Autism Funding BC  | Counselling in Vancouver & Port Moody

With autism funding BC, eligible families pay nothing out of pocket for counselling services. The government provides up to $22,000 per year for children under 6, and up to $6,000 per year for children ages 6-18. We bill the provincial government directly, so there are no upfront costs for your family. This funding covers individual therapy for your child, family counselling sessions, and sibling support – whatever configuration works best for your family’s needs.

Yes, autism funding BC covers both individual therapy for your child and family therapy sessions. Many families find that working together as a unit is the most effective approach – it helps everyone understand each other better, improves communication, and ensures that strategies we develop in therapy actually work in your day-to-day life. You can use your funding for sessions with just your child, sessions with parents, sibling sessions, or whole-family meetings. We’ll help you figure out the combination that makes the most sense for what your family is dealing with.

No. We handle direct billing with the BC government, which means you never have to pay out of pocket and wait for reimbursement. Once your funding is approved, we bill the province directly for each session. This removes the financial barrier and administrative burden that many families face when trying to access support. You shouldn’t have to front hundreds or thousands of dollars while waiting for reimbursement – we take care of that process entirely.

The timeline for Autism Funding BC approval varies, but we help streamline the process by ensuring your application is complete and accurate from the start. We’ll walk you through exactly what documentation you need, help you understand the application requirements, and coordinate with any other services your child receives. While we can’t control government processing times, we can make sure nothing on your end delays the approval.

Yes, Autism Funding BC covers virtual therapy sessions throughout the province. Many families find that online sessions work better for their schedules, eliminate travel stress, or feel more comfortable for children who struggle with new environments. We offer both in-person sessions at our Vancouver and Port Moody offices, as well as virtual sessions via secure video platform. Some families do a combination – maybe virtual sessions during the school year and in-person during summer. The funding covers both, so you can choose what works best for your family’s needs and your child’s comfort level.

First, take a breath. A diagnosis can bring up a lot of emotions – relief at finally having answers, grief for the future you imagined, fear about what comes next, or all of these at once. All of these feelings are valid, and you don’t have to have it all figured out right away.

Practically speaking, your first steps are: apply for Autism Funding BC if your child is under 19, connect with other parents of children with autism who can offer real-world guidance and support, learn about autism from adults with lived experience, not just clinical sources, and start noticing what environments and situations help your child thrive versus what overwhelms them.

What you don’t need to do: panic, start intensive therapy immediately without understanding the approach, listen to anyone who promises to “cure” or “fix” your child, or make major life decisions in the first few months.

In therapy, we help families process the diagnosis, understand what it means for your specific child (because autism looks different for everyone), develop a framework for advocacy, and start building practical strategies for daily life.

After-school meltdowns are incredibly common for children with autism, and they’re usually a sign of something important: your child has been masking all day and is completely depleted by the time you pick them up. Think of it like holding your breath underwater – eventually, you have to come up for air. School environments often require children with autism to suppress their natural responses, navigate overwhelming sensory input, and constantly monitor their behavior to “fit in.” By the time they get home (or to the car), they’ve used up every bit of their capacity and the meltdown is their nervous system finally releasing that pressure.

In therapy, we help families understand what’s actually happening during these meltdowns and develop strategies that address the root cause – not just manage the behavior. This might include creating a decompression routine for after school, advocating for sensory breaks during the school day, or helping your child identify when they’re reaching capacity before they hit the breaking point. We also work with parents on how to support your child through meltdowns without shame or punishment, because these aren’t tantrums – they’re genuine nervous system responses to being pushed beyond capacity.

This distinction matters because how you respond should be completely different. A tantrum is a deliberate behavior with a goal – a child wants something and is using the tantrum to try to get it. Tantrums typically stop when the child gets what they want or realizes the strategy isn’t working. A meltdown, on the other hand, is a nervous system response to being overwhelmed – it’s not a choice and it’s not manipulation.

During a meltdown, your child has been pushed beyond their capacity to cope. Their nervous system is in fight-or-flight mode, and they’ve lost access to the part of their brain that handles self-regulation. Meltdowns don’t stop when you give in or provide consequences – they stop when your child’s nervous system regulates, which takes time and the right kind of support.

In our work together, we help parents recognize the warning signs before a meltdown happens, understand what triggers are specific to your child, and develop strategies for supporting regulation rather than trying to control behavior. We also work with children on identifying their own early warning signs and building a toolkit of regulation strategies – though we’re realistic that sometimes meltdowns can’t be prevented, especially in inaccessible environments.

