Hi, my name is Shaun Cadden. I am a father of two boys who have Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and this is a short narrative of how having two boys on the Spectrum saved me!
Fifteen years ago, I endured a traumatic brain injury as a result of a workplace injury. To make a long story short I was on autopilot for a long, long time! Then my boys came along - it was hard, and I was struggling to say the least. My oldest son, in particular, was speech delayed - this is where my life intersected with Hearing and Speech Nova Scotia.
I wasn’t confident I was up to the task of all this work, but it had to be done. My Speech-Language Pathologist gave me the tools and education that I needed to get started. Then the Early Intensive Behavioural Intervention (EIBI) program came along! This program was life changing for our whole family. This was where the rubber hit the road for us as a family - we found hope, and our boys were really growing into their own. We met and moved the goal post so many times I lost count.
I would like to report that my boys are thriving! I found more than I lost in that workplace injury. HSNS changed the outlook on our family’s life. When the opportunity came up to volunteer with your Partners in Care program, I was honoured to take part. I am excited to have a chance to give back to an organization that helped our family, and so many families like ours!
Shaun is a member of the HSNS Standards and Audit Committee. Standards of Care outline the processes that a clinician should follow when working with clients and families with different types of communication difficulties or concerns. Shaun will work with clinicians to develop, monitor, and review these standards to ensure that best practice and patient/family centred care are both considered.