Winter 2008-09

My Word Join the Conversation! By Raymond D. Cohen, Publisher/Editor-in-chief
By Raymond D. Cohen

I found it interesting that when I came to Parliament Hill, it became evident that a lot of parliamentarians hadn’t had a lot to do with people with severe disabilities.

About four years ago, a dream sparked inside of Judith – a journey across North America to spread her message. At the time, she had no way of knowing how this dream would come to fruition, but she always strives for what seems at first, like the impossible. She didn’t have any money or support staff, but what she did have were connections and her Circle.
By Erin Socall

Diversity brings differential understanding of the rights of people with disabilities and the philosophy of inclusion and independent living.
By Rabia Khedr

Seeking Resources for Developmentally Delayed Children
By Darlene MacDonald

A Visit to a Croatian Wellness Retreat
By Andrew Fisher

Canadian Broadcasters Lack Closed Captioning Online
By Charles Silverman

All of us have been teased at some point in our lives, especially while growing up. Sometimes it’s light-hearted joking between friends or family members. But other times, teasing escalates into something much more sinister and damaging: bullying. According to the website Bullying.org, in Canada, bullying happens every seven minutes on the playground.
By Melissa Martz

Waves of Resistance, the first pan-Canadian young feminist gathering, was held October 10-13, 2008, at the University of Quebec at Montreal. More than 500 young women from across Canada mobilized to attend and give workshops, network, and write and adopt a bilingual manifesto.
By DisAbled Women's Network Canada

Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada petitions Parliament for change.
By MS Society of Canada

“Some people can find work, but even with a job, can only afford to live in bug-infested shelters. For these people, living on the street sometimes seems easier. Some people do not receive proper health care because of being HIV-positive and the stigma that goes with that. The trauma and the horror some people have gone through almost seem impossible to be true.”
By Disability Rights Promotion International Canada

Alarmed by the numbers of youth not finding work, the Marsha Forest Centre (MFC) studied secondary school transition planning. Our partners were People First Ontario, the Hamilton Family Network, Canadian Abilities Foundation and the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board. Our informants were teachers, parents and students familiar with transition planning. Our findings were worrisome.
By Marsha Forest Centre

You can now open a Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) anywhere in Canada. The RDSP’s eventual success will be attributed to three things:1. Idea and Design 2. Provincial Reforms 3. Information.
By Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network

It was 160 years ago, on May 11, 1839, that the government of Upper Canada passed legislation allowing for the construction of such institutions. Eventually, the government funded and built 16 large institutions across the province. Over the years, tens of thousands of citizens have lived out their lives isolated from society and their families. Such institutions were intended as safe “communities” where people could live in security and be cared for with compassion. The reality, from the early days of these institutions through to today, has been something very different. Those who are willing to speak of their experience in these places tell of abuse, neglect and wasted lives.
By Community Living Ontario