Burnaby’s Monarch House a one-stop shop for autistic children
The Autism News | English
Jennifer Jacobs says she knew something was amiss with her son Oliver when he was only two weeks old.
She had the experience of having two older children and was concerned that Oliver developed severe acid reflux and didn’t sleep more than two hours until sometime after his second birthday.
“He would scream like he was in distress.”
At one years old Oliver started focusing on repetition and rituals. “He would watch the same Teletubbies video over and over and over. If you stopped it he’d freak out.”
Jacobs tried to have her son assessed but their doctors in New Zealand, where they were living at the time, told her not to worry, that it was just a developmental delay and that they should treat the acid reflux first.
A couple years ago, the family returned home to B.C., settling in North Vancouver. Faced with a six-month waitlist to get Oliver diagnosed in the public health system, and knowing early intervention is crucial, Jacobs chose Monarch House Autism Centre in Burnaby.
Operated by private health care provider CBI Health Group, the autism treatment centre was able to do the assessment within a couple weeks. Jacobs’ family helped cover the $2,600 cost.
She recalled it was difficult to watch the assessments, because she could tell Oliver wasn’t faring very well.
And when he was finally formally diagnosed with autism, Jacobs, 37, can’t say she was particularly surprised.
Nevertheless, “I was completely overwhelmed, it’s ‘I don’t know what to do.’”
Growing awareness of autism
Jacobs realizes now how fortunate the family is to be in British Columbia. While funding varies from province to province, for about 10 years B.C.’s Ministry of Children and Family Development has provided $22,000 per year to cover the cost of therapy for each child under age six diagnosed with autism.
This is where Monarch House comes back into the picture for Jacobs.
Located in the former regional headquarters for 7-Eleven just off Canada Way, which was gutted and rebuilt specifically for Monarch House’s needs, it was created to help families deal with the complexities they face in ensuring their autistic children can receive therapy in a timely fashion, explained Chelsea Ganam, its director of clinical services.
Once eligible for funding, parents have to navigate government bureaucracy, keep on top of waitlists, find and hire behaviour interventionists and other treatment providers, schedule them and deal with payroll, purchase learning resources, all while dealing with the stress of having to constantly advocate for their children.
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