Autism in New Brunswick Under Conservatives? I Am Worried, Very Worried

I am very worried that the gains made for autistic children and students and work done towards a modern, decent residential care and treatment system for autistic youths and adults will be lost if the Conservatives are elected.  

On his facebook page Jody Carr, who will have a prominent role on disability issues if the Conservatives are elected,  has made it very clear that the Conservative era of community cliches will replace evidence based, reality based, services and accommodations for autistic children, youth and adults.  

Even worse Mr. Carr had the gall and audacity to dismiss the recommendations of autism expert Dr. Paul McDonell for  a rational, professional, adequate autism residential care system with the political sound bite that his party would not "send them away".  Mr. Carr's memory seems to have failed him.  He was a Conservative MLA during the last term of the Bernard Lord government when  autistic youths and adults were sent away to Centracare even to hospital wards.   It was that same Conservative party, of which Mr. Carr, and Mr. Alward, were members that formed the government when an autistic youth was sent to live on the grounds of the Miramichi Youth correctional facility. The youth had not committed a crime. He had not even been charged with or suspected of having committed a crime.  He was autistic and had very serious challenges and there was nowhere in Mr Carr's community for him.  He was housed in a youth jail facility while awaiting export to decent residential care and treatment out of the country in Maine. 

Jody Carr did not speak out against the jail grounds placement, inadequacy of the autism residential care system or the need to export an autistic youth as I did;  as reported in this 2005  Toronto Star article:

Autistic boy kept in New Brunswick jail

No other place for him to stay 13-year-old must go to U.S. hospital 

No other place for him to stay

13-year-old must go to U.S. hospital

The Toronto Star, KELLY TOUGHILL, ATLANTIC CANADA
BUREAU, Oct. 19, 2005

HALIFAX—A 13-year-old autistic boy now living in a New Brunswick jail compound will be sent out of Canada because there is no home, hospital or institution that can handle him in his own province Provincial officials confirmed yesterday the boy is living in a visitor's apartment at the Miramichi Youth Centre and will be moved to a treatment centre in Maine by November.

They stressed he is not under lock and key, has no contact with other inmates and is living outside the high wire fence that surrounds the youth detention centre.Nevertheless, the jailhouse placement and the transfer to Maine have outraged mental health advocates and opposition critics.

"They put this boy in a criminal facility because he is autistic," said Harold Doherty, a board member of the Autism Society of New Brunswick"Now we are exporting our children because we can't care for them. This is Canada, not a Third World country.``We are supposed to have a decent standard of care for the sick and the vulnerable, but we don't." 

 Liberal MLA John Foran echoed his concern. "This boy has done nothing wrong, is not the subject of any court order, but is in a penal institution." Provincial officials yesterday insisted critics are misrepresenting the nature of the boy's situation and that in fact the province has done everything it can to help him. "This individual is not being held, and is not incarcerated," said Lori-Jean Johnson, spokeswoman for the family and community services department. "He has housekeeping, bath and a separate entrance. We are just utilizing existing resources."

Privacy laws prevent officials from discussing anything that would reveal the boy's identity, including details of his previous living situation and the whereabouts of his parents. This much is known: He suffers from a severe form of autism and is a ward of the state, under the guardianship of the minister of family and community services. He was living in a group home until recently, but became so violent that he was judged a danger to himself and others. At a psychologist's recommendation, he was moved to a three-bedroom apartment on the grounds of the Miramichi Youth Centre, a prison for about 50 young offenders. Two attendants from a private company watch the boy around the clock, at a cost to taxpayers of $700 a day. Johnson said she does not know any details of his care. 

Doherty said the jailhouse placement and move to Maine highlight the desperate need for better services for autistic children in New Brunswick and across Canada. He said staff at most group homes in New Brunswick aren't trained to deal with autism and don't understand the disorder. "If you don't understand autism, things can become very bad very quickly," said Doherty, who has a 9-year-old son with the disorder. "We have been pushing for (better facilities) in New Brunswick for several years. This is not a crisis that has popped up in the last two days. Residential care is a critical element for these people and it is not being provided."

