My son Conor, a great joy in my life, now 20 years old, suffers from
severe autism disorder wearing his adult autism center advocacy t-shirt. Today I sent a letter
to our Fredericton North MLA Stephen Horsman hoping to push him to advocate for
Conor and other adults with autism in NB who will need residential care and treatment.
May
6, 2016
Stephen
Horsman
MLA
Fredericton North
Dear
Mr. Horsman:
I am the father of a 20 year old son with
severe autism living in your riding of Fredericton North. There are currently no adult autism specific
residential care and treatment facilities available in New Brunswick to provide
the residential care and treatment he will ultimately need. If my life was
terminated early by accident he would most likely be sent from where he has
lived here in Fredericton to the Restigouche Psychiatric Hospital in northwestern
New Brunswick far from remaining family members and friends who know and love
him. I am writing you to once again
request your assistance as the MLA for my riding to work with your colleagues
in government to build the adult autism center and with local facilities around
the province as advocated for many years by parents and key professionals like
Professor Emeritus (Psychology) Paul McDonnell.
The network would be built around a center in Fredericton which would
provide treatment, permanent residential care to those most severely affected
by autism and related disorders and oversight and guidance to the residential
care and adult treatment centers around the province.
Paul
McDonnell, CBC, September, 2010:
"Our
greatest need at present is to develop services for adolescents and adults.
What is needed is a range of residential and non-residential services and these
services need to be staffed with behaviourally trained supervisors and
therapists. 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. We need an enhanced group home system throughout the province in
which homes would be linked directly to a major centre that could provide
ongoing training, leadership and supervision. That major centre could also
provide services for those who are mildly affected as well as permanent
residential care and treatment for the most severely affected. 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. The focus must be on education,
positive living experiences, and individualized curricula. The key to success
is properly trained professionals and staff."
Respectfully,
Harold
L Doherty
Fredericton,
NB
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