Dear Toronto City Councillor Doug Ford, as the father of a son with severe autism disorder, my son Conor pictured above, I want to reassure you that you needn’t be so afraid of autistic kids. If you actually get to know any you may find they can even bring a
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Facing Autism in New Brunswick: Toronto Star: Toronto Councillor Doug Ford Believes Treatment Home for Kids with Autism "Ruined the Community"
Is Toronto City Councillor Doug Ford so contemptible as to verbally attack autistic children residing at a home for children with autism? con·tempt·ible adjective \kən-ˈtem(p)-tə-bəl\ : not worthy of respect or approval : deserving contempt “Contemptible.” Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 18 May 2014. The Toronto Star reports that Doug Ford,
Continue readingFacing Autism in New Brunswick: Shannon Hill Speaks Up About About ABA Autism Intervention Benefits and Autism "Services" in Saskatchewan
Shannon Hill of Saskatchewan, parent of a child on the autism spectrum, Board Certified Assistant Behaviour Analyst, (Florida Institute of Technology ABA program), autism advocate and BA (Psychology) Following is a letter written by Shannon Hill to Linda Restau director of continuing care and rehabilitation for the Ministry of Health, Province
Continue readingFacing Autism in New Brunswick: Canada’s Autism Disgrace 2007: 2014 Update
Photo from Ameriquebec.net In December 2007 I wrote Canada’s Autism Disgrace, describing the lack of a real National Autism Strategy in Canada. It is now 2014 and nothing has changed. Canada still lacks a real National Autism Strategy. The words I wrote in 2007, reprinted below, are as true and
Continue readingFacing Autism in New Brunswick: Gordon Porter’s Vanity And Bill 61, An Act To Amend The Education Act, Will Result in MORE EXCLUSIONARY Education Practices in New Brunswick Schools
Gordon Porter believes that inclusive education is simple. Unfortunately most teachers, the NBTA organisation itself, aides and education administrators have been bullied and intimidated into following his simple philosophy unquestioningly even though they know it flies in the face of the truth. They know that many children are present in
Continue readingFacing Autism in New Brunswick: Once Canada’s Autism Wasteland Has Saskatchewan Made Meaningful Progress?
Apparently Saskatchewan is still have difficulty providing necessary levels of early autism intervention. I once described it in a September 2, 2007 commentary as Canada’s Autism Wasteland: Canada’s Autism Wasteland To Take First Step Forward. At the time of my commentary Saskatchewan was one of the few provinces with
Continue readingFacing Autism in New Brunswick: Proud of Our Conor
Conor looking cool, calm and composed in his grandparents’ yard in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley in November. This morning he showed just as much calm while enduring an early morning blood sample needle. We were, once again, very proud of our Conor today. Not for demonstrating some special “autism” skill, not for anything
Continue readingFacing Autism in New Brunswick: BC Parents Want Evidence-Based Learning Programs and Supports in ALL BC School Districts
There can be hope for children with autism in BC schools Parents want evidence‐based learning programs and supports established in all B.C. school districts. February 17 2014, Surrey, BC: Recent news stories such as the Seclusion and Restraint report and most recently the story of Susan DeBeck, a
Continue readingFacing Autism in New Brunswick: Grandjean and Landrigan Propose a Global Prevention Strategy To Control the Pandemic of Developmental Neurotoxicity
In Neurobehavioural effects of developmental toxicity, published in the Lancet, Dr Philippe Grandjean MD and Philip J Landrigan MD, propose a global prevention strategy to address the impact of developmental neurotoxicants and the increasing numbers of children with developmental disabilities including autism, ADHD and intellectual disabilities. As the article abstract
Continue readingFacing Autism in New Brunswick: See You At 6
Conor went to bed at his usual time tonight. After about an hour he got up to use the washroom. As he was heading back to his room he said in his own manner of speech “See you at 6” which is the exact time he gets up every morning.
