In the picture above Conor is just shy of 3 1/2 years old but he is sporting the smile he has worn for all of his 21+ years. He is and has been a wonderful happy boy who is loved by family and those who know him in the community from schools to stores. When I walk into a store with Conor he is met with greetings, his name called out and smiles. Life has been good but as the Swedish study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry and reported by the UK autism research charity Autistica points out his combination of autism, intellectual disability and epilepsy his life could be reduced by more than 30 years. Here in NB when his old Dad can no longer provide the care he needs he will be probably be banished like most severely autistic adults to life in Donald Areseneault's Campbellton, on our northern border with Quebec, far from families and far from the autism expertise at the Stan Cassidy Centre, and the UNB-CEL that formed the basis for the internationally recognized early autism program. Conor's future looks dark but I will not give up on him, I will fight the political hacks who think autism is a cake cutting, super hero walk photo op. I will fight them until I am Dead. And I will find joy in the great life Conor has had to date and shared with families and persons he has met. Conor's smile gives me the strength to continue the fight for the evidence based health care, true community and continuing education network and centre that is so badly needed.
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