Johnson said the provincial system of group homes and institutions that care for children and adults with psychiatric disorders and mental disabilities works for most people. "We do have existing resources, but once in a while, there will be an exception. Here, we are looking at a very extreme case." The boy will be moved to an Augusta, Me., treatment centre at the end of the month, said Johnson.

The centre, run by a non-profit group called Spurwink, specializes in dealing with autistic adolescents. A Spurwink representative did not return a phone call from the Toronto Star. Provincial officials could not detail the cost to keep the child at Spurwink, nor did they have information about why he's being sent to Maine, rather than a Canadian facility in another province

Jody Carr was a Conservative MLA at the time of the Toronto Star article and events described  therein. He is not mentioned or quoted in the article speaking about the youth's plight.  He did not at that time state that a Conservative government should not "send them away".  Jody Carr  was silent and did nothing to denounce decisions to send youths to prison facilities and to facilities out of the country when he sat as an MLA for the governing Conservatives. Now he had the nerve to dismiss the recommendations of an autism expert who has been intensely involved in helping autistic persons in NB and shaping the autism policies that have made NB a Canadian leader in providing preschool and school services for autistic children and youths with the political hack statement that his party would not send autistic adults away.  Jody Carr is contradicted by his past record when he said nothing while his party did indeed send them away.

If you care about an autistic child, brother, sister, grandchild or other  family member or friend please do not vote Conservative on Monday.

I Voted Yesterday for Adult Autism Residential Care and Treatment

Most votes in the New Brunswick provincial election will be cast on the official election date next Monday, September 27, 2010. I took advantage of the beautiful last day of summer weather and walked to the advance poll in my riding of Fredericton-Nashwaaksis.  In this election there are five parties seeking to form the next provincial government ... the Conservative, Liberal, Green and NDP parties and a new party the Peoples Alliance of NB.  

In New Brunswick we have endured for many years a youth and  adult autism residential care and treatment system consisting of psychiatric hospitals, general hospital wards, the grounds of a youth detention center, out of province and out of country facilities, inadequate group homes with poorly trained staffs and ... community inclusion cliches.  Yesterday I voted for ...... the candidate and party most likely to work for a decent youth and adult autism residential care and treatment system.

It was, as I said, a beautiful day yesterday in Fredericton-Nashwaaksis. Hopefully the voting on September 27 will result in a government that cares about autistic adults and works toward establishing decent adult autism residential care in New Brunswick. That would make for a very beautiful day.

Where's Alward on Autism Services?

UPDATE August 1, 2014

New Brunswick is about to commence another election period.  Now Premier Alward has been silent on autism during his 2010-2014 term but his officials have placed more  restrictions on and made it more difficult for students with autism disorders to obtain alternative education settings outside the regular classroom by imposing the Gordon Porter Commandement #1 that all children belong in the regular classroom, all children must be placed in the regular classroom  The Porter Commandment is totally contrary to all informed opinion and evidence based approaches to educating autistic children.  In addition the Alward government is still banishing severely autistic adults and youth to the Psychiatric Hospital in Campbellton on NB's far northern border with Quebec, far from family members in the more heavily populated south and far from NB's autism expertise in Fredericton.  Where's Alward on autism? The answer is clear as the 2014 election approaches : up to no good.



The New Brunswick Liberal Association has a web site and a twitter account which mocks Conservative leader David Alward by portraying him as the comic fictional character Where's Waldo. The Where's Alward effort aims to prompt New Brunswickers, with a touch of comedy, to ask hard questions about David Alward's positions. Since the site and twitter effort though the Conservative Party has issued its platform and has made a number of other policy statements. 

