Are you someone who has a mobility disability or a caregiver to a person who does?
Ability NB offers free, confidential and bilingual services to anyone with a mobility disability in New Brunswick.
A mobility disability may be any condition that affects a person’s ability to move and can range from lack of coordination to complete paralysis. Ability NB works with people including, but are not limited to, those living with paraplegia, tetraplegia, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Friedreich’s ataxia, stroke and amputation.
Funded in part through the provincial Department of Social Development, Ability NB is the go-to source for support for people with a mobility disability in New Brunswick. Click here for the organization’s website.
Ability NB provides a wide range of services and programs, ranging from peer support, rehabilitation counselling, an adaptive sport and recreation equipment loan service, funding for retrofits to vehicles to make them more accessible and more. Click here to learn more details about Ability NB programs and services for older adults.
To access Ability NB’s supports, a good place to start is with its rehabilitation counselling. This in-person consultation service can help someone with a disability to:
- Access appropriate medical services,
- Find accessible housing,
- Identify ways to stay in your own home,
- Secure home support services,
- Apply to income supports or funding programs,
- Locate accessible transportation,
- Find a job or volunteer opportunities,
- Access reliable health or legal resources,
- Access adaptive sport and recreation,
- Make referrals for equipment assessments, and
- Learn new skills.
Rehabilitation counsellors are facilitators who have social work or psychology degrees. They work one-on-one with people who have a mobility disability, their families and caregivers to find solutions to unmet needs, set goals, and help access services and supports. They can help individuals navigate the information and resources needed to understand options and make choices and decisions, and bring teams together to provide effective support.
To qualify for Ability NB services, you must meet the following criteria:
- Be a resident of New Brunswick,
- Be living with a mobility disability,
- Have provided verbal consent, and
- Be committed to working with Ability NB to develop a plan to reach goals and actively participate in the process.
Call Ability NB toll free at 1-866-462-9555 from anywhere in New Brunswick or email info@abilitynb.ca. A staff member will connect with you within two business days to collect more information and answer any questions about eligibility or services.
People with a mobility disability may self-refer to Ability NB for services or be referred by a physician, occupational therapist, physiotherapist, social worker, case manager or other service provider. A family member or guardian may also make a referral when the potential service participant has memory or communication difficulties. Authorization forms giving the person’s consent will be reviewed and signed at their first in-person meeting with Ability NB.
Once an Ability NB staff member determines eligibility, they will schedule a time with the person to complete the formal referral on the phone. The person requesting services must then call 1-866-462-9555 to complete the process. He/she is required to have information at the ready to provide during this call. (See “What do I need section” below.) At the end of this phone meeting, they are registered with Ability NB and assigned a rehabilitation counsellor.
A rehabilitation counsellor will make every effort to contact the new referral within four business days to schedule an in-person meeting within the following three weeks. The counsellor will meet regularly with the person to identify goals and create an individual action plan to help attain them. These in-person meetings can happen at the person’s home and may include family members and/or caregivers.
There are no forms to complete to register for services. You only need to have the following information readily available during the referral call:
- Contact information,
- Medicare number,
- Date of birth,
- Type of mobility disability,
- Emergency contact and
- Primary reason for referral.