The father of invention

By Louise Kinross Eric Sherman’s son Cole loves to swim. But he has cochlear implants and needs to wear expensive waterproof processors attached to a headpiece with cords. The processors were clipped to an arm band, but Cole, who has autism, wasn’t comfortable when the band slipped down or the cords got tangled, and would sometimes try to take it off. “The processors cost several thousand dollars each and as a parent you’re afraid they’ll...

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Ontario, MaRS pose citizen-centred housing challenge

By Louise KinrossTwo years ago we had the assessment necessary for getting an adult with an intellectual disability onto the list for community services, including group homes, in Ontario.Ben, D’Arcy and I spent 3 ½ hours filling out what was a highly cumbersome, overly complicated survey that was supposed to measure how much support Ben needed.Given we'd taken the morning off school and work it was galling to be told during the...

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Anne Geddes finds a new focus: 'deceptive strength'

By Louise Kinross Today is World Meningitis Day and Australian photographer Anne Geddes (right) is launching an e-book of photos of children from around the world who've lost limbs and digits to the bacterial infection. It's called Protecting Our Tomorrows and Benjamin, 15, above, with his parents, is one of her models. Geddes, known for capturing the innocence of babies, says this project is about showing the beauty and resilience of survivors. (See...

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Two solitudes

By Louise Kinross In the last couple of days I've seen parents argue for two radically different visions of how to educate children with disabilities. In this piece in The New York Times' Motherlode blog the mother of a 10-year-old with an intellectual disability who can't speak says that children like her daughter need special, separate schools. "Alongside her peers with disabilities, she's thriving in a rich, complete school...

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Why are disabled teens more likely to be alone?

By Louise Kinross Life skills staff at Holland Bloorview presented their early findings from a review of 56 studies on friendship for youth with disabilities at a hospital Crosstalk last week. The event brought together staff, youth and a parent speaker.Sarah Keenan, life skills coach, noted that research has shown that friendship is associated with life satisfaction and good mental health in the general population, while loneliness...

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I am warrior mom: Hear me cry and roar

By D. Christine Brown It was the morning of our son Lucas’s 10th EEG since his acute brain inflammation in September 2011 and subsequent autism diagnosis. It was cold and raining so we drove to SickKids hospital instead of walking. Lucas’s last EEG was over a year ago and it was still abnormal then on the left side of his brain, only slightly improved from the previous one six months earlier. I vowed that this time, I would accept...

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Disabled artists get a new platform for their work

By Megan Jones Open the closet door in Liz Powers' Boston-area apartment, and you’ll come across a trove of artworks: a painting of a woman by the seaside, her soft purple dress billowing across the canvas; an image of a ship’s mast made of a single piece of paper, each detail painstakingly cut out by hand; an abstract painting of a pond populated by swans with backs that look like turtles’ shells. All the works are created by artists who...

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A parent's search for acceptance

By Louise Kinross Perhaps it’s the nature of Twitter’s brevity, but I see a disturbing trend in people tweeting simplistic, declarative statements about how parents of children with disabilities ‘should’ feel and think. An example is this tweet on Autism Awareness Day: I do not long for a non-Autistic version of my child. I have the child I want. I LOVE the EXACT child I have. My thinking was, great for you, but what...

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Taking steps, together, with 'Upsee'

By Kara Melissa Sharp When I first heard about the Upsee, I knew I wanted to be a part of the trial. A device that would allow Sebastian to walk with me, attached to a vest and harness, just made sense. Ever since he was a baby and first started to bear weight and walk, we were holding him up. He does not have the upper body strength to do it on his own, his muscles cannot work together and give him the balance...

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