Adult Autism Disorders NB 2020?
Proper Residential Care and Treatment?
Will NB Continue to Violate the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability of NB adults with severe autism and intellectual disabilities or Will it End the Restigouche Hospital Atrocity, close the Restigouche Hospital and start work on a Fredericton based autism centre with a village of autism specific care homes in communities around the province for adult persons with autism and a variety levels of need of autism residential care and treatment?
I asked this question of our MLAs in November 2018. I received no real answer to my question.
The Ombud Report issued in 2019 "Failure to Protect" provided clear and compelling evidence that the proposed youth mental health centre which has now been scheduled to be established in Moncton would not provide appropriate services and care. The evidence in that report confirms confirms that the Restigouche does NOT provide proper services and is not an appropriate setting for adults with serious autism and intellectual disabilities.
The Karissa Donkin CBC report on disciplinary issues "Violence and threats, negligence, insubordination led to discipline at troubled hospital" also confirms that there are very serious disciplinary issues at the Restigouche which is located on our Northern border as far as possible from our larger populations and far from most NB families. The location makes it difficult to retain professionals for the Restigouche and to maintain a disciplined, properly trained work force.
In New Brunswick very substantial gains have been made with respect to the provision of health, education and social services to persons with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Our early autism intervention program has achieved national AND international recognition based on the excellent work of the UNB-CEL Autism program at UNB Fredericton. Teacher aides and Resource Teachers have received autism training from the UNB-CEL program and the Stan Cassidy Centre Autism team provides autism consultations up to age 19. NOTHING however has been done to provide for professional, decent, humane autism residential care and treatment for adults.
Paul McDonnell Ph.D., and a Canada wide leader in developing evidence based autism treatment, was a key player in establishing the program which forms the basis of these services and he also, in consultation with parent advocates, developed the NB Autism Spectrum Village Proposal which was presented to the Gallant Government, then Social Development Minister Cathy Rogers, in 2015. The "Village Proposal" would provide for the establishment of an Autism Centre in Fredericton, the home of NB's current autism expertise and centrally located. The centre would provide training and oversight for staff in homes around the PNB close to families in all parts of the province. It would also provide, from its central location, permanent residential care for those most challenged by autism and related conditions.
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