The Vancouver Sun reports that a six year old child with an autism disorder, that's right six years old, was removed from a Langley, British Columbia school after a Worksafe BC investigation agreed with a complaint by staff who refused to work at the school because of the danger posed by the six year old autistic boy.  The article points out that the staff at the school who refused to work with the young child have no training in something called "the Crisis Response Plan Protocol".  The WSBC report also quoted a Langley area Teacher Association President who commented on the lack of adequate "special education" training for teachers.

Unfortunately not all districts and schools educating autistic children have been interested in having autism trained teachers and aides working with autistic children.  Here in New Brunswick we still have autistic children being sent home from schools because school staff are not properly trained in how to educate and management the behavioral challenges of autistic children.  The problem has been compounded in New Brunswick by the extreme inclusion views of Gordon Porter, currently a special adviser to Education Minister Jody Carr, and the architect of New Brunswick's extreme inclusion model which forcefully encourages all children to be dumped in the mainstream classroom whether or not it is in their best interests to do so.

Autism disorders are neurological disorders which are still not taken seriously by some educators including, apparently, those in BC, and of course New Brunswick's own Gordon Porter. The best interests of autistic children are simply not always on the agenda for cost cutting school administrators or ideologues who believe that only they understand what is best for all school children.

Provide credible autism specific training for those who work with autistic children? Accommodate them, if the best interests of the specific child require a quieter learning environment for all or parts of the school day? Heaven forbid.

Far easier to blame the autistic child, keep him or her out of school, and forget about the child's best interests.

As this year draws to an end and a new year approaches I congratulate you on your victory in the recent election; on winning the trust of the people of New Brunswick. In facing up to the well known financial and economic challenges confronting New Brunswickers I hope, and trust, that this government will not neglect the eduction, health and social needs of New Brunswickers, of all New Brunswickers, including NB adults with autism disorders. In particular I hope, and ask in this open letter, that this government begin serious efforts in 2011 to address the residential care and treatment needs of New Brunswick adults with autism disorders.

I am the father of a 14 year old boy with Autistic Disorder, assessed with profound developmental delays. In plain language he is severely autistic. I have, because of his condition, been an active autism advocate in New Brunswick over the past 12 years. New Brunswick has enjoyed much success in addressing preschool and education needs of autistic children and youth in recent years taking an evidence based approach and we have done it in both of our official languages. These advances began under the government of Premier Bernard Lord and grew during Premier Shawn Graham's term in office. The success that has been enjoyed with autistic preschoolers and students stands in stark contrast, however, to the lack of progress in helping NB's autistic youth and adults who are severely disabled by their disorders and who have need of residential care and treatment which have not been provided in any meaningful sense in New Brunswick.

In 2005 the national media reported that an autistic New Brunswick youth was being held on the grounds of the Miramichi youth correctional facility. At that time NB autism advocates had already been advocating for several years for a modernized residential care and treatment system for NB youth and adults. No significant progress has been made over the past 10 years. During the recent election campaign Professor Emeritus (Psychology) and Clinical Psychologist Paul McDonnell was interviewed by CBC and described a comprehensive modernized approach to autism residential care and treatment:

The model described by Paul McDonnell has been described and advocated for in meetings with senior civil servants over the past decade but no action has resulted. Today we still have autistic adults living in facilities outside New Brunswick and in a variety of ad hoc accommodations. The most seriously challenged persons live in the psychiatric hospital in Restigouche. The current group homes have untrained staff . We need a modernized, centrally located facility that could provide treatment and permanent residential care for those most severely disabled by autism disorders and community based residential facilities around the province with properly trained staff. In 10 years there has been no progress in addressing the residential care and treatment needs of autistic youth and adults. I respectfully ask that your government begin planning, in 2011, to provide an evidence based system, as described by Dr. McDonnell, that will address these needs and provide a decent quality of life for our autistic youth and adult population.