Autism Services in the Hamilton-Niagara Region

What this means for your family

Write down specific examples of what worries you about your child's development before you call for that appointment, since seeing the doctor as soon as possible is the guidance itself, and a doctor can act faster on concrete examples than on a general sense that something feels off. Ask your child's teacher or the school office whether a referral for a psychoeducational assessment has already started, since Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board only completes these assessments for students who meet its referral criteria, and criteria are easier to meet when the school already has documentation on file. Ask directly what those referral criteria are rather than assuming every child with a diagnosis automatically qualifies for a school assessment. If the school route feels slow, keep pursuing the doctor's appointment in parallel rather than waiting for one path to finish before starting the other, since the two processes are not described as dependent on each other.