I don't know if it is fair or accurate generally to say that David Alward is absent when it comes to making clear statements of position on various issues. I do know that David Alward has made no statements at all about the 1 in 110 New Brunswickers with an autism disorder or what they can expect from an Alward Conservative government.  Neither David Alward, nor any members of his party, have made public statements about what will happen to early autism intervention programs, Teacher Assistant autism training, or accommodation of autistic students's learning challenges with alternate learning environments ... all areas in which great progress has been during the first Shawn Graham Liberal government.

Would a David Alward government roll back some or all of this substantial progress? Would his government ensure that progress continues to be made in early intervention and education  for autistic children? No one knows because David Alward and his party are not saying.

In the last year of the Graham government discussions moved forward  on the serious issue of adult autism residential care and treatment.  The discussions, with Kelly Lamrock in his role as Social  Development  Minister, centered around the adult autism residential care and treatment  model described by autism expert Paul McDonnell, Ph.D., in the CBC site article Autism Services Needed for N.B. adults. It would be nice if the Alward Conservative Party would commit to the McDonnell model but that would be expecting much from a leader and a party which has no time to even mention the existence of a disorder which affects 1 in 110 New Brunswickers.

I don't know if the New Brunswick Liberal portrayal of David Alward as missing on policy directions is fair or accurate generally.  I do know that, with respect to autism disorders in New Brunswick, it is both fair and accurate to ask ... Where's Alward on Autism Services?

No Room for Adult Autism Residential Care on Conservative, NDP Agendas?

For the  Conservatives and NDP  it seems there is no room on the political lifeboat, in troubled fiscal times, for adults with autism disorders. There has been no public mention by these parties  of the existence of persons with autism in New Brunswick. This is no small point. The US Center for Disease Control has estimated that 1 in 110 people have an autism spectrum disorder. Yet neither  the Conservative Party nor the NDP have made  mention on any public media site that I can find of the existence in New Brunswick of persons with autism disorders or what lies in store for them should the NDP or Conservatives form the next government. Both parties have focused on balancing the provincial books as their primary goals and while some promises have been made neither has mentioned persons with autism. 

The last several years have seen very substantial gains made for preschool children and students with autism disorders in New Brunswick.  Autism expert Paul McDonnell has praised New Brunswick as a leader in provision of autism services for preschool and school age students with autism.  But Dr. McDonnell has also pointed out that progress has not happened for adults with autism.  In New Brunswick adults with autism have lived on hospital ward, in psychiatric hospitals and have been shipped out of the province and little has improved over the past 10 years.  Dr. McDonnell has pointed out that we need to invest in adult autism residential care in NB.  The Liberal's Kelly Lamrock had already acknowledged the need to work on autistic adult residential care. Both the PANB and the Green Party of NB have confirmed they would address the issue.  The NDP and the Conservative Party are silent.

I hope I am wrong but it seems  there is no room on the Conservative or NDP agendas, at least  during this election,  for discussion of adult autism residential care.

Green Party Says YES! To Investing In Adult Autism Residential Care in New Brunswick

On FaceBook The Green Party of New Brunswick has answered my question ``Does Green Party support autism expert advice to invest in adult autism residential care in NB?`` with an emphatic YES!

The  question included a link to the  CBC New Brunswick Votes 2010  expert commentary by NB Clinical Psychologist and  UNB Professor Emeritus (Psychology) Paul McDonnell Ph.D., who has provided advice and support for the establishment of the UNB-CEL Autism Intervention Training Program, the NB autism intervention program for preschoolers and the autism specific  training of teacher assistants and resource teachers in New Brunswick.  As stated in the  article Autism services needed for N.B. adults  Dr. McDonnell emphasized the need for a  modern youth and adult autism care and residential treatment network in New Brunswick:

"In the past we have had the sad spectacle of individuals with autism being sent off to institutional settings such as the Campbellton psychiatric hospital, hospital wards, prisons, and even out of the country at enormous expense and without any gains to the individual, the family or the community," he said.

Enhanced network

Among the reforms that the UNB professor is calling for is an enhanced group home system where homes would be connected to a major centre that would develop ongoing training and leadership.

