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Thursday, August 22, 2013
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
What works in the clinic may not work in the real world
By Steve Ryan
Most people assume that technology is a game-changer for children with disabilities. Using it helps kids to walk faster, wheel further and communicate better. You can see the difference it makes. It levels the playing field. It turns disability into ability.
Or does it?
Why is one in four assistive devices abandoned by families?
Why do 50 per cent of Canadian parents with children who lack functional speech say...
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Monday, August 19, 2013
Poor health care a factor in early deaths
A 2013 inquiry into the deaths of 247 adults and children with intellectual disability in England and Wales found women with intellectual disability died 20 years earlier on average than the general population and men with developmental disability died 13 years earlier.
The confidential inquiry, led by a senior research fellow at the University of Bristol, also found that people with intellectual disability are two and a half times more likely...
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Friday, August 16, 2013
Animator finds beauty in what we try to hide
Rachel Johnson is a Hollywood animator producing stop-motion films that fall decidedly outside the celebrity culture of her town.
Her latest, Henrietta Bulkowski, is about a young woman with a severely curved spine who wants to see the world but can't even lift her head. With a sightline only of the ground, she builds a plane with a hole in the bottom to take her on her voyage.
The Toll Collector (above) is about a ballerina with abnormally...
Monday, August 12, 2013
We call this 'zoo camp'
When we walked in to Nova's Ark camp this morning there was a large black pig sleeping on the lawn beside a pen with dozens of guinea pigs.
Ben saw the guinea pigs and was fascinated.
He spent the day on this farm east of Toronto, checking out the snakes, zebras, a camel, a monkey, lemurs, miniature horses and a large tortoise called Thor.
He asked if he could bring one of the guinea pigs home and the owner...
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Thursday, August 8, 2013
A different story
The last year has been tough for Ben. He often acted out at school where the demands seemed too much. Outside of school his world seemed to get smaller. It's hard to find activities for him that he enjoys and can participate in easily. He doesn't get enough exercise and is content to sit at the computer or TV for hours.
So imagine my surprise when I learned that Ben was becoming quite the aqua plane champ at Camp Kennebec. It's hard to see,...
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Does being smart make you a 'better' person?
When I was at university (yes, decades ago!) I think I felt that I was somehow "responsible" for my intelligence. That I'd made a choice to be "smart" while others make choices to be athletes or runway models or contractors.
I think I was even a bit smug about it.
I remember a conversation with a friend that went something like this: "If you could be smart OR beautiful—but not both—what would you choose?"
I was flabbergasted...
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Love: It defies measure
Imagine my surprise and delight when I received this story by Eric Fischer, dad to Segev, 15, in Israel. Many of you know Eric as the author of I am a broken man/You can't break me, a personal blog that Eric recently closed. Eric was born in Holland and has lived in many places. He's trained in traditional Chinese medicine and shiatsu and is an intuitive bodywork therapist. Thank you Eric...
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