St. Amant gets boost for autism supports

Manitoba parents Jamie and Colin Hilding say they could not imagine their lives without the support they’ve received from St. Amant Centre in Winnipeg.

On Wednesday, the province announced an injection of $6.75 million to get more families of those with autism the help they need.

The announcement, made at St. Amant Centre on River Road, will see $5 million given to the organization which supports more than 2,200 people with developmental disabilities, autism and acquired brain injury.

It will be used to implement additional early intervention supports, like behavioral and language pathology programs, double capacity for school-aged services and increase case management capacity.

“This means more therapy spots. This means more respite for families and less wait-times,” said Premier Wab Kinew at the announcement. “This will help families and children with autism. This won’t solve all of our problems, but this is an improvement.”

In addition to the $5 million, the province also committed $1.75 million to create a third respite home in Winnipeg.

Flanked by his sons, Colin said he’s seen the effectiveness of the support first hand, and can only imagine how many other families the new funding will help.

“It was amazing, not just for him, but for us,” said Colin about the help they got from St. Amant for their eldest boy.

The 45-year-old is the father of three autistic children: Casper, 10 and twins Remy and Casey, 7.

“When we would have our meetings every month, or every other month, it was not just about, ‘how is he doing?’ It was about, ‘how are we doing?’”

Colin said few people understand the challenges families who have a loved one with autism face. Things like worrying about children running from the home, even with a locked door, or climbing out of a window.

But with the support he’s gotten from St. Amant for his kids, the family is now able to go for outings, even a vacation, something that wouldn’t have been possible in the past, he said.

“You need extra people. You need help,” Colin said.

St. Amant’s president and CEO, Ben Adaman said the investment is the largest net-increase in autism service capacity in Manitoba in more than 15 years. This at a time when there are hundreds of families waiting for access to programs and support.

“We’ll be able to clear our waitlist as time goes by, not right away — I want to manage expectations there — but there’s about almost 1,800 families currently waiting and we’re looking to support all of them as soon as we can.”

The money is part of a larger $30 million investment from the Department of Families outlined in Budget 2026.

The province also announced it will be streamlining how a person can get a diagnosis for autism, with Children Disability Services now accepting a diagnosis from community pediatricians for children under five, instead of having to wait for a specialist.

morgan.modjeski@winnipegfreepress.com