If you are looking to apply for funding so that you can access private speech therapy services, you've come to the right place! There are different funding sources that make accessing private speech therapy services easier. This guide allows you to access free speech therapy services or significantly subsidized speech therapy services in British Columbia.
In general, there are a few big charities or funding sources that support speech therapy services. Some are government funded, some are private charities. Likely, all funding sources will require you to submit lots of paperwork. My suggestions to family are always to investigate early and apply early!
We are here to help! If you are looking to apply to different funding sources, please get in touch with us! You can even book your first free phone consultation and we can help you determine which funding sources you may be eligible for.
Variety BC - The Children's Charity of BC
Variety funds speech therapy and the speech-language assessment that is part of an autism assessment for children under 6. They also fund other services such as occupational therapy, physiotherapy, counselling, recreational therapy, tutoring, and etc.! It is important to know that there is a wait for them to process your paper work so start early!
To qualify for this funding, your child will need to demonstrate that they have a "qualified speech need (medical/developmental" from a qualified health professional.
If you are applying for speech therapy or an autism assessment, you will need a letter of support from a professional, but this professional cannot be the same person that is providing you private speech therapy services. Talk to your public health SLP, doctor, or other service provider to obtain a letter of support.
Variety also only accepts applications from families with a net income of less than $85000.
You can learn more about Variety here.
CKNW Kid's Fund
CKNW also funds a variety of therapy services including speech therapy, occupational therapy, and physiotherapy. There is a limit to how much support or funding they can provide. Typically, clients apply for funding from multiple charities to support speech therapy. CKNW also requires a letter of support in the funding application.
CKNW's mandate is to provide timely support to vulnerable children living with physical, mental, or social challenges in BC. They also provide grants for specialized medical equipment, therapies, and programs for at-risk youth.
You can read more about CKNW here.
At Home Program
The At Home Program is designed for children with multiple needs. Specifically, the At Home Program supports children and teens with a severe disability or complex health care needs. Typically, these children would benefit significantly from in-home services. To qualify, they typically need to demonstrate that they would benefit from support in multiple areas of daily living. This program provides up to $3840 a year for therapies.
You can learn more here.
Extended Health Benefits
Your extended health benefit may support speech therapy! At Start Now Speech, we do not provide direct billing through insurance as many insurances do not support direct billing for speech therapists and EVERY insurance has a different policy for how much funding is provided for speech therapy. We will provide you with a receipt so that you can claim it through your extended health benefits.
If you intend to use your extended health benefits for speech therapy, the first step is to call or e-mail your insurance provider. Ask them if your health insurance plan covers speech therapy services and how much they will reimburse. Every health care plan is different.
Sometimes, health care plans also cover parent coaching for parents which is part of what we do! You can learn more about what we do here. However, this means that your may have even more extended health coverage for speech therapy. Don't hesitate and call them now!
Jordan's Principle
The Government of Canada established Jordan's Principle to support all First Nations children. You can learn more about it here.
Post-Adoption Assistance Program
With the assistance of your post adoption social worker, you may also apply for funding through the post-adoption assistance program for speech therapy, amongst many other services that you can apply for funding for.
Please note that you do need support through your social worker to apply for this funding. You can read more about it here.
At Start Now Speech, we do accept clients who come with different funding sources and depending on your needs, we can guide you through the process. Get in touch if you are looking to start speech therapy services in the community or virtually!