Mr. Speaker, I want to continue with the autism questioning. I just want to be clear, to make sure that everything gets on the record so parents can get access for their children for services.
As I highlighted earlier in my questions about the limited ability to receive speech and OT therapy, I wasn’t 100 per cent clear on the fact that…. Can parents access funding through the Yellowknife Health and Social Services Authority to obtain speech and OT therapy in the community, if it’s available and in the community to access?
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.
Mr. Speaker, I’m not aware of parents being able to receive funding from Yellowknife Health and Social Services Authority or any authority.
What I’m telling the Member is that parents can receive the services. We still have more speech therapists — or any other specialists — that the children with autism or any other disability need. They’re mostly hired by the health authorities. There is a team of people who would work with children and families to provide the services they need.
You have to understand that children with autism come with all sorts of individual and varying degrees of needs. Some children with autism are much more high-functioning than others. Children need different care at different stages of their life, and our health care system and the social service system are available to intervene as needed by different professionals that can help them.
Parents are flocking to the province of Alberta, because Alberta sees this as an issue on which they can make significant ground on this disorder by early intervention.
The issue I keep bringing up is the fact of early intervention for speech and OT therapy, which I would prefer to always fall under the umbrella of Stanton Hospital and that leadership, but it can’t happen in every case.
When I say “access private services,” I want it to be seen that I’m not advocating that’s the best or the only result. But it seems to be the only one to access extra service.
Can the Minister describe this team and how many hours are being provided as speech and OT therapy within the Stanton unit so parents can access it?
I am aware that the Alberta government has instituted intensive behavioural intervention programs. It is one of the most aggressive programs in the country, but it’s not something that’s available everywhere, and the success and merits of that Alberta program are not conclusive.
I do also believe this is an area where the federal government needs to step in to provide some comprehensive national response.
With respect to Yellowknife or the Territories, it is really hard to speak about exactly what services are available to children without knowing exactly who the child is. Autism is not a one-time, one-situation condition. It’s something a child and family have to live with throughout life.
What I’m saying is that we have programs available in schools, at hospitals, with rehab teams. Whether they need a psychologist, speech therapist or physiotherapist, the child in need and the family have to…. If the Member wants to give me the name of the person, I’d be happy to look into that, but it is a multifaceted and multistage process that the GNWT provides.
I’m finally really glad to say that I can agree with the Minister in the sense of this being a federal responsibility. I’m glad the day has come that we both see eye to eye on this issue.
The program provided through the Ministry through Yellowknife Health and Social Services Authority goes down to the NWT Council for Persons with Disabilities. Right now, as I understand it, there are 14 people on that list providing services only a couple of hours a week. Furthermore, there are 14 on the waiting list.
The issue really is, where is the framework and policy to develop this concept, to make sure we’re providing the best services for families and children with autism? That’s really the question: where is that framework, so we can move forward on this issue?
I have worked with parents of children with autism, and I am aware of situations in Yellowknife where certain children with autism have someone with them the entire day at school because that child needs a full-time aide every minute he is in school.
What I’m saying is it’s hard to talk about how many hours we provide a child with autism. My answer is: it depends. It depends on the needs of the child as well as what services are available. Children with autism sometimes need…. I don’t know; I’m not a professional. I think that’s all I can say for now.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. Final supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.
The issue keeps coming around to this, which is the framework. We need a framework so we have a baseline to work from. We don’t have to look too far — just a little south of us; Alberta — to see what they’re doing with their ABA, the Applied Behaviour Analysis, and their IBI, which is the Intensive Behaviour Intervention. Would the Minister work on a framework so we have a model developed on those principles?
Yes, I did indicate in my letter to the Member that we are working on a framework to have a coordinated intervention plan. I look forward to having this framework reviewed with the standing committee members and working to make it more concrete through our upcoming business-development process.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
