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FREDERICTON –  Autism expert Kevin Reinhardt shared 30 years of experience working in the field of autism spectrum disorders with New Brunswick Community College (ÍõÖÐÍõÁùºÏ²ÊÌØÂë) and community members recently at conferences in Saint John and Fredericton.

More than 100 ÍõÖÐÍõÁùºÏ²ÊÌØÂë faculty and support staff gathered to learn more about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and how to support students with ASD. The afternoon sessions, aimed at parents, caregivers and professionals, gave the community the opportunity to learn more about the challenges that face students with ASD when they enter the world of post-secondary. The events were made possible by funding through Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour.

“The biggest take-away for me was that it’s okay to not know all the answers,” said Victoria Scott, a Learning Strategist at the ÍõÖÐÍõÁùºÏ²ÊÌØÂë Saint John Campus.  “We have students who face discrepancies between secondary and post-secondary education institutions – it’s a learning curve for everyone. We all have to work together to support that student, whether it’s outside agencies, family, friends – we all have to help in making that transition as smooth as it can be.”

Supporting students with diverse learning needs is part of ÍõÖÐÍõÁùºÏ²ÊÌØÂë’s commitment to supporting student success across the College.

“With the increasing number of students with ASD pursuing post-secondary education, we’re always looking for way to develop our capacity to better support these students,” said Suzanne Desrosiers, Vice-President of Employee and Student Development at ÍõÖÐÍõÁùºÏ²ÊÌØÂë. “Once we identified that we were going to bring Kevin to share his insights with our employees, we knew this was an opportunity we had to share with the community.”

Reinhardt’s research specifically focuses on issues facing those with ASD at the post-secondary level throughout Canada and the United States. He is also the parent of a young adult who experiences ASD.

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