No. We work from the understanding that brains with autism are different, not broken. Our goal is helping your child thrive as themselves, not training them to perform neurotypicality for other people’s comfort.

We never use compliance-based approaches or try to eliminate the traits that make your child who they are – their stimming, their special interests, their unique way of communicating. These aren’t problems to fix. When we work on skills, it’s always in service of your child’s own goals and wellbeing, not to make them more palatable to a world that doesn’t understand neurodivergence.

That said, we are realistic about the fact that your child lives in a world that wasn’t designed for them. Part of our work is helping them develop strategies for navigating inaccessible environments when they need to – but always from a place of choice and agency, never shame. We help children understand their own needs, advocate for accommodations, and build a strong sense of self-worth that isn’t dependent on acting “normal.”

The research is clear: approaches that focus on acceptance and accommodation lead to better mental health outcomes than approaches that focus on normalization. We’re here to support your child in becoming the fullest version of themselves, not a diluted version that makes others comfortable.

Neurodiversity-affirming therapy starts from the understanding that brains with autism are different, not broken. We’re not here to make your child “less autistic” or train them to act neurotypical. Instead, we work from these core principles: your child’s autism is an integral part of who they are, not something to cure or eliminate; behaviors that others label as “problematic” are often communication about unmet needs or responses to inaccessible environments; the goal is helping your child thrive as their authentic self, not conform to neurotypical standards; and accommodations and environmental changes are just as important as building individual skills.

In practice, this means we never use compliance-based approaches or try to eliminate stimming, special interests, or other autistic traits. We help your child understand their own sensory needs, communication style, and nervous system. We work with families to create environments that support your child rather than constantly demanding they adapt. We center your child’s own goals and wellbeing, not what others think they “should” be doing.

This approach is backed by research showing that acceptance-based interventions lead to better mental health outcomes for people with autism than approaches focused on normalization or behavior modification.

This is one of the most important questions parents ask us, and the answer is nuanced. Forced masking – teaching children to suppress their authentic selves to make others comfortable – is harmful. Research shows that chronic masking is linked to burnout, anxiety, depression, and loss of identity in people with autism. When we teach children that their natural way of being is wrong or shameful, we’re asking them to prioritize other people’s comfort over their own wellbeing.

However, there’s a difference between forced masking and teaching adaptive skills for navigating a world that wasn’t designed for neurodivergent people. We work with families to find this balance: celebrating your child’s authentic self while building practical skills for situations where they need them. This might look like helping your child understand when stimming in private versus public spaces might affect their safety, or developing scripts for social situations that feel confusing – but always from a place of “this is a tool you can choose to use” rather than “you need to hide who you are.”

The goal is helping your child develop a strong sense of self-worth and the ability to advocate for their needs, while also being realistic that they’ll encounter ableist environments. We want them to have choices and agency, not shame about their neurodivergence.

Traditional talk therapy doesn’t work for every child, and that’s completely okay. We offer several approaches that don’t rely on verbal processing: art therapy allows children to express themselves through drawing, painting, or other creative mediums; play therapy uses toys, games, and imaginative play to work through experiences and emotions; nature-based therapy incorporates movement and outdoor environments for children who process better while walking or exploring; and somatic therapy focuses on body-based awareness and regulation rather than talking about feelings.

Some children find it easier to show us what they’re experiencing through art or play rather than finding words for complex feelings. Others need movement to think clearly and regulate their nervous systems. During your free consultation, we’ll talk about how your child naturally expresses themselves and what environments help them feel most comfortable.

Yes, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) can be highly effective for children with autism who’ve experienced trauma – and many children with autism have trauma, even if it’s not always recognized as such. Trauma for children with autism might include bullying, medical procedures without proper support, being restrained or secluded at school, years of being misunderstood or punished for natural responses, or the cumulative impact of living in a world that constantly tells them they’re wrong.

EMDR works well for many people with autism because it doesn’t rely heavily on verbal processing – it uses bilateral stimulation (eye movements, tapping, or audio tones) to help the brain reprocess traumatic memories. We adapt the approach to your child’s specific needs, sensory preferences, and communication style. Some children prefer tactile bilateral stimulation over eye movements, or we might use shorter sessions with more breaks.

The key is working with a therapist who understands both EMDR and autism, so the approach is modified appropriately rather than trying to force your child into a standard protocol that wasn’t designed with neurodivergent brains in mind.

Absolutely. Many children with autism think more clearly, regulate better, and communicate more openly when they’re moving. Sitting still in a traditional therapy office can actually make it harder for these children to engage – they’re using all their energy to stay seated instead of being able to focus on the therapeutic work.

