'Trust your instincts. That's what I tell parents'

By Louise Kinross Fahima Afroze is a biomedical engineer with three daughters. Myreen, 11, has autism and Zafreen, 8, has cerebral palsy.When Farzeen, now 4, was hospitalized at six months old, Fahima knew her way around the health system.“They thought Farzeen had a bone infection, but she kept getting other infections,” Fahima recalls. “She caught hand, foot and mouth disease, and had yeast infections in her tongue. They brushed it off and...

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These parents took a year off to learn to 'speak Oskar'

Photos by Alia YoussefBy Louise Kinross Beyond The Spectrum is a candid, captivating film about autism that pushes you to think and see in different ways. It follows parents Carly Harnadek and Stef Pronk when they take a year off to do therapy with their son Oskar, who was diagnosed with severe autism at age two. Oskar has a twin sister, Izzy, and three other siblings, including older brother Ted, who has autism. The family lives in Simcoe County...

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This and that, including autism and siblings

Photo by Alia YoussefBy Louise Kinross  Beyond the Spectrum is a brilliant film about a Canadian mom and dad who take a year off to do therapy with their son Oskar (photo above) who's diagnosed with severe autism at age 2. The full feature film is available at the link above at TVO. I'm interviewing Oskar's mother Carly Harnadek tomorrow!  Stay tuned. Last Sunday I attended an awards dinner to celebrate Dr. Peter Rosenbaum, Holland...

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Wanted: Surrogate parents

By Louise Kinross Any parent of a child with disabilities will tell you that advocating for a good education for their child can be one of the most challenging, time-consuming and even soul-destroying experiences. It doesn't seem to matter if you live in Canada, the U.S., Europe or elsewhere. It is always a battle.  So, what happens when a child doesn't have a parent who can argue for the kind of schooling and supports they need? In the...

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Racist, sexist words by patients, work peers plague hospitals

By Louise KinrossIn the last month, a few studies about racist and sexist comments in medicine crossed my desk. One survey is about bigoted comments made by patients to doctors. Another is about misogynistic remarks from medical staff to female doctors and nurses. I also learned about a St. Louis University surgical resident who is suing the school and two of its medical school leaders because she claims she was discriminated against...

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Jonathan Mooney calls out our 'rhetoric of differences'

By Louise Kinross Author Jonathan Mooney has a brilliant piece in the New York Times' disability series this week: You are special! Now stop being different (illustration by Dadu Shin). In it, he recounts how the education system's focus on fixing, instead of embracing, his attention and learning disabilities stomped the creativity and self-worth out of him, and left him a depressed school drop-out at age 10. "I spent hours a...

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Falling asleep on a home-care night shift spurs nurse's research

By Louise KinrossKrista Keilty is a nurse practitioner and visiting scholar at the Bloorview Research Institute who studies parents who care for children who require a “mini-ICU” at home. These children have complex medical problems, use ventilators, and require round-the-clock observation. Krista has cared for these children and families as a nurse at SickKids—where she taught their parents the skills to transfer home—and as a home-care nurse....

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Kids with autism spark this scientist's inventions

By Louise Kinross Azadeh Kushki (centre) is a scientist at Holland Bloorview who analyzes patterns in children’s brain and behaviour data to guide treatments for autism. She also develops technologies that make life easier for kids with autism, like this Google Glass software that coaches kids through social interactions. Azadeh, who trained as an electrical and computer engineer, works in the hospital’s Autism Research Centre and at the Institute...

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Media roundup

By Louise Kinross Goodness, we haven't done this for a long time. Below are some recent stories related to disability, parenting and health. But first, many of you follow Meriah at With A Little Moxie. Meriah writes about parenting three kids, including one with Down syndrome, from her perspective as a mom who is deaf and lives with her family off the grid. Two days ago, Meriah posted this story called Divorce. Usually I can tell what a piece...

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