Parents of children and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder blast Premier Gallant, Opposition Leader, Blaine Higgs and all 49 Members of the Legislative Assembly

Parents of children and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder blast Premier Gallant, Opposition Leader, Blaine Higgs and all 49 Members of the Legislative Assembly.

Parents and self-advocates want to convey their deepest disappointment and dissatisfaction to the Government of New Brunswick for their indifference and non-support to persons with Autism Spectrum Disorder. On behalf of parents across the Province of New Brunswick, Autism Advocacy New Brunswick extended a special invitation to Premier Gallant, Opposition Leader Blaine Higgs and all 49 MLA’s to attend a conference on Autism Adult Care Services.

Autism Advocacy New Brunswick hosted the conference in Miramichi on June 16th at NBCC. The conference was open to all parents, self-advocates, and families in New Brunswick. Parents felt that it was vital that government representatives be there to hear the concerns of families and to hear from the main guest speaker Dr. Paul MacDonnell, the leading Autism expert in the province. Dr. MacDonnell has tremendous insight on the current adult crisis in the Province of New Brunswick, but more importantly he also has a solution to the crisis. Dr. MacDonnell submitted a proposal in 2015 on Autism Adult Care Services to the government, and as of today there has been no movement on this file. Parents were hoping to connect not only with their own MLA but had hopes of dialoguing with many MLA’s so that Dr. MacDonnell’s presentation would be a starting point to build trust and understanding with families, resulting in positive steps to make changes. Sadly, this collective process to work together was never to unfold on June 16th.

Parents were dismayed and aghast when an organizer asked the parliamentary dignitaries to stand for recognition, and to thank those who came to support families. There was no recognition or acknowledgement, as there were no MLA’s from any part of the province who bothered to show up. Yes, it is beyond shameful. Now the question is how do parties spin this? There was not a parent in room A1145 who could be sold on the idea that 49 MLA’s and their leaders were too busy to attend due to their schedules. The audience felt disrespected and jilted. The parents and self-advocates knew in that moment, that their children were not a priority of any government.

New Brunswick citizens expect certain qualities of behaviours among all MLA’s. Parent’s not only felt betrayed by their own MLA, but the most devastating outcome resulted in adults with Autism Spectrum disorder feeling marginalized. To quote a few number of self-advocates, “They don’t care.” Intentional or unintentional, the leaders and the MLA’s by their absence, devalued a group of vulnerable people. As parents felt strong emotions from within, one statement consistently arose. “They don’t care about my son or anyone else’s son or daughter. The only thing they care about are themselves and their pensions.
In conclusion, we as parents are asking, is this the real world of how political actors operate, a collective body of leaders and MLA’s? One thing we can be sure of is these political actors will be out shortly knocking on your doors looking for a vote. When politicians fall short of expectation and standards, this results in let-down and disappointment. These political actors tore down the human spirit on June 16th.