The larger centre could also offer services for people who have mild conditions. But, he said, it could also be used to offer permanent residential care for individuals with more severe diagnoses.

"Such a secure centre would not be based on a traditional 'hospital' model but should, itself, be integrated into the community in a dynamic manner, possibly as part of a private residential development," he writes.

"The focus must be on education, positive living experiences and individualized curricula. The key to success is properly trained professionals and staff."

NB Votes 2010: PANB Has Strong Autism Platform; Only Party to Mention Autism

You don't have to be a political scientist to analyze the autism policies in most of the party platforms in New Brunswick. With the exception of the People's Alliance of New Brunswick autism does not exist in the party platforms.  The PC, Green and Liberal platforms do not mention the word autism. The NDP platform does not exist as far as I can determine. Only the PANB has an autism plank in their platform but it is a good one:

"PANB recommends

1/ All autistic children have access to 4 hours a day of ABA training through to kindergarten.

2/ All autistic children have access to 1-2 hours a day of ABA training through all school years until graduation either from high school or university as part of their standard school day.

3/ All autistic children should be taught in school using ABA methods by ABA trained TA’s as this is proven to improve their learning ability

4/ The creation of both an Adult care facility and a Youth care facility be built in Fredericton in conjunction with the Stan Cassidy Center which will care for those Autistic individuals who can no longer be cared for by the normal caregivers of these individuals. This care should focus on multiple facets but should include ABA training to create the possibility that even adults could potentially be helped by ABA be given that opportunity.

5/ All autistic individuals even after graduation should have access to ABA training for short term or long term if there ability to function properly in society diminishes or disappears for any reason.

6/ An attempt to find a further cure and treatment options should be continued through partnership with the Universities in this province, The Stan Cassidy centre and the Federal government

7/ As it has been determined by various parents of autistic children that not in all situations does full integration work with ALL autistic children, A program should be put in place that would allow parents and resource workers as well as TA’s to work together to create a modified part time integrated program that would better meet the needs of the individual student if the situation warrants this.

8/ changes to the disability benefit to allow staggering levels of benefit that recognizes the level of care required as well as the requirements to replace property increasingly due to high increase in breakage due to rocking behaviours etc common amongst autistic children.

9/ Summer autism camps during school breaks should be made available to allow children the ability to socialize with those like themselves amongst trained carers.

It should be realized that both the Liberals and Conservatives were made aware as far back as 2005 of the necessity of a Care Facility in this province when it was made public during the Conservative years of that time that we were being forced to send those individuals with autism that required long term care to Maine to be housed there as we had no facilities in this province. The conservatives of the time had no interest in developing a treatment center.

During this period the Liberals were vocal in their disapproval of the fact our citizens were being cared for out of country due to no facilities in this province however their dedication to this file was shown during the recent 4 years when no attempt at creating a long term care facility was done regardless of repeated requests.

John Foran was aware of a case in 2005 where a youth was housed at the Miramichi Youth Centre under the direct care of 2 carers from a private company at the cost of 700$ a day because we did not have the facilities in this province to properly house him and from there he was transferred to Maine because the Conservatives would not address this lack of facility.

And yet during the entire 4 year mandate of the liberals not one thing was done to change this lack of care centres either.

PANB is the only party that will push for a drastic improvement to how these autistic individuals in our care are treated."

Best Autism Tweet of the New Brunswick Election From Liberal Kelly Lamrock

  " klamrock: Still more to do on #autism file. We'll work w/parents to address adult care incl community-based residential care #nbvotes

4 days ago via Mobile Web · Reply · View Tweet "

Over the last 4 years the Liberal government honored a commitment by Premier Graham to provide  4 years of UNB-CEL Autism Intervention Training to classes of approximately 100  teacher assistants and resource teachers a year over the objections of some senior Education officials, who actually knew little about autism. They also faced opposition from some union officials who opposed autism specfiic training for TA's. I was involved in many of the discussions and I can tell you from personal knowledge that it was a very tough fight to do the right thing for New Brunswick's autistic students. I can tell you from very direct, personal involvement that Kelly Lamrock and the Shawn Graham Liberal government honored their commitment and put the interests of NB's autistic students ahead of vested adult interests.

