Teaching Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Planning Support for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders Chapter Eight
The Community Based Services for Children with Special Needs
Program, (CBSCSN), assists children with diagnosed disabilities and
their families to function as independently as possible within their
communities. CBSCSN is a voluntary program based on eligibility
criteria, that assists families in providing the extraordinary care and
support required to maintain their children at home. Services are focused
on children with severe physical, mental, intellectual or emotional/behaviour
disabilities, or a combination of disabilities that
significantly interfere with the normal development process of the
child.
Families having children with special needs (0-19 yrs) can apply
to Family and Community Services for services to support their child
remaining in the home. If deemed eligible, based upon their individual
requirements, they could receive one or more services .There is a Family
Financial Participation Policy and this family contribution is based
on the family's net income and ability to pay.
Regional Health Authorities
Services provided to schools and preschoolers in the community are
provided primarily through the New Brunswick Extra-Mural Program
(EMP). Professional services are provided to preschool children who
meet eligibility criteria and students with a diagnosis of ASD in school
through the Support Services to Education (SSE) program. There are
instances where children with ASD may access services from the
hospital sector, particularly for diagnostic purposes and for specialized
paediatric medical services. Other hospital based services provided
may include developmental team assessments, psychology, occupational
therapy, speech language pathology, physiotherapy, and/or dietitian
services. These services may be associated with a developmental
assessment team located in the hospital, professionals with specific
expertise in ASD, and/or availability of physicians for diagnostic
purposes.
Professional services provided by the EMP and Hospitals for children
with ASD may include any of the following:
• Occupational Therapist
An occupational therapist (OT) focuses on enabling a person
to participate in everyday activities such as learning, performing
self-care, working, playing, and living independently. The OT’s
role in screening, assessment, consultation, and program
development is to determine underlying postural, motor, sensory
integrative and perceptual deficits which interfere with a person’s
ability to perform various activities/tasks.
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