Filmmaker's dilemma: independence and work, or life with son

By Louise KinrossImagine you're a young filmmaker with multiple sclerosis living in New York City. Your documentary When I Walk has won an Emmy. You're able to live on your own and work, because New York State Medicaid covers 24-7 care aids who come to your home. Then your marriage ends and your wife and son move to Austin, Texas. Your symptoms worsen: you can't move your upper body or open your hands and blurred vision makes it hard to see....

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With a little help from my friends

By Louise KinrossLiving in hospital for months of rehab after surgery can be hard for a kid and their parents. Kim Hoben (above left) of Whitby says the kindness of neighbours, friends and family has made her stay at Holland Bloorview with daughter Riley, 8 (right), so much brighter. Riley, who has cerebral palsy, had surgery on her hips, femur and hamstrings and has been here for three weeks. It started when Kim's neighbours collected...

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Got a kid with a disability? App makes finding services easy

By Louise KinrossWhen your child has a disability, how do you find the best therapies, adapted sports programs, or accessible playgrounds and restaurants? It often involves a lot of trial and error, and, in the case of private therapies, wasted dollars when the fit isn’t right. That’s why researchers at Holland Bloorview are developing a crowdsourcing app to help parents and kids find nearby Toronto services that meet their specific needs. The...

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Check out a new BLOOM

Read the latest BLOOM. Don't forget to scroll down to see our shout-outs to lingerie brand Aerie, for celebrating models with disabilities and illnesses; Holland Bloorview parent Kristen Huys, for her Sesame Street video about kids of all abilities enjoying music; and CBC Docs, for the film Free Reins, about Patty McGill, a Nova Scotia woman who brings horses and healing together. &nbs...

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Why do so few medical trainees want to work with complex kids?

Photo of Jacob Trossman, 16, who has Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease. You can read about Jacob and his family on his mother Marcy White's blog Cure PMD. By Louise Kinross Earlier this month JAMA Pediatrics ran a Viewpoint about why it’s hard to attract medical trainees to care for children and adults with neurological impairment. These are children with complex medical needs that stem from conditions like cerebral palsy or traumatic brain...

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One family, one sporty Whistler vacation

By Louise KinrossCarol Eastwood wanted to go on a family trip with her husband and two sons. “I have a 27-year-old son and a 20-year-old son who uses a wheelchair, and I wanted all of us to go on a trip where no one would be left out,” she says. Carol’s son Ian Steadman, 20, like the rest of the family, is a sports fanatic. He studies sports management at Niagara College, plays sledge hockey with the Halton-Peel Cruisers, swims competitively...

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'We validate the diverse experiences siblings have'

Melissa Ngo (far right) and Daniel Scott (second right) run Holland Bloorview's sibling workshop. Here they appear with Liam Durack and Brittany Rogers, who are adult siblings that participated in a Young Carers' Forum hosted by the Change Foundation last year. By Louise Kinross“What should I do if a sibling might embarrass [me] and it might affect [my] friends?” “What do you do…or say to someone who says ‘you’re so r-word,’ or refers to someone...

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Being kind to yourself makes you a better clinician

By Louise KinrossAnna Marie Batelaan is a social worker at Holland Bloorview who works with children who have a brain injury as a result of trauma or illness—and their families. She provides emotional counselling and helps families connect with resources. “We recognize the whole family is impacted,” she says. “With acquired brain injury, the child is usually developing typically, and the brain injury has turned their life upside down.” One of...

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'Isn't it enough for art to be joyful?'

By Louise Kinross Julia Gray describes her work as a post-doctoral fellow at Holland Bloorview as “the humanities reaching into rehab.” Julia trained as an artist, playwright and theatre director and did her PhD in education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto. Before coming here she worked with Ontario rehab researchers to write and direct a play called Cracked—about how we stigmatize...

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Social media lets people with disabilities 'push their own agenda'

By Louise KinrossBeth Haller is a bit of a celebrity in the world of disability and journalism. I first learned about her when I followed her Media dis&dat blog, where she posted timely international stories relating to disability. Beth is a professor of journalism and new media in the Department of Mass Communication and Communication Studies at Towson University in Maryland. She’s written a couple of books—including Representing Disability...

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