gate pass and ride pass. Keep in mind this is different than the Ride Pass, which is for NON-PNE dates (july etc) and different than the PNE Ride pass which doesn't inlcude gate entrance (sometimes kids get free gate entrance with school report cards).

If you go the non-PNE days, there are not as many junior rides available. So, even though the PNE makes the Rides more expensive, there are more there.

Only one day left. Happy autumn everyone.

[Peter Wong]

Dear parents,

Thanks a lot for so many useful tips and sharing. We went to the PNE/Playland and my boy had a wonderful time (it was not 100% smooth, but very good already).

Here is just a summary based on our experiences and many sharing from other parents:

* The PNE is great for kids with autism.
* One adult is free with one special kid. So purchase the ticket at the entrance for the kid and the care giver (others can get the discounted tickets from 7-11).
* For PNE only, special PNE guest fare (not including the rides) is about $10; therefore $10 is good for one kid and one adult.
* For PNE + rides, the price is about $10 (special guest fare) + the ride fare (depends on the height of the kid). The adult is free (including rides) with the kid.
* Once entering into the Playland, you can pay $10 for an “exit pass” (go to Playland Customer Service, explain that the child has autism and is unable to wait in lineups.) The kid and ALL those in his party can go to the front of the line via the exit (useful when the kid has low tolerance for waiting, and super great for getting friends to LOVE begin with the kid).
* Some rides have minimum and maximum height requirements; it will be nice to have someone (maybe another kid) about the same height as the kid’s partner.
* If the adult cannot get on the ride with the kid, it is OK to let the staff knows that you are not taking the ride but just go in to make sure everything is fine (such as fit into the seat and be buckled in safely). Once everything is set, then you can leave the ride area using the exit gate.
* It is better to go to PNE/Playland area in less crowded hours.
****** Weekdays (non-holidays)
****** As early as possible.

I am sure there is more, but here is what I have so far.

Cheers and have fun.

Peter

[Super Dad]

We’re back!

North Shore ASBC Lecture Series

The North Shore ASBC Support Group proudly presents:

Supporting our children in school:
the law, the IEP, and the advocacy
by
Mike Hancock
and
Harmony House
at
7:00pm, Sept 15
in the North Building of the
Delbrook Recreation Centre in North Vancouver

We are very pleased to have the following guest speakers at our upcoming session:

1. Mike Hancock: Mike is a parent of a child with autism, and a former in-house counsel for the Vancouver School Board. He has also previously worked in private practice with a focus on education law. He will review our children's right under the School Act.

2. Bohdanna Popowycz Kvam and Michele Shilvock: Bohdanna and Michele are behavior consultants with extensive experience in the school setting. They will review the art of writing an IEP.

This is a great opportunity for anyone with a school-aged child, or with a child coming up to school age, to learn and ask questions about how to work at integrating your home-based ABA programme into the school system.

DATE: Tuesday, Sept 15, 2009
TIME: 7 – 9 pm
LOCATION: Delbrook Recreation Centre, North Building (600 West Queens Road, North Vancouver)

For those going north/west on Highway #1: take exit 17 for Westview Dr, turn right at Westview Dr, and then turn right at Queens Rd. For those going east on Highway #1: take exit 17 for Westview Dr, turn left at Westview Dr, and then turn right at Queens Rd.

Coffee/Tea and snacks provided. Donations are greatly appreciated.

Please RSVP to Carol at colemanmoser@hotmail.com

Carol and Tony
(Co-facilitators for ASBC North Shore Group)

[Peter Wong]

Dear parents,

I plan to take my boy to PNE/Playland for the first time. Any tips will be very appreciated.

Many thanks.

Peter

v;a;n;c;o;u;v;e;r;p;e;t;e;r AT gmail.com (please remove the ;)

[Super Dad]

Hello everyone,

Would you please recommend an optometrist who is good with our kids? Thanks in advance.

Tony
tony.tamer@yahoo.com

[Super Dad]

SCAM ALERT

No I'm not talking about RDI or brainwave biofeedback.

This was posted on the ASBC chat board this morning:

"I just recieved a phone call from a woman who says there is someone phoning around and asking for donations to the Autism Society. This has nothing to do with us…we do not solicit donations. Please be advised."

Tony

[Author]

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