Nature-based therapy sessions happen outdoors in Vancouver, Burnaby & Port Moody, where your child can walk, explore, climb, or move in whatever way helps them process. Some children talk more openly when they’re walking side-by-side rather than sitting face-to-face. Others use natural objects to express themselves or work through difficult experiences. The outdoor environment also provides natural sensory regulation – fresh air, natural sounds, varied textures and visual input.

We adapt sessions to your child’s interests and needs. Maybe they want to walk a trail while talking, or sit by a creek and build with rocks, or simply be in nature while we process together. The movement and outdoor setting aren’t distractions from therapy – they’re integral parts of what makes the therapy effective for children whose brains and bodies need that kind of input.

Yes, and grief is far more complex than people acknowledge. You might be grieving the parenting experience you thought you would have, watching your child struggle in a world that doesn’t understand them, or the childhood you wish they could have had before diagnosis. You might also be grieving your own undiagnosed neurodivergence if you’re recognizing yourself in your child’s traits.

Here’s what’s important: grief doesn’t mean you don’t love or accept your child. These feelings can coexist. You can absolutely celebrate who your child is while also feeling angry about the barriers they face, or sad about the support they didn’t get earlier, or scared about their future.

In therapy, we create space for all of these complex emotions without judgment. We help you process grief while building practical skills and hope. We also help you distinguish between grief about your child’s autism versus grief about living in an ableist world – because often what we’re actually grieving is the lack of support and understanding, not our child themselves.

This fear keeps so many parents up at night, and it makes sense – you want your child to have a fulfilling life and you worry about what happens when you’re not there to advocate for them. The truth is, independence looks different for everyone, and the goal isn’t necessarily living alone and working full-time if that’s not what works for your child.

In therapy, we help families build practical life skills that are actually relevant to your child’s goals and interests – not a predetermined checklist of what “independent adults” should be able to do. For some children, that means learning to cook, manage money, and navigate public transit. For others, it means building a support network, understanding when to ask for help, and advocating for the accommodations they need to thrive.

We also work on shifting the question from “will they be independent?” to “what kind of life do we want to help them build?” Many adults with autism live fulfilling lives that include interdependence, community support, and accommodations – and that’s not failure, that’s being human. None of us are truly independent; we all rely on systems, relationships, and support.

This is one of the most painful challenges parents face – having your own family minimize, dismiss, or outright deny your child’s needs. You might hear things like “all kids do that,” “you’re just making excuses,” or “they need more discipline.” These comments, even when well-intentioned, can be incredibly isolating and make family gatherings feel like battlegrounds.

In therapy, we help you develop strategies for setting boundaries with family members who aren’t supportive, deciding what information to share (and with whom), preparing responses to common dismissive comments, processing your own hurt and anger about not being supported by people who should have your back, and figuring out when to keep trying to educate versus when to protect your child from harmful interactions.

We also work on letting go of the need for everyone to understand. Some family members will never get it, and that’s not a reflection on you or your child. Your job is protecting your child and creating a support network of people who do understand – whether that’s other family members, friends, or community.

Sometimes family members come around once they see your child thrive with proper support. Sometimes they don’t. Either way, we help you build confidence in your own understanding of your child’s needs, regardless of external validation.

Yes, and you’re not alone. Many parents discover their own neurodivergence through their child’s diagnosis – suddenly things about your own childhood, relationships, or struggles start making sense in a new way. This realization can bring relief, grief, anger, confusion, or all of these at once.

We support adults through the process of late autism discovery, which might include: processing your own childhood experiences through this new lens, understanding how masking has affected your mental health and relationships, developing strategies for your own sensory and executive functioning needs, navigating whether to pursue formal diagnosis (and what that process looks like in BC for adults), and figuring out how to parent your child while honoring your own neurodivergence.

Some parents find that understanding their own autism actually makes them better advocates for their children – you have insight into experiences that neurotypical parents might not understand. Others struggle with grief about their own unmet needs growing up. Both responses are valid, and we create space for all of it.

We can work with you individually or include this exploration in family therapy, depending on what feels right for you.

We offer neurodiversity-affirming therapy at two accessible locations: our Vancouver office at 525 West 8th Avenue (wheelchair accessible, near Skytrain and bus routes), and our Port Moody office at 201A-101 Khalanie Drive (wheelchair accessible with free parking). Both locations have air purifiers, accessible bathrooms, and are designed to be sensory-friendly environments.

We also offer virtual therapy sessions throughout BC for families who prefer online support or live outside the Lower Mainland. Our approach is grounded in disability justice principles – we’re not here to make your child “less autistic,” but to help your whole family thrive while navigating systems that weren’t designed with neurodivergent people in mind.

