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(Canada) B.C. parents of almost 3,000 kids wait over a year for ASD assessment

Dec 13, 2018, Global News: B.C. Children’s Hospital working to reduce autism assessment waits https://globalnews.ca/news/4759612/bc-childrens-hospital-autism-assessment-wait-times/ A report into the disturbing case of young boy with autism has focused new attention on the delays in getting children diagnosed with the disorder. As Catherine Urquhart reports, the wait can still be more than a year. B.C. Children’s Hospital says it is working to meet a key recommendation made by B.C.’s Representative for Children and Youth when it comes to autism assessment waits in the province …. 2,800 children in B.C. are waiting to be assessed, and the wait times are lengthy, averaging 55 weeks. In the Northern Health Region, the average wait is 62 weeks. B.C. Children’s Hospital oversees assessments in the province. “I’m excited to work towards that goal. … This year we will do an additional 400 plus assessments and train an additional 12 or more assessors,” Linda Lemke, chief operating officer, told Global News, Juliet Henderson-Rahbar has been waiting more than a year to have her 13-year-old daughter Persia assessed. When asked if she thinks the waits are acceptable, she responded, “No, not at all, but I think we’ve learned to accept it.”…

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