Walgreen proves the business case for hiring 'disabled' staff

In 2006 Randy Lewis changed the way Walgreen Co. does business. As senior vice-president of supply chain and logistics for the U.S. drug store chain, Lewis oversaw 10,000 employees and up to a thousand new hires each year. As a father to Austin, who has autism, he knew the difference a job could make in the lives of young people with disabilities. In No Greatness Without Goodness Lewis explains how he brought his corporate...

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'Dr. Darcy' unites research and frontline care

Dr. Darcy Fehlings is a senior clinician-scientist who heads Holland Bloorview’s child development program and University of Toronto’s division of developmental pediatrics, the program that trains doctors who specialize in working with children with disabilities.Darcy has conducted groundbreaking research in the use of Botox to reduce muscle tightness in children with cerebral palsy and is the incoming president of the American...

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A magical bond

Many of you will remember our interview with filmmaker Kelly O'Brien, whose film Softening documents life with her son Teddy, now 7, who was born with brain damage and a grim prognosis. Yesterday a condensed version of Softening, which focuses on the relationship between Teddy (left) and his sister Emma (right), appeared in the New York Times. An eye-opening piece about what a brother means to his sister, and it has little...

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Denied child care, this mom opens her own

By Julie Brocklehurst Brennen was my first and only child, and like any expectant mother, I had dreams of giving birth to a healthy, happy baby. I had a normal pregnancy and delivery, and I was sent home with a healthy baby, but it wasn’t long before I knew that something was not quite right. Brennen would cry and cry without end, and this went on for months. I knew that something was wrong, but I didn’t know to what extent. When...

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When science doesn't have all the answers

By Louise Kinross It’s on the list. My son’s rare genetic deletion is on the list of disorders identified by microarray analysis of a fetus’s DNA.  It was a surprise to find it there, but given the dizzying speed of prenatal testing advances, it shouldn't have been. It makes me sad to think that the lives of children like my son are being targeted for termination. Is this a step forward? Something that will make the world a better...

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From cocoon to cold reality

By Jennifer Johannesen When my son was very young, I was an enthusiastic participant in what I now think of as the “rehab machinery” of childhood disability. Owen had multiple severe disabilities, making him eligible for a host of supportive and therapeutic services. We tried them all, with very few of them showing discernible long-term benefit to Owen. While each had its own goals and measurements for success, the...

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