Continue readingFacing Autism in New Brunswick: Life in Conor’s "Back Yard", Fredericton’s North Riverfront Trail, in 2013
2013 was a challenging year for Conor and Dad health wise. I spent a week in acute care with some respiratory issues and Conor spent 2 weeks in hospital, including a six day stay in the ICU recovering from a life threatening adverse reaction to his seizure medication. Overall though
Continue readingFacing Autism in New Brunswick: Waterhouse & Gillberg: Why Autism Must be Taken Apart
The belief that there is a single defining autism spectrum disorder brain dysfunction must be relinquished. – Waterhouse and Gillberg, Why Autism Must Be Taken Apart I am not going to offer too much comment on the article by Lynn Waterhouse and Christopher Gillberg itself which, as the title indicates,
Continue readingFacing Autism in New Brunswick: They Just Don’t Give A Damn: 2007 Adult Autism Care and Treatment In New Brunswick Was Abysmal – 2014 Nothing Has Changed, Still Abysmal
Following this comment is a re-posting of a comment I posted on this site 7 years ago in 2007 about the abysmal state of autism youth and adult residential care and treatment in New Brunswick, Canada. 7 years later and nothing has changed. Well, one thing has changed, a very
Continue readingFacing Autism in New Brunswick: SFARI Continues Misrepresenting High Functioning Autism Only Research As "Autism" Research
The Simon Foundation Autism Research Initiative, SFARI, continues to represent studies involving only high functioning autistic participants to the public as “autism” studies. In the Children with autism have trouble recalling memories article posted January 3, 2014 SFARI reports as an “autism” study a study which excluded as participants the
Continue readingFacing Autism in New Brunswick: Autism Parents Are Not Unbreakable
The allegedly UNBREAKABLE blade of my window ice scraper snapped off under the strain of several days of heavy ice scraping in this December’s cold and snowy Canadian winter weather. In fairness to the manufacturers and distributors of the “Unbreakable” ice scraper blade I have used it well past
Continue readingFacing Autism in New Brunswick: Autism Reality Check: Wandering and Tragedy
Some promote the view that autism disorders are “gifts” if only society could understand, change its ways and accept the gifts. The autism as a gift view, is irrational nonsense. It thrives by simply ignoring the evidence of challenges presented by autism disorders including those like wandering or elopement which
Continue readingFacing Autism in New Brunswick: For Conor Control Can Make A Difference: HERSHEY"S KISSES Christmas Bells, Autism and Sensory Challenges
Conor would always react negatively when he heard the Hershey’s Kisses Christmas bells commercial. The sound of the bells, even the sight of the bells, almost invariably agitated him. Recently I recorded a couple of Frosty the Snowman shows for Conor using our television DVR system. The Hershey’s Kisses Christmas
Continue readingFacing Autism in New Brunswick: Dad Scores A Goal … With A Big Assist From Tim Hortons, Eh!
I felt like a bit of a superstar on the Conor page this morning. Yesterday we took Conor to see “Frozen” in the mall theater and we got a few things done but tried to avoid going out on the roads with some of the frantic Christmas driving going on.
Continue readingFacing Autism in New Brunswick: Ontario Children Waiting Too Long For Access To Autism Programs – Ontario Auditor General Report 2013
News ReleaseFor Immediate Release December 10, 2013 CHILDREN WAITING TOO LONG FOR ACCESS TO AUTISM PROGRAMS, AUDITOR GENERAL SAYS (TORONTO)
Continue readingFacing Autism in New Brunswick: Oh Oh!! Authors of Report Concluding Aluminum Vaccine Ajuvants Are Contributing To Increasing Incidence of Autism Disorders Better DUCK!
Authors of a report published in the Comprehensive Guide to Autism 2014, pp 1585-1609 better duck fast! The article abstract reviews the highly toxic nature of aluminum and conclude that research data suggest that vaccines containing aluminum adjuvants may be a contributing etiological factor in the increasing incidence of autism. Such an assertion
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