10-15-2005, 11:30 PM
Province jails innocent autistic boy
Government's decision sickens autism advocate
The provincial government is temporarily housing a severely autistic 13-year-old New Brunswick boy on the grounds of the Miramichi youth jail, a decision that is drawing fire from the province's Autism Society.
"Personally, when I saw the information initially, I was sick to my stomach," Harold Doherty, spokesperson for the New Brunswick Autism Society, said Friday. "That's my gut reaction."
The boy, who cannot be named by law because he is under the care of the Minister of Family and Community Services, is severely autistic and requires highly specialized care.
A department official confirmed Friday the province placed the boy in a small cottage on the grounds of the youth jail in Miramichi in mid-September and contracted a private company to provide care for him 24 hours per day.
Department spokesperson Robert Duguay said the boy does not have any contact with the youth housed at the jail nor the guards who work there. He said the province will keep him there until a space opens up for him at a specialized care facility for autistic children in Maine, they hope at the end of October.
Mr. Duguay said the province tried to make other arrangements, including placing him in a special care home, but those did not meet his needs and placing the boy on the grounds of the youth facility was the best option.
"It's not an environment with bars and jail," Mr. Duguay said. "It's nothing of that nature. It's a facility that was appropriate for that high complex needs level. It was appropriate for the safety of the client. It's a safe environment for him. It's a safe environment for the caregivers too. It's just temporary."
But Mr. Doherty said the boy should not be housed on the grounds of the jail even if he is in a separate cottage. He worries the boy may come in contact with offenders held there and said it's just not an appropriate place for this child.
"Obviously they (the province) wouldn't lie and say he's in a cell if he's not in a cell but he's still in prison there. That's the reality," Mr. Doherty said.
He said in this particular case, the province could have rented a small house in a quiet area and asked the private company to care for him there.
He said province needs proper residential facilities for autistic children because there are many children who are severely autistic and in need of care. About 1,200 New Brunswickers have some form of autism.
"To me, (this case is) a pretty clear indictment of the fact that we don't have proper facilities for autistic children with that severity of autism. If all we can do is imprison those children, we have failed them. That's the obvious reality," he said.
Rest of article -
http://canadaeast.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti.../FRONTPAGE
Government's decision sickens autism advocate
The provincial government is temporarily housing a severely autistic 13-year-old New Brunswick boy on the grounds of the Miramichi youth jail, a decision that is drawing fire from the province's Autism Society.
"Personally, when I saw the information initially, I was sick to my stomach," Harold Doherty, spokesperson for the New Brunswick Autism Society, said Friday. "That's my gut reaction."
The boy, who cannot be named by law because he is under the care of the Minister of Family and Community Services, is severely autistic and requires highly specialized care.
A department official confirmed Friday the province placed the boy in a small cottage on the grounds of the youth jail in Miramichi in mid-September and contracted a private company to provide care for him 24 hours per day.
Department spokesperson Robert Duguay said the boy does not have any contact with the youth housed at the jail nor the guards who work there. He said the province will keep him there until a space opens up for him at a specialized care facility for autistic children in Maine, they hope at the end of October.
Mr. Duguay said the province tried to make other arrangements, including placing him in a special care home, but those did not meet his needs and placing the boy on the grounds of the youth facility was the best option.
"It's not an environment with bars and jail," Mr. Duguay said. "It's nothing of that nature. It's a facility that was appropriate for that high complex needs level. It was appropriate for the safety of the client. It's a safe environment for him. It's a safe environment for the caregivers too. It's just temporary."
But Mr. Doherty said the boy should not be housed on the grounds of the jail even if he is in a separate cottage. He worries the boy may come in contact with offenders held there and said it's just not an appropriate place for this child.
"Obviously they (the province) wouldn't lie and say he's in a cell if he's not in a cell but he's still in prison there. That's the reality," Mr. Doherty said.
He said in this particular case, the province could have rented a small house in a quiet area and asked the private company to care for him there.
He said province needs proper residential facilities for autistic children because there are many children who are severely autistic and in need of care. About 1,200 New Brunswickers have some form of autism.
"To me, (this case is) a pretty clear indictment of the fact that we don't have proper facilities for autistic children with that severity of autism. If all we can do is imprison those children, we have failed them. That's the obvious reality," he said.
Rest of article -
http://canadaeast.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti.../FRONTPAGE