Autism AND Intellectual Disability: It is NOT Complex or Complicated - It is a Challenging and Substantial Component of the Autism Spectrum of Disorders

Autism AND Intellectual Disability: It is NOT Complex or Complicated - It is a Challenging and Substantial Component of the Autism Spectrum of Disorders

A local community center, Autism Connections Fredericton, does not like to use the expression "Intellectual Disability" when referring to autism or persons with autism. ACF will refer to autism as "complex" and publicly offer to "chat and chill" with persons with self diagnosed autism but make no reference, even in a publicly financed "survey" to determine needs of the NB autism "community" of the very large numbers of persons with autism AND intellectual disability. Most of this large half of the total autism population (not all of whom can participate in community centre events) have serious every day residential care and treatment requirements. Many of whom are sent to the Restigouche Hospital Horror Show.

What is required is a range of residential care and treatment options with a centrally located adult autism treatment centre as summarized in the Autism Village presented to government in 2015 by Paul McDonnell together with myself and fellow autism parent advocate Cynthia Bartlett. (Ms. Bartlett, myself and another parent advocate presented Professor Emeritus McDonnell's 2015 paper again this year.)

ACF is not alone in its neglect of the ID half of the autism spectrum. CONNECT a component of the Atlantic Provinces Autism Conference hosted an APAC conference without a single written submission concerning autism AND Intelletcual Disability. The same story is holding true for the UNBCEL APAC which presents only NBACL as a source of information on intellectual disability and autism. As a NB parent of a 23 year old son who advocated for the past 20 yeas for evidence based services for all persons on the spectrum I know that NBACL did not assist our efforts and sometimes opposed us. As a parent I have never seen any material information from NBACL that would assist me in providing 24/7 care to my son with autism and ID.

UNBCEL and ACF know better. They know that the World Health Organization has consistently estimated that 50% of the World's autism population are also intellectually disabled. They know or they should know that the CDC indicates that only 44% of persons with ASD have average or above average intellectual ability, 32% have an intellectual disability and 24% are borderline intellectual disability.

The 2019 Ombud report on the failures at the Restigouche and the recent CBC Karissa Donkin report on its disciplinary issues leave no more room for pretending that the care and treatment of approximately half of NB's autism population is being properly considered.