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. He then puts CBC NB Morning news with Terry Seguin on the television. When Conor says see you at 6 it makes me, and his Mom, feel very good. Every day Conor brings us joy ... great joy ... starting at 6 am. (Source: Facing Autism in New Brunswick)
Source: Facing Autism in New Brunswick - February 3, 2014 Category: Autism Authors: H L Doherty Source Type: blogs
Intense World Theory Of Autism? Or Just More Intense, Harmful Speculation?
We present the key studies that support this theory of autism, show how this theory can better explain past findings, and how it could resolve apparently conflicting data and interpretations. The theory also makes further predictions from the molecular to the behavioral levels, provides a treatment strategy and presents its own falsifying hypothesis. (Source: Facing Autism in New Brunswick)
Source: Facing Autism in New Brunswick - February 2, 2014 Category: Autism Authors: H L Doherty Source Type: blogs
A Humble Father's Simple Autism, Intellectual Disability and Epilepsy Research Questions
We examined 106 patients with autistic disorder divided into three groups on the basis of presence or absence of EEG paroxysmal abnormalities (PA) and/or epilepsy including febrile convulsions (FC). Our patients presented an autistic syndrome unrelated to clear congenital or acquired encephalopathy. The prevalence of epilepsy and EEG PA was 23.6% and 18.9%, respectively. Significant differences between the three groups appeared for (i) familial antecedents for epilepsy/FC and neurologic and psychiatric diseases (P < 0.004), (ii) a different proportion between the three groups for mental retardation (P < 0.0...
Source: Facing Autism in New Brunswick - January 30, 2014 Category: Autism Authors: H L Doherty Source Type: blogs
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 life was good in 2013, including life in Conor's "back yard", Fredericton's North Riverfront Trail. We are just a couple minutes walk from the trail and the St. John River and we enjoyed the trail as often we could. (Source: Facing Autism in New Brunswick)
Source: Facing Autism in New Brunswick - January 25, 2014 Category: Autism Authors: H L Doherty Source Type: blogs
We Must Face Reality: Autism Disorders Can Be Harmful, Even Deadly
After discovering an arm, torso and legs Thursday, police continue the search for human remains along a rocky shoreline in Queens, Friday, Jan. 17, 2014. The remains belong to 14-year-old Avonte Oquendo, officials confirmed Tuesday. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow) Neurodiversity cult members, including some autism professionals, academics and neuroscience students like to scream at parents and other family members who speak honestly about the dangers and deficits endured by children and adults who actually suffer from autism disorders. Television, movies, and the mass media generally, love to provide a Big Bang pict...
Source: Facing Autism in New Brunswick - January 22, 2014 Category: Autism Authors: H L Doherty Source Type: blogs
Report: Families Face Staggering Autism Care Costs
The image above is the cover page for the report of the University of Calgary School of Public Policy: The Value of Caregiver Time: Costs of Support and Care for Individuals Living with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The report deals with the harsh realities that many involved with government, the media and many autism groups do not wish to address. In itself that is highly unusual. Here in New Brunswick we have had some initial successes in developing evidence based early autism intervention and school services. We have had almost no responses in addressing adult care for autism. Recently our government...
Source: Facing Autism in New Brunswick - January 16, 2014 Category: Autism Authors: H L Doherty Source Type: blogs
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 ApartI am not going to offer too much comment on the article by Lynn Waterhouse and Christopher Gillberg itself which, as the title indicates, argues that autism must be taken apart, at least for research purposes. I have not yet purchased or read the article. The abstract speaks very clearly and even I, as an ignorant, hysterical, misguided parent of a son WITH severe autism disorder, intellectual disability and epileptic seizures can understand. Waterh...
Source: Facing Autism in New Brunswick - January 9, 2014 Category: Autism Authors: H L Doherty Source Type: blogs
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 important part of my life has changed.My son with severe autism and intellectual disability is now 7 years older.... and his Mom and Dad are also 7 years older.Time marches on. Our autistic children are becoming autistic adults. Our political and government leaders have sat on the sidelines fiddling and twiddling and doing absolutely nothing to he...
Source: Facing Autism in New Brunswick - January 7, 2014 Category: Autism Authors: H L Doherty Tags: newtag Source Type: blogs
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 50% of those with an Autism Spectrum Disorder who also have an intell5ectual disability (World Health Organization estimate, September 2013):"Children with autism have trouble recalling memoriesLaura Geggel3 January 2014Children with autism struggle to remember details of events...
Source: Facing Autism in New Brunswick - January 6, 2014 Category: Autism Authors: H L Doherty Source Type: blogs
My New Years Wish to New Brunswick Government, Media re Adult Autism Residential Care:
Happy New Years Wish: Adult Autism Residential Care in New BrunswickDear Honourable Premier Alward, Honourable Ministers, Members of the Legislature, Party Leaders, Civil Servants and Media:I am respectfully writing this letter to deliver a New Year's wish for my son and other autistic adults in New Brunswick who will need residential care as their parents age and ultimately "pass on". I have written many versions of this letter over the years since I began my public advocacy on behalf of autistic persons in New Brunswick. In short I am wishing for a New Brunswick based adult residential care and treatment system that...
Source: Facing Autism in New Brunswick - January 1, 2014 Category: Autism Authors: H L Doherty Source Type: blogs
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 the 3 year limited warranty and it has seen lots of use in previous Canuck winters. People, including parents of severely autistic children, can also break particularly if they face other socio-economic and/or family and health challenges.Not all parents break in the face of the challenges and fears that haunt many par...
Source: Facing Autism in New Brunswick - December 30, 2013 Category: Autism Authors: H L Doherty Source Type: blogs
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 sometimes lead to tragic consequences.Like many with autism disorders my son once left our home unnoticed - he slipped out of the house while I was occupied on a business call. When the call ended and I couldn't find him I called 911 and was able to recover him safe and sound from a local convenience store ...
Source: Facing Autism in New Brunswick - December 29, 2013 Category: Autism Authors: H L Doherty Source Type: blogs
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 bells commercial was included as one of the commercials during the broadcast of the Frosty episodes. Today I grabbed a coffee from the kitchen to go back upstairs to do some work on my laptop and realized Conor was playing, and replaying several times, the Hershey's Kisses Christmas bells commercial us...
Source: Facing Autism in New Brunswick - December 27, 2013 Category: Autism Authors: H L Doherty Source Type: blogs
Intellectual Dishonesty: Autism Disorders Misrepresentation Via High Functioning Autism Only Research
In the picture above SFARI presents news of two "autism" studies which purport to find that brains of persons with "autism" are overly connected as compared to those in control groups. In fact both studies intentionally and expressly excluded persons with autism and intellectual disability, approximately 50% of those with autism spectrum disorders according to the World Health Organization, from their stuides. Both the studies and the SFARI news commentary describe the results as descriptive of "autism" brains rather than "high functioning autism" brains. The studies, and the SFARI news commentary, continue the misre...
Source: Facing Autism in New Brunswick - December 24, 2013 Category: Autism Authors: H L Doherty Source Type: blogs
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. We overlooked a few basics in restocking the fridge. Conor gets up early at 6 am sharp EVERY day without fail so there was no time to run out for more groceries. Our neighborhood Tim Hortons was open though and it is close enough for a pleasant early morning walk It may seem small and inconsequential to many but with Conor's autism challenges nothing is taken fo...
Source: Facing Autism in New Brunswick - December 22, 2013 Category: Autism Authors: H L Doherty Source Type: blogs
