It's 2017, and speech technology is still primitive

By Louise Kinross I like our Dear Everybody campaign because the messages, like this one above, are real, and come from our children and families.Most people assumes technology is an equalizer for people with disabilities, and in some cases it is.But in the 20 years I’ve followed the use of voice devices, and more recently, voice apps that can be used on iPads, I’ve never seen a product that’s nimble, intuitive and fast. In fact, you may have...

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Parenting as a grandmother: 'You're so much wiser'

By Louise Kinross At age 63, Marna-Rose Minett has raised two children. Now she’s raising a third—her granddaughter Rayne, 7, who has cerebral palsy and lives with Marna-Rose and her husband Wayne. Preparations are already underway for Halloween.“Rayne loves dressing up in costumes,” says Marna-Rose, pulling up a picture on her phone of Rayne posing as “super girl.” “This is a costume I originally made for my daughter,” she says, pointing...

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Six years later, a mom embraces life with her son's brain injury

By D. BrownWow! How time flies! Another “back to school” season is upon us. Six years ago, our healthy two-year-old son was hospitalized after suffering seizures and then severe brain inflammation. Since that fateful day, we have watched our son suffer and heal, struggle and overcome, falter and thrive.Today, our son is firmly settled at his school where there aren't any grades. I know that he “would” be in Grade 3, if he hadn’t had his life-threatening...

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A social worker who's lived the other side of rehab

'They tell me that it's different working with me' By Louise Kinross Gabriella Carafa is a social worker whose connection to Holland Bloorview goes back to her childhood, when she visited our neuromuscular clinic. Eleven years ago, Gabriella participated in Holland Bloorview’s The Independence Program, living for three weeks in a university residence to learn a variety of life skills. Since then, she’s worked as a youth facilitator at The Independence...

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Hotel helps kids with autism feel at home

By Louise Kinross A small Newfoundland coastal town is home to Canada’s first autism-friendly hotel.Hotel Port aux Basques offers a fully-equipped sensory room (above), bedrooms with extra security features for kids who wander, a visual kids menu and a social story with pictures and text that parents can share with children in advance so they know what to expect. Owner Cathy Lomond says the idea came from local teacher Joan Chaisson. “She’d...

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This mom broke the social isolation of autism

By Louise Kinross Charlie Castro is a happy, social 7-year-old who loves elevators, math and reading. But his autism makes it impossible to filter out the everyday noises of modern life. “He’ll be having a great time, and then he gets a blast of an overhead announcement or a cell phone rings, and he has a meltdown,” says Charlie’s mom Karen. “We have to remove him and he misses out on the fun—again and again and again.”Four years ago, “I couldn’t...

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‘Patient 357’ inspires project to mourn unnamed asylum dead

Photos by Anne Zbitnew By Louise Kinross A Stitch in Time: Mourning the Unnamed is a research and art project that honours the children and adults who lived and died in the Orillia Asylum for Idiots—which was renamed Huronia Regional Centre when it closed in 2009. Kim Collins just defended the project, which was her master’s thesis, at York University.BLOOM: You mentioned that you worked with people with intellectual disabilities...

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