Fundy Speech Pathology Clinic

telegraphjournal.com – City seen as front-runner in autism intervention | Mark Iype – Breaking News, New Brunswick, Canada

SAINT JOHN – Saint John’s growing autistic community is being well served, and the provincial government should be lauded for funding programs for children that may have otherwise fallen through the cracks, say local advocates.

“The government deserves a lot of credit,” said Sharon Gainforth, executive director of Stepping Stone Fundy Region, an organization tasked with dealing with pre-school-aged autistic children. “I never dreamed they would put out a chunk of change like that for our kids.”

Gainforth, a speech pathologist who has worked with the autistic community for more than two decades, said government funding provided seven years ago for helping young autistic children has made a world of difference for countless kids.

“From the moment a child is diagnosed, until they head to school, we can provide some of the most effective intervention for those kids,” she said. “But the key is early intervention.”

Gainforth said autistic children often struggle with developing effective communication and social skills, something that most kids learn easily and incrementally. And the sooner they can be assessed and helped, the easier their transition will be for school and beyond, she said.

While no firm numbers on how many people are coping with autism in Saint John exist, Debbie McDonald, executive director of the Community Autism Centre, said her group is currently working with about 800 families.

McDonald said her group helps connect people with autism programs from youth until well into adulthood, when the availability of services for people struggling with the little-understood condition begin to wane.

“Autism isn’t something that people outgrow,” she said.

One thing McDonald and Gainforth both agree on is that people are best served when autism is caught early – something parents, physicians and teachers are getting better at.

And that is where Stepping Stone fills the need.

Children going through the Stepping Stone program are referred by the government, which fully funds the centre. Gainforth said if a child is diagnosed, the physician notifies the Department of Education (they administer the program), who then forward that child’s information to Stepping Stone.

Gainforth said from diagnosis to intervention, it can be “just a matter of weeks.”

Stepping Stone runs the program for children from the moment they are diagnosed – sometimes as young as 18 months – until they “graduate” to kindergarten at the age of five. Each child works with a team of specialists, including a speech pathologist and an occupational therapist, to meet the individual needs of the family.

“Intervention works best when it is tailored to each child,” Gainforth said. “And we try really hard to do that.”

Stepping Stone runs morning and afternoon sessions for up to 70 children at their facility on Adelaide Street, as well as a satellite program from their office in the Kennebecasis Valley. The city facility is well-equipped with toys, musical instruments and a large playroom with a fishing village theme, including a floor to ceiling mock lighthouse.

The children get the services of a personal aide, and they are exposed to various stimulating activities that teach both how to concentrate on a task, and how to communicate with others.

Christian Whalen, acting child and youth advocate with the New Brunswick government, said the province has worked hard to be seen as a leader when it comes to autism intervention.

“If you make the investments, and you make them early enough, lives can take another twist,” said Whalen.

Whalen said extensive research on autism in the province has been conducted, and Saint John is the model for the rest of New Brunswick.

via telegraphjournal.com – City seen as front-runner in autism intervention | Mark Iype – Breaking News, New Brunswick, Canada.