One in 57 NL youth could be living with autism, one in 66 is the national average

Jessica Wyatt, who is a navigator with the Autism Society NL in the western  region. She says patients must first get an autism assessment done with a family doctor and then be referred to autism diagnostic services within NL Health Services.

April 2nd was World Autism Acceptance Day. On Last week’s edition of the Plain Truth on Bayfm, host Paula Sheeppard explains how rates in this province are higher than the national numbers. In 2018, 1 in 66 Canadian Youth are expected to have autism spectrum disorder but in NL it’s estimated that 1 in 57 youth between 5 and 17 could be living with autism.

Sheppard’s guest was Jessica Wyatt, who is a navigator with the Autism Society NL in the western  region. Autism affects people differently because no two brains are the same. Wyatt says patients must first get an autism assessment done with a family doctor and then be referred to autism diagnostic services within NL Health Services. She says based on feedback the waitlist for youn people ages 2-18 for publicly funded services is 2-3 years and for those 18plus it can take five years. 

Wyatt says another option is through a private psychological service which is out of pocket and is quite costly. She says there is also a wait list due to a lack of professionals that can offer diagnostic services. Wyatt says there are gaps in schools with not enough resources and as a result, children are not spending the full day in school.   For more information go to asnl.ca.