{"id":835082,"date":"2026-09-10T18:35:01","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T18:35:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/pressreleases\/?p=835082"},"modified":"2026-09-10T18:35:01","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T18:35:01","slug":"bc-autism-funding-changes-202627-kidstart-asks-families-what-they-need-before-the-new-benefit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/pressreleases\/bc-autism-funding-changes-202627-kidstart-asks-families-what-they-need-before-the-new-benefit_835082.html","title":{"rendered":"BC autism funding changes 2026-27: KidStart asks families what they need before the new benefit"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"BC<\/a><\/div>\n
KidStart Pediatric Therapy, Burnaby, has opened an anonymous seven-question survey asking BC families what they need as autism funding moves to a new benefit in 2026-27.<\/div>\n

BURNABY, BC – September 10, 2026 – KidStart Pediatric Therapy, a multidisciplinary children’s therapy clinic in Burnaby, has opened an anonymous survey asking British Columbia families what they need as the province replaces its individualized autism funding with a new disability benefit in 2027.<\/p>\n

The survey, at kidstartpediatrictherapy.com\/funding-changes-2027, asks seven questions, takes about five minutes, and collects no names and no details about any child. It is published in English and simplified Chinese. The clinic is running the survey to hear directly from the families it serves, alongside the advocacy work already under way from parent organizations across the province.<\/p>\n

What is changing<\/strong><\/p>\n

In February 2026 the Province announced that the Autism Funding Program and the School-Aged Extended Therapies benefit under the At Home Program will be replaced by the BC Children and Youth Disability Benefit, paid at $6,500 or $17,000 per year based on a child’s level of support needs rather than diagnosis or family income, with the higher amount set through support planning with a ministry worker. At Home Program medical benefits for equipment and supplies are unchanged. A separate, income-tested BC Children and Youth Disability Supplement of up to $6,000 per year is available to families whose child qualifies for the federal Disability Tax Credit, with first payments in July 2027. The benefit began rolling out in April 2026 and is provincewide from April 1, 2027, when the Autism Funding Program closes, and the Province has said the program stops accepting new families in March 2027.<\/p>\n

For a family currently funded at the higher autism rate, the practical question is what their child’s therapy looks like at a different amount, and whether a program built around the old funding still fits. That is the question the survey asks families to answer in their own words.<\/p>\n

What the survey asks<\/strong><\/p>\n

The seven questions cover which funding a family uses today, what the child’s therapy currently includes, what the family expects to be able to continue, what they would need a clinic to change, and what would help them most in the transition. Responses are anonymous. The clinic will use the aggregate answers to shape its program tiers and its information sessions before the 2027 changeover, and will publish what it learns on its website so any family can read the results.<\/p>\n

KidStart is redesigning its program tiers to fit the new funding amounts, and its position is that the families most affected should have a say in those programs before they are built.<\/p>\n

About the clinic<\/strong><\/p>\n

KidStart Pediatric Therapy was founded by Shawn Chuang, an occupational therapist listed on the province’s Registry of Autism Service Providers. The clinic provides pediatric occupational therapy, speech-language therapy, behaviour consultation and intervention, and counselling from a single Burnaby location, with an on-site sensory gym, and serves families in Burnaby, Vancouver, Coquitlam, New Westminster and across Metro Vancouver. In February 2026 the clinic was voted Gold in the Favourite Occupational Therapists category of BC Parent magazine’s reader-voted Family Favourites awards.<\/p>\n

The clinic also publishes a plain-language guide to the funding transition at kidstartpediatrictherapy.com\/funding-guide\/, in English and Chinese, and holds information sessions for families as the changeover approaches.<\/p>\n

About KidStart Pediatric Therapy<\/strong><\/p>\n

KidStart Pediatric Therapy is a children’s therapy clinic at 220-3355 North Road, Burnaby, BC, offering occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, behaviour consultation and counselling for children, teens and families. More information is available at https:\/\/www.kidstartpediatrictherapy.com\/<\/a>, the funding survey is at https:\/\/www.kidstartpediatrictherapy.com\/funding-changes-2027\/<\/a>, and the clinic’s Google Business Profile is at https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps?cid=12957404309071972034<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Media Contact<\/span>
Company Name:<\/strong> Kidstart Pediatric Therapy<\/a>
Contact Person:<\/strong> Shawn Chuang
Email:<\/strong> Send Email<\/a>
Phone:<\/strong> (604) 336-6885
Address:<\/strong>220-3355 North Rd
City:<\/strong> Burnaby
State:<\/strong> BC
Country:<\/strong> Canada
Website:<\/strong> https:\/\/www.kidstartpediatrictherapy.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KidStart Pediatric Therapy, Burnaby, has opened an anonymous seven-question survey asking BC families what they need as autism funding moves to a new benefit in 2026-27. BURNABY, BC – September 10, 2026 – KidStart Pediatric Therapy, a multidisciplinary children’s therapy … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[424,405],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-835082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-Family-Parenting","category-Health-Medicine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/pressreleases\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/pressreleases\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/pressreleases\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/pressreleases\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/pressreleases\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=835082"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/pressreleases\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835082\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/pressreleases\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=835082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/pressreleases\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=835082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/pressreleases\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=835082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}