Cross-disability equity is overdue. Levelling down isn't the way to deliver it.

What the reform does to early intervention for every child under six.

This briefing uses the government's own numbers to walk through the reform in eight short sections: the expansion that's genuinely needed, the financing choice that undercuts it, and four amendments that fix it without scrapping anything.

For 24 years, BC routed disability support through one diagnosis

Children with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), complex genetic profiles, Global Developmental Delay (GDD), or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) alone have not received the same individualized direct funding that Autistic children received. Some have received no funding. Expanding direct funding beyond the Autism diagnosis is genuinely overdue.

"Many children and youth, such as those with Global Developmental Delay, ADHD, complex trauma, Developmental Coordination Disorder, FASD and Down syndrome are not able to access direct funding support through these programs."

Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD), Community Engagement Report

An income-blind envelope becomes a tiered, assessed benefit

Open to more disabilities, but smaller per child.

Out: Autism Funding

• Up to $22,000 a year for any child under 6 with an Autism diagnosis
• Income-blind, with no means test

In: BC Children and Youth Disability Benefit

• Open to all qualifying disabilities, not just Autism
• Needs-assessed: $17,000 or $6,500

Also: BC Children and Youth Disability Supplement

Income-tested, and only for children who qualify for the federal Disability Tax Credit (DTC). Up to $6,000. First payment July 2027.

What the reform actually reaches

"New money" and "existing services not cut". Can both be true?

The under-six early-intervention envelope is being redirected and redistributed across a much larger eligible population, while the per-child maximum for the youngest drops from $22,000 to $17,000, $6,500 or $0.

Inside the Autism caseload, the same shrinkage

The remainder are directed to the income-tested, federally gated Supplement (where eligible) or to community-based programming (if available in their region).

Meet 3-year-old "Ollie", the Ministry's own illustration

Verbal Autistic child, ADHD, no intellectual disability, household income $120,000.

"Ollie does not qualify for the BC Children and Youth Disability Benefit."

MCFD, Guide for Current Service Recipients, p. 29

You can't reliably apply a benefit tier to a 3-year-old

The evidence is clear, and it comes from the Ministry's own cited sources.

Assumption 1: a child's support tier can be set from a point-in-time assessment under six

27% of children initially presenting with mild symptoms follow a worsening trajectory.

Kim et al., Variability in Autism Symptom Trajectories, 2018

Assumption 2: severity at age three predicts severity later on

"Children who will have substantial delays (resulting in intellectual disabilities) are not clearly distinguishable from those who will develop fluent speech and potentially function more independently… 'profound Autism' is not appropriate for young children."

The Lancet Commission on Autism, 2022 (cited by MCFD as its own authority)

Four amendments. None require scrapping the reform.

1. Age-weighted early-intervention tier for all children under 6 with emerging or established functional support needs, regardless of diagnosis.
2. Transitional protection. Children currently on Autism Funding are placed at the $17,000 high-needs tier until their 6th birthday, so no child mid-intervention is dropped during the transition.
3. Annual independent evaluation of the program, publicly reported.
4. Funding-adequacy floor on the envelope, never as a therapy-hours quota a child must meet.