PROVINCE FUNDS STUDENTS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER

VICTORIA – The Province will provide special needs funding to all students diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Education Minister Shirley Bond announced today in recognition of Autism Awareness Month.

“Until now, only students diagnosed with autism were eligible for special needs funding,” Bond said. “But we recognize that all students diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder need support to help them succeed in school, and that’s why we are providing special needs funding for those students as well.”

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) includes autism as well as other diagnoses like Asperger’s syndrome and Rett's disorder. School districts will receive $16,000 a year for each student diagnosed with ASD.

The Ministry of Education is currently collecting information from school districts to determine how many students will be eligible for the funding. Last year, the Province provided $41.5 million in special needs funding for nearly 2,600 students identified with autism.

Families of diagnosed children under age six also have access to up to $20,000 per year in direct funding to assist with the cost of purchasing necessary services including Applied Behavioural Analysis. Families of school-aged children ages six through 18 have access to up to $6,000 per year to assist with the cost of purchasing out-of-school autism intervention.

“Two of the Province’s goals are to make B.C. the best-educated, most literate jurisdiction on the continent and to provide the best system of support for people with special needs,” said Bond. “We’re making the investments necessary to turn that vision into a reality for British Columbians, and we appreciate the hard work of all our education partners and other committed groups.”

The Province has also introduced a new tool to help school districts support students with ASD. The ASD Instructional and Support Planning Tool helps assess a student’s unique strengths, as well as areas in which the student needs more help. The tool can also provide practical assistance, helping school districts and educators develop individual education plans, and structuring discussions with classroom teachers and parents about a student’s needs. The tool was piloted last year in the Bulkley Valley, Rocky Mountain, Surrey and Victoria school districts, and is now available to all districts.

“The planning tool helps us explore each unique student’s experience with ASD and determine an educational program that will work for that student,” said Brian Pepper, Prince George school district superintendent. “We’ve made it mandatory here – every new student with ASD will get the benefit of this tool.”

The Provincial Outreach Program for Autism and Related Disorders (POPARD) operated by the Delta school district is also working with post-secondary partners to expand its teacher training to other centres, including Nelson and Prince George. The Province provides $2.5 million a year for POPARD, one of 54 provincial resource programs fully funded by the Ministry of Education and operated by school boards. In 2005-06, the Province provided $26.6 million to school boards to operate provincial resource programs.

“This government is deeply committed to ensuring children with autism have the supports and services they need to reach their full potential,” said Linda Reid, Minister of State for Childcare.

The Province provides more than a half billion dollars a year in funding for students with special needs. The funding is part of an overall K-12 education budget of $5.196 billion – the highest ever.

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Media contact:	Public Affairs Bureau Ministry of Education 250 356-5963

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