When Kelly Lamrock says that a Liberal government will work with the parents to address the address adult care including community based residential care this father of a severely autistic 14 year old son, who has been involved very intensely with the changes that have made New Brunswick a leader in pre-school intervention and education of autistic children says ... I believe Kelly Lamrock and a Liberal government will keep their word. I believe it because I have already seen them do it.  

 

Adult Autism Care in New Brunswick: If Not During This Election WHEN?

"If you don't understand autism, things can become very bad very quickly.  We have been pushing for (better facilities) in New Brunswick for several years. This is not a crisis that has popped up in the last two days. Residential care is a critical element for these people and it is not being provided." 

Harold Doherty, 2005

It has been five years since Canadians learned that an autistic youth who had committed no offence was being housed on the grounds of the Miramichi youth correctional facility (see article following)  solely because there was no adequate accommodation for him in New Brunswick while he waited admission to the Spurwink facility in Maine.  A residential care and treatment facility for autistic youths and adults still does not exist in New Brunswick. If the group homes are not adequate for the more severely autistic they are either sent outside of the Province, sent to the psychiatric hospital in Campbellton or in one case at least in Saint John live, at least temporarily on a hospital ward. In some cases severely autistic adults live in their parents home, sometimes wearing protective gear and with some assistance. But no decent residential treatment facility exists for New Brunswick's most severely autistic youths and adults.

If we do not discuss adult and youth residential care during this New Brunswick election WHEN will we ever  get around to it? 

WHEN will severely  autistic youths and adults have decent residential care and treatment in New Brunswick?

Autistic boy kept in New Brunswick jail

No other place for him to stay 13-year-old must go to U.S. hospital 

No other place for him to stay

13-year-old must go to U.S. hospital

The Toronto Star, KELLY TOUGHILL, ATLANTIC CANADA
BUREAU, Oct. 19, 2005

HALIFAX—A 13-year-old autistic boy now living in a New Brunswick jail compound will be sent out of Canada because there is no home, hospital or institution that can handle him in his own province Provincial officials confirmed yesterday the boy is living in a visitor's apartment at the Miramichi Youth Centre and will be moved to a treatment centre in Maine by November.

They stressed he is not under lock and key, has no contact with other inmates and is living outside the high wire fence that surrounds the youth detention centre.Nevertheless, the jailhouse placement and the transfer to Maine have outraged mental health advocates and opposition critics.

"They put this boy in a criminal facility because he is autistic," said Harold Doherty, a board member of the Autism Society of New Brunswick"Now we are exporting our children because we can't care for them. This is Canada, not a Third World country.``We are supposed to have a decent standard of care for the sick and the vulnerable, but we don't." 

 

Liberal MLA John Foran echoed his concern. "This boy has done nothing wrong, is not the subject of any court order, but is in a penal institution." Provincial officials yesterday insisted critics are misrepresenting the nature of the boy's situation and that in fact the province has done everything it can to help him. "This individual is not being held, and is not incarcerated," said Lori-Jean Johnson, spokeswoman for the family and community services department. "He has housekeeping, bath and a separate entrance. We are just utilizing existing resources."

Privacy laws prevent officials from discussing anything that would reveal the boy's identity, including details of his previous living situation and the whereabouts of his parents. This much is known: He suffers from a severe form of autism and is a ward of the state, under the guardianship of the minister of family and community services. He was living in a group home until recently, but became so violent that he was judged a danger to himself and others. At a psychologist's recommendation, he was moved to a three-bedroom apartment on the grounds of the Miramichi Youth Centre, a prison for about 50 young offenders. Two attendants from a private company watch the boy around the clock, at a cost to taxpayers of $700 a day. Johnson said she does not know any details of his care. 

