Autism services needed for N.B. adults

UNB professor emeritus says adult facilities needed in N.B.

Last Updated: Tuesday, September 14, 2010 | 4:16 AM ET

By Daniel McHardie, CBC News

Paul McDonnell, a professor emeritus at the University of New Brunswick, said the provincial government must provide better services for adults with autism. (Courtesy of Paul McDonnell)

New Brunswick must start injecting new funds into developing autism services for adolescents and adults, according to a University of New Brunswick expert.

The New Brunswick government has made great strides in the last six years in helping pre-school and school-aged children who have been diagnosed with autism.

Although there is much to celebrate on how the province treats young people, Paul McDonnell, a professor emeritus in psychology at the University of New Brunswick, writes in an analysis for CBC News that there are still large holes in the services offered to older people.

"Our greatest need at present is to develop services for adolescents and adults," McDonnell writes.

"What is needed is a range of residential and non-residential services and these services need to be staffed with behaviourally trained supervisors and therapists."

The professor, who has spent 20 years studying children who have autistic spectrum disorders, said New Brunswick could look to the programs being implemented in the United States where local governments have funded facilities that provide independent living options for people with disabilities.

These facilities can be expensive, but McDonnell said the costs can be even higher in terms of the "human costs" if these reforms are not implemented.

"In the past we have had the sad spectacle of individuals with autism being sent off to institutional settings such as the Campbellton psychiatric hospital, hospital wards, prisons, and even out of the country at enormous expense and without any gains to the individual, the family or the community," he said.

Enhanced network

Among the reforms that the UNB professor is calling for is an enhanced group home system where homes would be connected to a major centre that would develop ongoing training and leadership.

The larger centre could also offer services for people who have mild conditions. But, he said, it could also be used to offer permanent residential care for individuals with more severe diagnoses.

"Such a secure centre would not be based on a traditional 'hospital' model but should, itself, be integrated into the community in a dynamic manner, possibly as part of a private residential development," he writes.

"The focus must be on education, positive living experiences and individualized curricula. The key to success is properly trained professionals and staff."