See this cat's face? It's me!

This is a picture I took in Normandy, France earlier this month. It's in Lion sur Mer, where my Dad swam as a 7-year-old child in 1927 on holiday and then, by bizarre coincidence, landed by boat 17 years later on D-Day plus 1 with the British forces. There were a number of houses in this seaside village with cat statues on them like this one! I'm not sure if there is any special meaning to them, but when I was going...

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'Life is not just about achieving'

We had a tremendous response to our magazine interview with former Canadian Olympian Silken Laumann (above right), stepparent to daughter Kilee (left), 16, who has autism. Here is an uncut version which couldn't be squeezed in its entirety into the print issue. I know it had me thinking long and hard! Thanks Silken! Louise  Silken Laumann rows into autism's turbulent waters ‘Life is not just about achieving, it’s...

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A one-of-a-kind wedding

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Study of tri 13, 18 finds joy in short lives

A Pediatrics study of 322 parents who chose not to terminate children with trisomy 13 and 18 finds that while most were initially told their child was 'incompatible with life' and would suffer, 97 per cent later described their child as happy, despite severe disabilities, and enriching their families, even when their lives were short. A good summary appears in this piece in Science Daily: Children with trisomy 13 or 18, who...

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Where friendship is the highest good

We'd just met that afternoon. But when I asked Olivier Caupin if we could have our picture taken, we embraced naturally like old pals. Just before the photo was taken, Olivier placed his head gently but purposefully on my shoulder. "You are accepted," his gesture seemed to say. It was the first of many surprises during my visit to L'Arche (The Ark) in Trosly-Breuil, France -- the birthplace of a community...

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Pushing forward

Tracey Bailey is a former Bloorview client, and the newly-appointed President and CEO of the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation. Here, she discusses the challenges of fundraising for children with special needs and how growing up with a disability helped her to achieve career success.        Story by: Megan Jones &nb...

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Ideas unlimited

Scientist Tom Chau, head of the Bloorview Research Institute, discusses his latest work and the importance of innovation in the field of childhood disability. Tom recently received U of T’s Inventor of the Year award.   Story by: Megan Jo...

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Play about Down syndrome extended

Last Friday, I was lucky enough to see Judith Thompson’s play RARE staged in Toronto. It was equal parts hilarious and uplifting, moving and devastating. Through their stories, the actors’ voices and experiences came alive onstage.  Photo by John Gundy. -Megan RARE, a Toronto Fringe Festival play starring nine adult actors with Down syndrome, will return briefly to the stage in August. After being staged in July as a part of the regular...

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In harm's way

Children with disabilities are nearly four times more likely to endure abuse than their non-disabled counterparts, concludes a study commissioned by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The study’s results were published on Friday in the Lancet. According to the report, children with disabilities are 2.9 times more likely to experience sexual violence and 3.6 times more likely to endure physical violence than non-disabled children. Kids with mental illnesses and intellectual disabilities are among the most vulnerable, facing a risk of sexual...

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