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Attorney General alleges neglect of residents at Wilkes-Barre nursing home, 13 others

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Kalahari waterpark and hotel complex in Poconos holds colorful grand opening

With great sadness, we have noted the passing of Christina Graham Ouellette. She was a modest women, as noted by her obituary, but her great accomplishments need to be detailed.I met her many years ago when she joined the Coalition on Autism. I was in my second major career but had to become an autism advocate due to my son&#8217;s diagnosis. Ironically, I worked closely with her brother, Stuart, in my first career, when he ran Sordoni Construction.What a great family!Stuart became a world leader in construction, and Tina&#8217;s brother, John, a leader in the furniture industry. Tina surpassed them all in doing great and noble work in the field of autism. She was a pioneer and an outstanding advocate for children and their families.What I loved and respected about her: She took nothing for granted. She questioned everyone and everything, helping parents immensely by trying different therapies. Some worked well and some did not, but she was kind, intelligent and sensitive enough to realize that she didn&#8217;t want parents, in the future, to second-guess and have guilt for not trying a specific therapy. Unless you are a parent of a special needs child, you can&#8217;t appreciate the importance of this parental need and desire.She fought for programs that worked and when agencies did not fulfill the need as she saw them, she established her own programs.Children&#8217;s Behavioral Health Services and New Dawn Partial Hospitalization Program are models of excellence and amelioration in the field of autism. Her sons are carrying on in her name and spirit. Thousands of children have benefited from her knowledge, discipline and tenacity.In the true Graham spirit, if she felt there was merit and a need, she never backed down from controversy or a fight. Always working, not for personal gain, but for only the purest of motives. She was a fighter and our area is better for her courage and perseverance. Her indomitable spirit worked to assuage the fears and trepidations of many families.She will be sorely missed, and we have a great void to fill. Goodbye, dear friend. Send us another Angel of Autism.George R. ShadieWilkes-Barre

Letter to the Editor: Passing of autism advocate Christina Graham Ouellette leaves void