Sunday, July 24, 2016

Bumping Into Shawn Graham - A Premier Who Made A Difference For NB's Autistic Children



Above Shawn Graham commits to allocate resources to autism children in New Bruswick, 2010

Below Shawn Graham and late Fredericton MP Andy Scott who advocated for autism services in Ottawa spend some time with the kids at Autism Intervention Services, Fredericton




On the way back from a visit to the Eagle's Nest with Conor I stopped to grab Conor a pop at a service station.  I didn't recognize the gentleman standing in front of me until he turned around and said hello.  It was a genuine pleasure to bump into Shawn Graham a genuinely nice guy and a premier who did much to help autistic children in NB.   

I know first hand that he expanded on the early intervention autism services begun by former premier Bernard Lord and provided an unambiguous commitment to train 400 teacher aides and resource teachers at the UNB-CEL Autism Intervention Training progam that had received international recognition. His specific commitment was to train 100 per year for 4 years and he kept that promise despite intense pressure from some in the Department of Education who saw career possibilities for themselves by bringing the program in house under their direction.   

NB is a small province and sometimes you bump into people of prominence. That is all well and good.  When it is a premier who did so much for autistic children it is a real treat and makes my day.

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