Diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia 11-year-old Prince George student Cameron Carlson needs extra support at school and mom Lindsay paid for the private psychoeducational assessment but suspected there was a bit more going on with her beloved son.
Doing some research to realize Cameron also needed an autism assessment Lindsay reached out to see about going through the public process for testing only to find out there was a wait list of at least two years.
“Early intervention is key with autism and getting supports for it is important,” Lindsay explained.
So she decided to go private as it’s a faster process and she had paid about $2,300 out-of-pocket for the psychoeducational assessment for learning disabilities and knew the autism assessment would be about the same but just didn’t have the funds.
“So I wasn’t sure what to do,” Lindsay said. “A friend said ‘what about Variety?’ I know they buy equipment and they do all these heavy medical things but in recent years they expanded to do all these services because no one could get them.”
Lindsay reached out to Variety – the Children’s Charity of BC - and thanks to a $32,000 donation from the Prince George Community Foundation, Variety was able to fund Cameron's assessment and kids just like him.
“It was really easy to apply,” Lindsay said. A few short months later Cameron was assessed.
Lindsay said she was very grateful for the grant because Cameron is on the spectrum of autism and now there’s more support that can be accessed to help Cameron navigate the world.
Cameron is in Grade 6 and loves Star Wars. His favourite character is Captain Rex and his favourite class in school is Applied Design, Skills and Technologies where he makes movies with his team and his latest project is called Aliens Invading and is about blue and red blobs invading the planet Earth. It’s going to be awesome.
During the annual Variety telethon viewers will meet Cameron and other children whose lives have been transformed. Cameron will be on the telethon on Sunday, Feb. 26.
Variety - the Children’s Charity Variety Show of Hearts will launch Global News Hour at 6 on Thursday, Feb. 23 where viewers will be treated to stories of hope, courage and resilience from children who Variety has helped in 2022. The inspiring stories will continue on all of Global BC’s newscasts including Global News.
The 57th annual Variety Show of Hearts Telethon airs on Global BC and via livestream at GlobalNews.ca on Sunday, February 26 from 1 to 5:30 pm. The iconic fundraising event will be hosted by Global BC’s news anchors and entertainment will be provided Sarah McLachlan, Jim Cuddy, Devin Cuddy & Sam Polley as well as pop-rock singer, Fefe Dobson and Coquitlam’s own Tyler Shaw.
Throughout all four days, there will be matching opportunities up to $850,000 taking the impact of every gift a little bit further.
“Families across our province are struggling and we continue to see record-breaking requests for urgent support
and specialized care,” Andrea Tang, CEO, Variety BC, said. “The essential programs and resources made possible by your generous donors can transform daily realities for children and change the trajectory of their future.”
Donations can be made online at www.variety.bc.ca, over the phone by calling 310-KIDS or by texting the word KIDS to 45678 to make an automatic $25 donation.
