Protect Autism Supports in BC
A Call to Action from Autism Family Friends
The BC government has announced the new BC Children & Youth Disability Benefit, a long‑overdue step toward ensuring that all disabled children receive the support they deserve. Autism Family Friends (AFF) welcomes this long‑awaited recognition of the broader disability community.
However, we are deeply concerned that this progress is being paired with the dismantling of the Autism Funding Program — a move that risks destabilizing the essential supports autistic children currently rely on.
Families deserve both:
✔️ Expanded disability funding for all children
✔️ Protection of the individualized Autism Funding that has supported autistic children for decades
What’s Changing?
The province plans to replace individualized Autism Funding with the new BC Children & Youth Disability Benefit. While the intention is to create a more inclusive system, families and advocates have raised serious concerns:
Loss of choice and flexibility in selecting providers
Disruption of long-standing therapeutic relationships
Unclear transition plans that may leave families without services
Increased waitlists in an already strained system
Reduced ability to tailor supports to each autistic child’s unique needs
Families are being asked to trust a system that has not yet demonstrated how it will meet the diverse needs of autistic children.
Why This Matters
The Autism Funding Program has allowed families to:
Choose providers who understand their child’s communication and sensory needs
Build stable, long-term support relationships
Access individualized, neurodiversity‑affirming care
Maintain continuity during school transitions and developmental changes
Removing this structure without a proven alternative risks:
Regression in skills and communication
Loss of trusted providers
Increased stress on families
Greater inequities between communities
Autistic children deserve stability, dignity, and individualized support — not uncertainty.
AFF’s Position
Autism Family Friends supports the expansion of disability funding to all children.
But we firmly oppose dismantling the Autism Funding Program without a clear, safe, and family‑informed replacement.
We call for:
Meaningful consultation with autistic people and families
Protection of existing supports during any transition
Transparent plans for how the new benefit will meet diverse needs
Choice and flexibility for families
Equitable access across BC
A transition that does not leave autistic children without services
What You Can Do Now
Read AFF’s Official Statement on Changes to BC Autism and Disability Funding
Sign the Petition to save individualized funding for BC Kids with ASD on Change.org
Write a letter to your MLA: