Respite Support & Navigation Services

What is Respite

Respite care is a family support service that provides temporary or short-term care/support for a family member who has a disability or diverse support needs.

Respite creates greater opportunities for all family members to live actively and participate in community activities and allows parents/guardians time for themselves.

Benefits of Respite

Respite is a necessary tool to support a caregiver’s success. Respite helps families restore balance in their lives. It allows caregivers to take the time to recover from any stresses that may come with caregiving. Being a carer takes a physical and emotional toll, and sometimes people need a break from their carers too.

Description:

We are passionate and dedicated to increasing awareness and understanding of the multiple benefits of respite for all caregivers and individuals.

We provide education to families, respite providers, and community members of respite services and local options.

We advocate with individuals and families to provide support with respite appeals.

We help members of the community navigate to services tailored to meet the caregiver’s need while keeping in mind an individual’s chronological age and development need.

Our respite database supports various families and individuals with diverse support needs across the lifespan (not specific to the autism spectrum disorder only).

Through the support of Autism Nova Scotia’s Respite Coordinator, individuals and families can onboard our respite database to connect with vetted independent respite providers and other respite resources including community events, respite funding options, workshops, programs, and educational material.