When Roma Bennett's son Joshua was only two weeks old, she had to return to work. That meant working till 3, then going downtown to care for Joshua who was at SickKids Hospital, spending the night, and doing it all over again the next day. Roma was raising Joshua on her own. Early on, teachers suggested that Joshua, who has cerebral palsy, wouldn't do well at school. "I'm a mama bear," says Roma in this A Family Like Mine interview with Roma and Joshua. "And I thought differently." Mother and son share their advice as Joshua gets ready to leave for college. Happy World CP Day! If you missed the fabulous speakers at the CP-NET Science and Family Day at Holland Bloorview today, please watch them here online.
By Louise Kinross Please check out the latest in our A Family Like Mine series! Susan Cosgrove is a single mom to three children, including Liam and Phoenix, who have autism, and their sister Kaya. "I call us the travelling circus," Susan says. "We're a commotion. Everywhere we go, noise follows us, and chaos follows us. And we definitely tend to be the centre of attention wherever we are. Autism is an invisible disability. So when people look at the boys, they don't immediately see autism." Watch how Susan balances the needs of her boys and daughter Kaya with the help of her mother Rosie, who lives nearby. Susan also offers advice to other parents who've received a diagnosis of autism for their child. Susan is a family leader at Holland Bloorview and sits on our research family engagement committee. A Family Like Mine is BLOOM's video series about diverse families raising children with disabilities. This video is captioned.
Here is the second video in A Family Like Mine, a new BLOOM series covering diverse families raising children with disabilities. Meet Joshua Bennett, 17, who’s heading off to Georgian College to study automative business. Joshua has cerebral palsy and was raised by his mom Roma. “When you’re a single parent, you tend to have to do everything yourself,” Roma says. “So, it wasn't only going to appointments, medical appointments. It's going to school appointments and being challenged by the teachers who may think that Joshua's not going to do very well in school, and so challenging them back… I’m a mama bear and I thought differently.” See how Roma did it and hear Joshua’s advice for other kids with disabilities. *This video is captioned. Click on the CC at the bottom right on Youtube.
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