Doherty said the jailhouse placement and move to Maine highlight the desperate need for better services for autistic children in New Brunswick and across Canada. He said staff at most group homes in New Brunswick aren't trained to deal with autism and don't understand the disorder. "If you don't understand autism, things can become very bad very quickly," said Doherty, who has a 9-year-old son with the disorder. "We have been pushing for (better facilities) in New Brunswick for several years. This is not a crisis that has popped up in the last two days. Residential care is a critical element for these people and it is not being provided."

Johnson said the provincial system of group homes and institutions that care for children and adults with psychiatric disorders and mental disabilities works for most people. "We do have existing resources, but once in a while, there will be an exception. Here, we are looking at a very extreme case." The boy will be moved to an Augusta, Me., treatment centre at the end of the month, said Johnson.

The centre, run by a non-profit group called Spurwink, specializes in dealing with autistic adolescents. A Spurwink representative did not return a phone call from the Toronto Star. Provincial officials could not detail the cost to keep the child at Spurwink, nor did they have information about why he's being sent to Maine, rather than a Canadian facility in another province.

Addressing Residential Care Needs of Autistic Adults is New Brunswick's Top Autism Priority

Autism is NOT only a childhood disorder.   Autistic children grow up and become adults and many will not lose entirely their autism challenges. While recovery has been reported in some credible agencies by means of intensive early intervention and addressing related biomedical issues many autistic adults will require assisted living and some will require secure residential facilities and access to specialized services and treatments. In New Brunswick both autism advocates and government began to make progress in providing autism services first to preschoolers and subsequently to autistic school children.  But little substantial progress has been made in provision of  decent residential care to autistic adults.

The group home system in New Brunswick  is not a success. As a lawyer I have represented autistic youths in the Courts in New Brunswick who could not function in New Brunswick group homes. I have seen cases where such youths were charged as a result of alleged assaults arising out of confrontations between youths with autism or Aspergers and untrained staff.  I visited the Centracare facility in Saint John and the Campbellton psychiatric hospital in Saint John where some of our most severely autistic adults have resided. I know that some have been sent out of the country for periods of time to facilities in the United States. I received an email from a parent in Saint John whose autistic child essentially lived on a hospital ward.

Some autistic children will benefit greatly from the ABA services now available in New Brunswick, services which were not widely available 10 years ago.  Some will live independent lives but others will not. If we do not focus, if we, government and parents,  do not advocate now for autistic adults and make it a top autism priority more autistic children will grow up and live on hospital wards in Saint John and Campbellton.

Adult autism residential care is a long overdue priority for autism advocacy and services. If we do not focus on the provision of adult autism care now it will not get done. More of New Brunswick's autistic children will grow up and live their lives in conditions no one wishes for their children.

Parents, grandparents, family members and friends of autistic children and adults in New Brunswick.  People are knocking on your door during this election.  They are asking for your vote. Tell them we need a modernized residential care system for autistic adults. Better still don't wait for them to knock on your door. Email them, FACEBOOK them, tweet them, write them. Call their campaign office. But let them know that adult residential care is New Brunswick's top autism priority. Let's focus. Let's make it happen.

I Am Voting Autism in the New Brunswick Election, I Am Voting Liberal

Shawn Graham, TJ Burke, Mary Schryer, Kelly Lamrock

The New Brunswick election is well under way, as the CBCNews NB Votes 2010 election countdown ticker tells us, with 22 days left until Election Day.  At this stage it is my hunch that autism services  will not receive any specific commitments from the parties.   Unless something dramatic, in the nature of a strong autism specific commitment to a new, modern residential care system for autistic adults emerges from one of the parties though this father of a severely autistic 14 year old son intends to vote Liberal.

