In the News
Behind every policy change is a family living it. This page gathers news coverage and family voices from across British Columbia as parents and caregivers navigate the changes to autism and disability funding. These are the real experiences the headlines are made of — the worry, the advocacy, and the fight to be heard. We share them because your story matters, and because the more clearly these voices are heard, the harder they are to ignore.
Maple Ridge parent scared to lose autism funding for son
Maple Ridge mother and advocate, Amy Perras fears the 2027 funding changes will cut her family's support roughly in half. Her 14-year-old son Zennor — who has multiple disabilities including autism and a degenerative disease — currently receives $23,280 a year through the At Home Program, School-Aged Extended Therapies, and the Autism Funding Unit, all set to end March 31, 2027. Under the replacement Child and Youth Disability Benefit and Disability Supplement, she worries he could drop to the $6,500 base tier, and that her younger child Araya, also autistic, will lose direct funding entirely. Perras says the government has shared little beyond online information and hasn't told families which tier their children will fall into. The article includes Minister Jodie Wickens' statement that the $475-million, three-year investment will reach thousands of families for the first time, and Opposition critic Reann Gasper's call to strengthen mental-health and crisis supports — and notes advocates have nearly reached their goal to fund a legal opinion on challenging the policy.
Photo: Amy Perras and her children, Zennor (left) and Araya. Special to The News / Maple Ridge News.
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Is BC's New Disability Funding Putting Some Kids at Risk?
Two mothers and advocates — Sara Lindberg of Port Moody and Lynn Henderson of Fernie — say they welcome extending disability support to more children, but can't understand why the new model will cut support for their own autistic kids. Their children have Level 1 autism without a co-occurring intellectual disability, and under the Ministry's transition materials they appear unlikely to qualify for the new benefit's automatic-inclusion pathway. The piece walks through how current autism funding (up to $22,000 a year for young children) will be replaced next April by a needs-based benefit of $6,500 to $17,000, details the families' financial strain, and cites UBC researcher Connor Kerns, who says their concerns are justified because suicide risk is elevated among autistic people without an intellectual disability. The Ministry maintains that no child will be left without some form of support.
Photo: Lynn Henderson (left) and Sara Lindberg. Photos supplied / The Tyee.
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