Whereas the wait time for diagnostic assessment for children and youth who are suspected of having an Autism Spectrum Disorder or other neurodevelopment conditions is unacceptable at 2 years; And whereas these extended wait times puts delays on youth getting the support they need and deserve and puts pressure on other institutions to fill the gaps while families wait: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM lobby the provincial government to reduce the wait time for diagnostic assessment for children and youth who are suspected of having an Autism Spectrum Disorder or other neurodevelopment conditions.
Ministry of Health In British Columbia, publicly funded assessments for Autism Spectrum Disorder ASD are conducted through the BC Autism Assessment Network BCAAN. The Complex Developmental Behavioural Conditions CDBC program provides publicly funded assessments for a variety of neurodevelopmental disorders, including intellectual disability and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. Both provincial programs offer assessments for children and youth up to 19 years old. BCAAN and CDBC are operated by the Sunny Hill Health Centre at BC Childrens Hospital, which falls under the umbrella of the Provincial Health Services Authority PHSA. While both programs strive to provide timely assessments for children and youth to help ensure they receive early intervention and specialized care, we know there are challenges in meeting current demand. The ongoing demand and issues related to recruitment and retention have made it challenging to minimize assessment wait times. BCAAN continues to take steps to increase capacity for ASD assessment and has developed several strategies to help mitigate increased wait times. This includes: - Increasing outreach clinics to the Northern Health and Island Health regions. - Undertaking a demonstration project with the BC Center for Ability, the Ridge Meadows Child Development Centre, Island Health Authority and Northern Health Authority to enable Speech Language Pathologists to complete standardized assessment tools with the aim of increasing assessment capacity across the province. - Implementing streamlined assessments for children 3 years of age and younger, to assess those who are non-verbal and showing severe signs of autism typical behaviours. - Exploring with community pediatricians to assess highly symptomatic preschool children without time-intensive standardized tools. CDBC is also working diligently to develop strategies to decrease wait times and ensure equitable access throughout BC. Current provincial wait times are now in line with the CDBC-established wait time goal of six months. However, regional wait times vary. CDBC is taking action to expedite access to neurodevelopmental assessments, including: - Conducting clinical outreach, - Holding additional assessment clinics on weekends, - Hiring additional psychologists and pediatricians, and - Sourcing contracted agencies.