Long before the last election took place autism groups advocated for early intervention and autism specific training for teacher assistants and resource teachers working with autistic students in New Brunswick schools. Many discussions took place with government and opposition political leaders. The then Conservative government of Premier Bernard Lord took some initial steps and Premier Shawn Graham's Liberal government developed those services substantially; particularly in New Brunswick schools.  The fact that autism advocacy groups, in direct discussion with the political leadership, played such a significant role in helping shape autism services in the schools did not always sit well with the interests of some career people in the Department of Education who opposed the changes and fought them, in some cases tooth and nail.  The changes were implemented though, after further study by then Liberal Education Minister Kelly Lamrock, and the autism commitments made by Premier Shawn Graham were honored to the great advantage of many New Brunswick students with autism disorders, including my son Conor.

Although both Conservative and Liberal governments have helped New Brunswick's autistic children in the past   autism specific commitments are not being discussed by any political party.  None of the three other parties, the NDP, the Green nor the new People's Alliance of New Brunswick have any hope of forming the next New Brunswick government.  

It is the prospect of further progress on advancing autism services, particularly for New Brunswick's adult autism population, that has me leaning strongly towards voting Liberal on September 27 2010. I will vote Liberal in the next election, in the likely absence of any autism specific commitment from the parties, because I know that the Liberal government including Shawn Graham, Kelly Lamrock, Mary Schryer  and TJ Burke, has a proven track record of helping autistic children in New Brunswick and I know from direct discussions  that they are solidly committed to helping with those with autism.  

Although I never had the opportunity to talk directly with former Conservative Premier Bernard Lord and former minister Tony Huntjens they did demonstrate a commitment to helping New Brunswick's autistic children.  Neither, however, are running in this election and Conservative leader David Alward has shown no substantial  interest in autism issues specifically, or in education, social or health issues generally.  His comments about requiring "volunteer" community service before New Brunswick students can graduate from High School cause me concern. The concept of requiring voluntary service seems illogical and contradictory. To this father of two high school sons Mr. Alward's comments also  suggest a  lack of sophisticated understanding of education issues.

The next great autism challenge in New Brunswick is to reform and modernize the residential care and treatment system for our  autistic adults.  The current group home system is inadequate for those who live there on many fronts include diet, recreation and access to treatment. The group home system as it is currently set up does not work at all for the lowest functioning autistic adults in New Brunswick who have  ended up living out their lives in psychiatric hospital wards in Saint John and Campbellton.

Current Health Minister Kelly Lamrock has stated that his department is studying, and working on the residential care system for New Brunswick autistic adults.  I know that autism groups, in which I have been included at times, have made representation on this issue. I believe Kelly Lamrock, who I have met and talked with many times, to be a  knowledgeable and trustworthy individual.  I believe that Kelly Lamrock will oversee the development of an autism specific residential care system for autistic adults.

I have   also met Premier Shawn Graham and discussed autism issues with him.  He committed to the Autism Society that his government would  train four years of classes of teacher assistants and resource teachers at UNB-CEL's autism intervention training program. Shawn Graham  kept that promise. He did so despite at times intense opposition from  interests within the Department of Education.

Like many New Brunswickers I was surprised and disappointed with Premier Graham's  reversal of his campaign commitment concerning NB Power.  I expressed my disappointment publicly but I think that Premier Graham entered into the NB Power deal  because he genuinely believed it was in the best interests of New Brunswick and felt that his first commitment, his first obligation as Premier,  was to govern in the best interests of New Brunswickers.    I believe that as a Premier he learned much from, and grew from,  that experience. And at the end of the day autism issues really carry my attention and Premier Shawn Graham has done much to help autistic children and students.

When we make our marks on election day it is for a local candidate in each riding. In this riding TJ Burke is the Liberal candidate and his personal and professional qualities are well known.  I know him as an MLA who I believe has represented our riding well in the Legislature. I know him as a very capable lawyer.  TJ Burke has always been very supportive on autism issues and even while the Liberals were in opposition he went out of his way to stop and talk with me at autism rallies I was involved with in Fredericton. I have talked with TJ several times about, and  know that he has been genuinely interested in, adult autism issues, and would be, if the Liberals are re-elected,  a strong supporter of improvements to New Brunswick's autistic adult residential care system.

