People Have Moved TO NB? Seriously? Yes! For Early Autism Intervention Services for their CHILDREN! We Can Do It For Autistic ADULTS Too!!

Unlike adult autism services where New Brunswick has failed to take comprehensive action  to provide professional, accessible adult autism treatment and services the PNB has received recognition for its early intervention services developed to the point that familes from elsewere have moved to New Brunswick so their children with autism disorders can receive evidence based early intervention. NB has developed early intervention and school based services for young persons with autism. Given the developed autism expertise why has NB refused to take action to develop adult autism care and treatment, particularly for those most severely impaired by their autism and related disorders?

Early intervention services in NB were featured in a Toronto Star interview with the Forsyth family who moved here from Toronto so their children could access New Brunswick's early intensive behavioural intervention.  

"It had taken months of referrals, paperwork and lineups just to get the boys assessed. Then came worse news: they would have to wait at least two years for provincially-funded treatment in Toronto.

Private therapy, which would cost tens of thousands of dollars a year, was out of the question for Forsyth and her husband Erik, a steelworker in the highrise building industry.

So they opted for a radical solution. Last winter, they packed up their three preschoolers and moved to New Brunswick after Forsyth learned the wait times there would be a couple of months.

A year later, Forsyth, 29, is homesick, but not sorry.

“It was either that or keep waiting in Toronto,” she says over the phone from the family’s rented duplex south of Moncton. “I couldn’t do that, it was too hard.”

Since last May, her 3-year-old sons have each been receiving 20 hours a week of intensive behavioural intervention delivered by two therapists in their home and funded by New Brunswick."

There have been informal reports of other families with autistic children moving to New Brunswick including some military families who sought postings to Base Gagetown so their children could access autism services. Further NB autism expert Paul McDonnell  noted years ago in a 2010 CBC analysis   that New Brunswick can be a leader in autism services (September 24, 2010)  David Celiberti of the Association for Science in Autism Treatement responded to the title in his commentary on the NB autism intervention model: ASAT Responds to Canadian CBC’s “N.B. Can Be a Leader in Autism Services (October 23, 2010)”.  In that article Dr. Celiberti stated:

"I read with great interest your recent article about the state of services in New Brunswick (“N.B. Can Be a Leader in Autism Services,” September 14, 2010). I do beg to differ about the title of the piece. New Brunswick is already a leader. To have amassed 800 trained agents of change in six years is nothing short of incredible and inspiring, particularly given the diversity of your province with respect to geography and language. Other Canadian provinces can look to New Brunswick for an exemplary model of how things could and should be for children with autism and their families."

New Brunswick has achieved acclaim for its early intervention and school autism services.  As one of the parents involved in advocating for those services I am very pleased but I am extremely disappointed with the lack of effort by our provincial governments with respect to providing the necessary adult autism care and treatment. In his September 24, 2010 article Professor Emeritus (Psychology) and Clinical Psychologist Paul McDonnell stated:

"What remains to be done? 

While we need to celebrate the achievements to date, we need to make a commitment to the needs of all families and all age groups. 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 behaviorally trained supervisors and therapists. Some jurisdictions in the United States have outstanding facilities that are in part funded by the state and provide a range of opportunities for supervised and independent living for individuals with various disabilities. 

The costs of not providing such services can be high financially and in terms of human costs. As a psychologist in private practice I know there are large numbers of older individuals who are diagnosed later in life with Asperger’s Syndrome that have no access to professional services of any kind. 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 can do much, much better. 

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. 

In conclusion, New Brunswick has one of the most advanced intervention programs in Canada for children who are on the autism spectrum and the benfits for the children and their families are exceptional. 

Many families have moved to New Brunswick for services and, as well, many professionals have moved here because of the opportunities provided by this program."

(Bold highlighting added - HLD)

New Brunswick established itself as a leader in early intervention and school autism services in Canada.  NB governments since then though have refused to develop the adult autism center and group home system as recommended by NB autism expert Paul McDonnell in his 2010 CBC analysis.  Money is not really the issue in my humble opinion.  Some costs can be recovered by inefficient and inadequate ad hoc services currently provided.  Hospitals, schools and other facilities scheduled for closing could be used to build the center and group homes.  Everyone except the most unfortunate lives in buildings. It is not generally the structure that makes a building undesirable it is how it is used and what kinds of services are provided in the building and with what kind of oversight that could be adapted to provide autism treatment and for those most in need long term, permanent in some cases, residential care for those most in need.  Properly trained professionals and staff could make it happen by providing security, education, recreation and positive living experiences based on the inviduals living there and  incorporated in the community.

It is long past time to make it happen. We have proven we can do it for early intervention and school services. We can do it for our autistic adults too, autistic adults like my son Conor.