Let’s start by addressing the fact that services here in British Columbia for autism are extremely limited. If a child is diagnosed with autism they receive some provincial funding for autism services, but there really are very few services. If you lived in the United States your child would receive an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) that specifies what level your child is functioning at socially and academically, based upon current assessments. The IEP would specify exactly what services are being provided to support each of your child’s areas of need. It would list the number of minutes they WILL receive services by speech and language pathologists, specialized teachers, occupational therapist and so on. Often an assessment is done using school specific assessment tools such as the Partington assessment tools. Here is a link to their website:

https://partingtonbehavioranalysts.com

Most of the younger children I worked with in the Bay Area were assessed and tracked using the The ABLLS-R.

This criterion-referenced assessment is designed to measure a child’s ability to 544 basic language and learning skills from four major areas of development that are typically acquired by developing children before they enter kindergarten. The ABLLS-R is most often used with younger children to help ensure that they develop the basic language and learning skills that will allow them to be able to learn from everyday interactions. The major grouping of skills are the Basic Language and Learner Skills, Academic Skills, Self-Help Skills, and Motor Skills. This assessment focuses on the set of skills that are easiest first before moving into those that are generally more difficult to learn, making it easier for parents and educators to easily identify what skills a child already has, as well as the ones they should focus on next.

The services are provided in a specialized classroom by a specialized staff, including a Certified Special Education Teacher. We do not have certified/licensed special education teachers here and many people moving from the US in the field have been told they don’t qualify to teach in BC as we don’t have a specific category for special education teachers.

In BC your child is “mainstreamed” into a regular classroom, which may sound good, but in reality your child is supervised in the regular classroom by a para-professional teacher aide. This, in spite of the fact that your child needs specialized lessons focused on their needs as based upon their educational assessment. As autism spectrum disorder is a social learning disorder your child most likely needs small group experiences.

A great website to learn about what services should be provided for pre-teens and teens visit the site of Michelle Garcia Winner. Her social thinking program is key to social success for older students with autism:

https://www.socialthinking.com

Finally, here in Vancouver you should visit the website of ACT - Autism Community Training, and check with your child’s school about what services are provided through their relationship with POPPARD - the Provincial Outreach Program for Autism and Related Disorders:

https://www.actcommunity.ca

https://autismoutreach.ca

Finally, you might be interested in reading the educational handbook for another province, to compare with BC. Here is a copy of the Nova Scotia Autism Handbook:

Nova Scotia Handbook: https://studentservices.ednet.ns.ca/sites/default/files/Developing%20and%20Implementing%20Programming%20for%20Students%20with%20ASD.pdf

Remember, for most students with autism the key issue is social communication, that’s what the IEP should address, and it is learned best during small group work.