On September 27  I will not be casting a protest vote or voting in anger. My vote will not be shaped by cynicism.  I will be voting for the party that I believe is most likely to help New Brunswick's autistic adults with a modernized autism specific adult residential care system, hopefully one with an enhanced facility located centrally in Fredericton near the autism expertise at UNB and the Stan Cassidy centre. I will be voting for the party that I know to be committed to, and knowledgeable about, autism generally. 

I mean no  disrespect toward the other parties, leaders or candidates.  But on September 27 I will be voting Autism.  I will be voting Liberal. 

Autism In The New Brunswick Provincial Election, September 27, 2010?

The New Brunswick provincial election is just underway with  Election Day set for September 27, 2010.    Unofficial campaigning has been under way for several months although the official campaign start date was earlier this week and resulted in several complaints that candidates had jumped the gun in erecting election signs.  (For those from outside New Brunswick, a few shots I took  of the New Brunswick legislature follow).  There are five parties contesting the election including the governing Liberals and official opposition Progressive Conservative Party who traditionally take turns forming the government and official opposition. They are joined by the New Democratic Party which has a strong political heritage elsewhere in Canada but not in New Brunswick, the relatively new Green Party and the brand spanking new People's Alliance of New Brunswick born out of the ashes of the NB Power political firestorm that threatened to derail the current Liberal government.

So far I have been unable to locate any mention by any of the parties of autism issues or commitments.  It is still very, very early, and perhaps we will hear something about autism services from the parties. I do not make these comments in a negative way.  Both former Conservative Premier Bernard Lord and current Liberal Premier Shawn Graham have made very substantial improvements to autism services for pre-schoolers and students.  Several Ministers from both of these governments have demonstrated sincere and conscientious commitment to helping autistic children and I single out in particular former Conservative Tony Huntjens and Liberal Kelly Lamrock.  

In New Brunswick autism has been dealt with in a very bi-partisan manner and I am genuinely proud of our political leaders in dealing with autism issues;  all the more so since I traveled to Ontario as part of the Medicare for Autism team led by Jean Lewis and David Marley from British Columbia.  In  Toronto where I used to work and in Oakville, next door to my son Conor's birthplace in Burlington Ontario,  I met Ontario autism advocates like Barry Hudson, Norrah Whitney,  Stefan Marinoiu and Jennifer O'Brien all of whom have been fighting hard against the bureaucratic stonewalling and  denial of autism services and treatment of  Ontario Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty's government. 

Although I am proud of what New Brunswick governments have done for provision of autism services for pre-schoolers and students with autism disorders over the past 10 years I can not say the same about services for autistic adults. New Brunswick has long been in serious need of an autism specific residential care and treatment system for adults with autism. I have been part of several presentations that have been made in writing and in meetings at which concerns were pressed.  In particular the need for better regulated group homes with autism trained personnel and more attention to recreational and dietary needs has been expressed. Further it is clear that a center or village capable of serving the most severely affected by autism is needed in place of the psychiatric hospital in Campbellton.

I have met the professionals who operate the Campbellton hospital. They impressed me as dedicated and caring people who are doing the best they can to deal with a challenging situation and a questionable mandate of returning severely affected autistic adults to the community based group homes around the province. It is imperative that an autism specific facility be located in Fredericton, with its central location, and its proximity to the autism expertise available at UNB, UNB-CEL, the Stan Cassidy Center and the Board Certified Behavior Analysts that the Department of Education has brought in to replace the UNB-CEL as the primary training resource for teacher assistants working with autistic children. It makes no sense to locate an autism specific facility away from Fredericton and the autism expertise that has been built here over the past decade.  Fredericton also offers natural environments which could provide invaluable recreational opportunities for autistic adults including the incredible trails, O'Dell Park and Killarney Lake.

Whatever the next government decides to do with respect to provision of modernized autism residential care and treatment for adults the current situation will not suffice. At the start of this political campaign nothing has been said about such autism services. Hopefully that will change before September 27, 2010.