Mountain or city, home is where the heart is

I’m excited to share with you an interview with Michelle Miller of Cypress, Calif. Michelle, her husband Michael, and daughter Maya welcomed Michelle’s nephew Dmitri (above left) into their family in 2011 after the death of both of his parents. Michelle runs Fickle Knitter Design—writing books for people who knit—but had no experience with children with disabilities. Dmitri, now 10, has Down syndrome and autism. Michelle’s...

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A physics teacher's lessons on love

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The 'perfect' holiday: make it a family tradition

By Lori Beesley Holland Bloorview family leader At this time of the year, other children are putting pencils and crayons to paper, writing their letters to Santa. Our son is getting excited about Christmas too, but he has his own reasons. For Mitchell, it’s all about the anticipation of the day rather than the reality. Mitchell has a genetic condition called Fragile X syndrome as well as autism. Because he has Fragile X, he is developmentally...

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I'm at Love That Max today

Pop over and see my interview at Ellen's site. Thanks Ellen! Loui...

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Five things parents should know about autism

Scott Lentine, 25 (above), is a college graduate interning at the Arc of Massachusetts. He loves dogs. In his work, Scott advocates for disability legislation to improve the lives of people with developmental disabilities. Scott has Asperger’s and writes about his experiences in poems. I asked him what five things he would share with parents raising younger kids with autism. Thanks Scott! Louise Five things parents should...

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How have you changed?

Holland Bloorview family leader Cheryl Peters asks: "Have you changed as a person since having a special-needs child?" Hop on over to Parent Voices on Facebook and join the discussion. How have you chang...

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Gratitude

Reading Jack Tourin's story yesterday made me recognize how perspective is everything: it can flood our life with beauty and wonder—or just as quickly drain it of these qualities. In the spirit of savouring time with Ben, last night we played a game of Scrabble. We haven't done this in months, and Ben wasn't initially psyched about the idea. However, we soon had the board out and Ben had made his first word: "DO."...

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Greggy's legacy is a life savoured

Last week I read a story by Jack Tourin (in the two outside photos) in The Healing Muse, a literary journal on medicine, illness, disability and healing. Jack wrote about losing his son Greggy (in all photos) when he died at age 17. When I asked about reprinting the story, I learned that Jack—a former Indiana high school English, Spanish and French teacher—is now 90. Jack's daughter Kathy told me he was excited...

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One question Friday

We asked Barbara Fishbein-Germon, social worker in Holland Bloorview's child development program, to answer this question about siblings. Q. I'm wondering how to best support my daughters (who have very different abilities) in having a meaningful and equal sibling relationship? A. Barbara Fishbein-Germon: This is a wonderful question. There are many ways that this parent can support his or her children to have meaningful relationships....

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From Switzerland -- with love

I had some special visitors yesterday! Tekeal Riley (left), a BLOOM reader in Bern, Switzerland, was visiting her family in Toronto and stopped by Holland Bloorview. You'll remember this beautiful piece Tekeal wrote for us: Growing up. Tekeal visited with her mother, her grandmother (second from right), who just turned 100, and Livia, her six-year-old daughter. Livia has Down syndrome and by extraordinary coincidence Tekeal had...

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And the award goes to... Ben McGovern!

A monster cold descended on our house two weeks ago. First it claimed Kenold, then D'Arcy, then me, and finally Ben. This was no run-of-the-mill cold you could just push through for a couple of days. It was an "I can't get out of bed" marathon that lasted way past the seven days you'd expect a cold to run its course. In fact, over a week in and feeling just as bad, I asked D'Arcy: "Did I catch a second cold? Is this a NEW cold?"...

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Social-skills programs for teens -- tips?

One of our life skills coaches is interested in links you may have to social-skills programs that we might be able to adapt for youth aged 15 to 21 with a variety of physical and developmental disabilities. Has your teen participated in a social-skills program that worked well? Please post any recommendations or links in the comments. Thanks! Lou...

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Kids in BLOOM

I'm looking for photos for the kids in BLOOM section of the Winter issue of the magazine. Please e-mail a photo of just your child to lkinross@hollandbloorview.ca We don't print names. Thanks! Loui...

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One question Friday

In comments related to strategies for encouraging speech in your child, one of our readers posted this question: Q. "Any tips or hope for those of us who have been doing all of the above for years with little result would be great." A. As a parent who was unable to accept the fact that years and years of speech therapy were not giving my son a voice (he wasn't making any real progress), I think it's so important to have an open discussion...

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Let's rethink 'normal' in children's rehab

By Barbara Gibson Rehab professionals want to help improve the lives of children with disabilities. But they sometimes struggle with two conflicting visions of how to do that. Is their role to "normalize" bodies that are impaired, or to promote acceptance of diverse bodies and abilities? As a physiotherapist and child disability researcher, I know that “normal” is often taken for granted as a benchmark to assess quality of life....

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You can't not be moved by this

Thanks for the link Cher...

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Rx: Take 'The Spoons' and stir

Last weekend my younger brother Andrew (left) was in town. He bought my older brother Ian (centre) and me tickets to see one of his favourite bands from university days -- The Spoons. My kids couldn't believe it when I announced that I was going to see a live band. I never do anything cool and I never stay out late. Off we went to The Revival Bar in a trendy part of Toronto's little Italy: I'm 48, my younger...

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Family devotion

A Chinese grandmother carries her granddaughter, who can't walk, on her back -- two hours to school, and two hours back -- everyday. Humbli...

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Our diamond in the sky

By Louise KinrossTender and fierce. That's how Sandi Cox (right), former chief nurse executive at Holland Bloorview, was remembered today at a celebration of her life. I imagine most staff and families here have their own very personal stories of the ways in which Sandi embodied strength and vulnerability. I remember seeing Sandi in the old cafeteria at the MacMillan site when I first lost my...

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Women changing the world

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Making the sea accessible

A Greek man who became disabled as a result of an accident inspired Seatrac -- a device that allows him to get into the water on his own. A great way to mark International Day of Persons with Disabilities today, which is about removing barriers. The World Health Organization reports that 15 per cent of the world's population -- or one billion people -- live with disabilities...

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