I Get By ... With a Little Help From My Friends

I came across this on FaceBook* the other day - you will see that it purports to tell us how each of Nova Scotia's three mainstream political parties has promised to address the needs of families of children with special needs in the early years:

Perhaps it's not fair to say *purports*; after all it does qualify itself to "the early years".

Having said that, here are my thoughts:

It looks like the NDP column is missing that latest announcement about "closing institutions, a more individualized approach in terms of care and funding, and a new emphasis on changing mainstream services to better accommodate people with disabilities". Just for the record, that announcement also included rewriting the Incompetent Persons Act**, the Adult Protection Act and the Homes for Special Care Act.

Does anyone else get the impression that the PC are looking towards Charter schools? You've got to like that promise to pass a Tuition Support Program Act but I have to wonder what their "ensure all children are ready to learn" promise actually translates into ... specifics, people, specifics.

It would appear that the Liberals are the only ones to even mention the "Lifespan Needs for Persons with Autism Spectrum Disorder" document (good on them), but then again it's only a promise to *review the recommendations*, not actually implement them.

Who? Me?? Cynical?!

So, does anyone else have any other thoughts on these platforms?

* With thanks to Catherine in the Choice Words group.

** Rewriting the Incompetent Persons Act would be huge - currently Nova Scotia has the dubious distinction of having the most archaic guardianship system in the country. And it wouldn't take a lot of work - the Law Reform Commission offered a new draft Act back in 1995.