Our team includes therapists trained in multiple modalities including EMDR, somatic therapy, art therapy, play therapy, and family systems work – all adapted through a neurodiversity-affirming lens. Book your free 15-minute consultation to talk about what your family needs.

Yes – we offer nature-based therapy sessions in Vancouver, Burnaby, and Port Moody for children with autism who need movement to process, regulate, or communicate. Many children with autism think more clearly and engage more fully when they’re outdoors and able to move their bodies, rather than sitting still in a traditional office setting.

Our nature-based sessions happen in local parks where your child can walk trails, explore natural environments, or engage with outdoor spaces in whatever way supports their nervous system. The outdoor environment provides natural sensory regulation through fresh air, natural sounds, varied textures, and visual input that can be calming or organizing for many children.

We adapt each session to your child’s interests, energy level, and communication style. Some children talk more openly while walking side-by-side. Others use natural objects to express themselves or work through difficult experiences. The movement and outdoor setting aren’t distractions from therapy – they’re integral to what makes the work effective for children whose brains and bodies need that kind of input.

Nature-based therapy is covered under BC autism funding, just like our office-based and virtual sessions.

We accept BC autism funding and handle all direct billing with the provincial government – which means you never pay out of pocket or wait for reimbursement. Once your funding is approved, we bill the government directly for each session, whether that’s individual therapy for your child, family counselling, or sibling support.

This applies to all our service locations (Vancouver, Port Moody, virtual throughout BC, and nature-based sessions in Vancouver, Burnaby and Port Moody) and all our therapy modalities (talk therapy, EMDR, somatic therapy, art therapy, play therapy, family therapy). We also help families navigate the funding application process to make sure everything is complete and accurate from the start.

During your free consultation, we’ll explain exactly how the funding works, what documentation you need, and answer any questions about the billing process. Our goal is to remove financial barriers so your family can access the support you need without administrative stress or upfront costs.

IEP meetings can feel like walking into battle, especially when you’re facing a team of professionals who may not truly understand your child’s needs. We help parents develop effective advocacy strategies that center your child’s rights and humanity while navigating the reality of school systems that often resist accommodations.

In therapy, we work on practical skills like: translating your child’s needs into specific, measurable accommodation requests, documenting patterns of struggle or discrimination, preparing responses to common dismissive statements (“they’re doing fine,” “we don’t have the resources,” “that’s not how we do things here”), and knowing when to escalate beyond the school level.

We also help you process the emotional toll of these meetings – the frustration of not being heard, the anger at watching your child be misunderstood, the exhaustion of constantly having to prove your child deserves basic accommodations. Many parents tell us that having a space to debrief after difficult school interactions and prepare for upcoming meetings makes them feel more confident and less alone in the advocacy process.

Family therapy with autism in the mix looks at how everyone in the family system is affected and how you can all support each other better. We don’t just focus on the child with autism – we work with the whole family to improve communication, understand each other’s needs, and create a home environment where everyone can thrive.

Sessions might include: helping all family members understand how autism shows up for your specific child, developing communication strategies that work for different neurotypes in the same household, addressing sibling dynamics and ensuring neurotypical children feel seen and valued, working through parental stress and disagreements about approaches or accommodations, and creating routines and structures that support everyone’s needs, not just one person’s.

We honor that different family members communicate in different ways. Some children might participate verbally, others through art or play, others by just being present while parents talk. We adapt the format to what works for your family – sometimes that’s everyone together, sometimes it’s rotating between different combinations of family members.

The goal is building a family culture where difference is valued, everyone’s needs matter, and you have practical tools for navigating the daily challenges that come up.

This is one of the most common challenges we help families navigate. Siblings often struggle with what looks like “unfair” treatment – why does their brother get to leave the table when overwhelmed, but they have to sit through dinner? Why does their sister get extra time on tests? The key is helping all your children understand that fairness isn’t everyone getting the same thing – it’s everyone getting what they need.

In family therapy sessions, we work with siblings to understand that their brother or sister isn’t getting “special treatment” or “getting away with” things. We use age-appropriate explanations about how different brains work, often using analogies that make sense to kids. We also create space for siblings to express their own feelings – including resentment, confusion, or feeling overlooked – without judgment. Many siblings carry guilt about these feelings, and naming them openly can be incredibly relieving.

We also help parents ensure that neurotypical siblings get their own needs met, even if those needs look different. It’s not about equal time or identical accommodations – it’s about each child feeling seen, valued, and supported in their own way.