Today is Conor's Birthday No. 22 and Today is Family Day for MOST New Brunswick Families: What Does The Future Hold?

Today is Conor's 22nd Birthday and we started early with some yummy Birthday cake.  Conor was very happy to show us how to eat Birthday Cake.  Below Conor's birthday cake munching photo is a picture of Conor with his Mom a few days after his actual birthday followed by a picture when he was just 3 days old with his wonderful brother Brandon and his Dad looking slightly younger than when I looked in the mirror this morning.  The last picture shows Conor with his Dad on his second birthday, the day before we received his autism disorder diagnosis. 

We have celebrated every day of Conor's wonderful life and we have many, many happy, smiling Conor pictures to prove it. But I have to pay attention and continue to try and bring  public attention to the harsh realities of autism disorders including the premature mortality by as much as 30 years for those with autism and intellectual disability established in solid studies including the recent Swedish study reported on by the UK Autistica charity in its report Personal tragedies, public crisis: The urgent need for a national response to early death in autism. I am NOT speaking for those adults with higher functioning levels who can speak for themselves.  I AM speaking for my son who will face a harsh life after his Dad, with whom he lives can no longer be of help either through old age or by meeting that inevitable "train at the end of the tunnel".

Youths and adults with autism have, for many years, been sent to general hospital wards, to facilities outside of Canada and to a Regional Psychiatric Hospital in Campbellton a small town that straddles the NB Quebec boundary on New Brunswick's Northern border.  New Brunswick intentionally sends autistic adults to our Northern Border for political reasons to help elect politicians like lobbyist and former Liberal Party power figure Donald Arseneault.  NB's population to the extent that it is still growing is growing in the South in Fredericton, SJ and Moncton.  Fredericton which is the most centrally located city in NB is also the home of autism expertise in NB with the Early Autism program at UNB-CEL and the Stan Cassidy autism team which provides autism services to age 16.

In 2010 UNB Professor Emeritus (Psychology) Paul McDonnell  Ph. D. was interviewed on CBC and pointed out the pressing need for an autism centre for those with autism who require long term residential care and treatment which could also provide training for autism group homes around the province.   That expert advice, backed by the parent advocates who fought successfully for the establishment of the UNB-CEL program, for the early autism program, for autism trained Teacher Aides and for the reversal of the decision to close the Stan Cassidy autism team, has been ignored by governments every since.  

The rationalizations for refusing to provide the decent, humane autism network recommended long ago by Prof. McDonnell vary from misguided, non evidence based philosophy of incessantly repeating "community, inclusion" day after day, year after year, while ignoring the evidence of autistic adults being sent to institutions far from their families to the cowardice and corruption of the current government which sends people like my son to Campbellton for purely political reasons causing them immeasurable harm.

Prominent Liberals Bernard Richard and Michael Murphy QC identified the liberal government decision to establish a mental health centre in Campbellton as one of the worst decisions they had ever seen.  Murphy a former Health Minister, a former Justice Minister,  clearly stated that the Liberal government decisions are politically based and that it illustrated Donald Arseneault's influence within the Liberal government. 

I submit that the refusal to establish the autism centre and network called for by Professor MacDonnell and parent autism advocates many years ago, while sending severely autistic adults to Campbellton on our northern border for purely political reasons is corrupt, cruel and cowardly.

I will continue to fight the corrupt cowards of any party that continue to banish autistic adults like my son to Campbellton and general hospital wards when they know that solutions exist as recommended by Professor MacDonnell 8 years ago and as advocated for many parents for many years prior thereto.  

I will also continue to find joy in my son, and to try bring as much joy to my son's life, as I can for as long as I can. 

Family Day in New Brunswick For Most New Brunswick Families

Some adults with severe autism disorders and related conditions are sent to the Restigouche Psychiatric Hospital in Campbellton for temporary and permanent residential care and treatment far, far from their family members in the south. Family Day is great for an end of winter holiday but it would be nice if NB govrernments thought about adults with severe autism and the families who love them and care for them for as long as age permits

As this map from the NB Government Family Day site shows Campbellton, which has a declining population, is far from the bulk of the NB population in the southern part of the province in Fredericton, Moncton, Saint John.  Unlike Fredericton which is the most centrally located of New Brunswick cities the Campbellton facility does not have the growing expertise of the Fredericton area where the Stan Cassidy Centre autism team provides autism consultation to age 16 and the UNB-CEL autism program has provided services to NB, Saskatchewan and France. .

In my opinion Family Day itself is an excellent idea and I thank NB governments for providing a holiday at a point in our winter when NBers can use a day off, a break to just enjoy time, hopefully with our Families. I am disappointed though that the NB government does not recognize the importance of family in the well being and care of adults with severe autism conditions. 

When the Liberal government announced that a mental health centre would be situated in Campbellton prominent Liberal Bernard Richard made his displeasure known calling it "the worst decision he has seen in a while".

In  the same article former  NB  Health and Justice Minister Michael Murphy stated that this Liberal government bases its health decisions on political considerations in this case benefiting Donald Arseneault who has now gone on to a full time lobbying career:

"Bernard Richard...appalled by location of new centre.  I agree," tweeted Murphy.

Murphy blamed the decision on Liberal party politics and pointed to his former cabinet colleague Donald Arseneault as the likely source of the decision. Arseneault is the current minister of energy and mines and represents the riding of Campbellton-Dalhousie in the legislature. Arseneault made the actual announcement in Campbellton on Saturday, rather than Health Minister Victor Boudreau.

"Power of Donald Arseneault is evident by this," tweeted Murphy. "The location away from family for most young patients may only aggravate the condition.  But this government is intensely political."

Before Monsieur Arseneault departed for greener pastures he did reply to a tweet from me:

In his tweet Donald Areneault ignored the very large differences in the numbers of people  affected in Woodstock, Fredericton, Moncton and Saint John. In his mind it was OK for the large numbers of persons affected in the south to suffer because the far smaller population in the north would suffer from being sent south.  He also ignores the fact that autism expertise has been developing in Fredericton and received international recognition. Both in terms of central location and autism expertise it would make much more sense to develop the adult autism care facility for the most severely affected in Fredericton with smaller group homes around the province including Campbellton. Staff in the group homes could be sent to Fredericton for training and there would be far more adult autistic persons living humane lives with professional oversight near their families. He also lacked the honesty to admit that the decision to dump severely autistic adults in Campbellton on our Northern Border was done for political reasons ... to benefit him.

I did seek the assistance of my MLA, and my son's MLA Stephen Horsman, to discuss developing an adult autism care facility in Fredericton, building on the autism expertise and the central location of Fredericton,  Unfortunately for my son Conor Mr Horsman followed the party line in much the same wording later tweeted by his colleague Donald Arseneault and dismissed my request condescendingly.  

Health care is an important issue in New Brunswick as for most of Canada.  Before die hard Liberals vote for a second consecutive term they may want to consider the implications for their families of a government making health decisions based on political considerations.