The Pacific Autism Family Network (PAFN) is a centre of excellence and network of supports for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their families across the province. The PAFN’s core purpose is to be a Knowledge Centre: Bringing together state of the art resources for research, information, learning, assessment, treatment and support; and building capacity to address the lifespan needs of individuals with ASD and related disorders. The PAFN will build upon existing lifespan services while at the same time addressing the need for support and services across the province. Serving British Columbians and ultimately all Canadians is a priority of the PAFN. The centre of knowledge and innovation involves the development of the hub in Richmond and spokes located in communities across the province, in collaboration with local community partners. The spoke centres will have full access to the expertise and information services offered at the hub. Fusing individualized “person-centred” values with the best of what technology and research can offer, the PAFN will represent a truly new vision for treating and supporting persons with autism in our province, as families, governments, healthcare, education, and the communities come together to link research, teaching and direct care. Right now, especially for families in remote parts of the province, there are just not enough specialized resources available locally to help them. The PAFN will be the first organization of its kind dedicated to knowledge creation and knowledge translation targeting applied models that can easily be shared and disseminated to families on the ground. It will be a place that will attract a whole new generation of thinkers and researchers – the people who will bring to life innovative, practical, and effective clinical programs, which up until now, have not been developed due to limited access to an environment that fosters interdisciplinary collaboration over the long term. The project is being sponsored by the not-for-profit Pacific Autism Family Network Foundation and will be operated by the Pacific Autism Family Centre Society, collectively referred to as the PAFN. The PAFN initiative is a grass roots project created by the BC autism community with a goal to bring together a collaboration of services to fill the service and resource gaps in BC and Canada. The planning of the PAFN has been an inclusive and collaborative process involving families, individuals with ASD and related disoreders, clinicians, community professionals, researchers and representatives of goverment within the framework of the PAFC Advisory Committee. The PAFN will be an important addition to the resources available to families with children or adults on the autism spectrum and related disorders in BC.
