[Winnipeg, MB – November 21, 2016] Parents who have concerns about the development of their children can get access to early autism screening and parent training intervention for their children while waiting for diagnostic assessment. The Winnipeg Foundation has provided a second year of funding to Manitoba Families for Effective Autism Treatment (MFEAT) and project manager Dr. Kirsten Wirth, C.Psych., BCBA-D from Wirth Behavioural Health Services to provide this service.

In the past year this project has supported 31 families by providing early screening to children whose parents had concerns about their development. Forty-four percent of children referred by the project for diagnostic assessment were seen by a Developmental Pediatrician, 64% received an earlier diagnosis than without the aid of the project. At the end of the first year (i.e., October 2016) the project had a waitlist of 11 children for the parent training intervention portion of the service. Many parents who received the service have indicated it was invaluable to them, helped them learn to manage their children’s behaviour problems, helped them navigate the system before and after diagnosis, helped them learn to support and teach their children, and fostered the parent-child relationship.

Research shows that parents often have accurate concerns about their child’s development around 6-12 months, long before receiving a referral for autism diagnosis. It also indicates that in Canada autism continues to be under-diagnosed and the average age of diagnosis is around four years old. In Manitoba these numbers do not account for children who are diagnosed at school-age, as diagnostics are not centralized and children receive a mixture of public and private assessment services. Late assessment may be particularly harmful to a child’s development, as research shows that the earlier a child receives intervention the better the outcome.

In Manitoba children will age-out of eligibility for critical services after sitting on extensive waitlists if they turn 5, or will be ineligible due to receiving a later diagnosis. Therefore, early identification and behavioural intervention is critical to children with autism, and treatment outcomes will reduce autism symptoms as well as decrease long term costs to families and funders. The early identification project will continue to help parents to achieve access to assessment, as well as some intervention while they are waiting.

 

Parents can access the service by contacting Wirth Behavioural Health Services @ 204-807-6779, emailing Dr. Wirth at dr.kirsten.wirth@gmail.com, or the contact page on http://www.wirthbehaviouralhealth.com. The project is expected to run until at least October 2017.

We are pleased to report that we are now offering 2 summer camps for ages 2-8, one focused on building social and play skills with some academic focus, and one specifically on school readiness and academic skills. The camps will be held in Sky’s the limit Montessori in Birds Hill (East St. Paul) and geared towards children with social-emotional difficulties, autism, adhd, and related areas. More information can be found on the summer camps page @ www.wirthbehaviouralhealth.com/summer-camps

Check out this article by Sheldon Birnie in this week’s Herald talking about Wirth Behavioural Health Services and our parenting seminars at Bronx Park Community Centre! http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communities/herald/Going-by-the-evidence-304623551.html

If you didn’t get a chance to hear Dr. Wirth on CJOB April 27th talking with Charles Adler about the importance of early identification and diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders, you can listen on CJOB’s soundcloud @ https://soundcloud.com/thecharlesadlershow/groundbreaking-research-into​

From autism to toilet training to managing your child’s behaviour, we are now providing seminars to parents! Check out our Events page for a listing of upcoming seminars and registration information.

Wirth Behavioural Health Services is now accepting clients who would like to receive psychological treatment using applied behaviour analysis. Applied behaviour analysis (ABA) is an approach within psychology that systematically uses the principles of learning to change socially significant behaviours.

We are available to provide consultation and workshops upon request in Winnipeg and surrounding areas. Please click on “services” to see a list of possibilities.