News

Why separating kids with disabilities from their peers hurts instead of helps

Torrie Dunlap at TEDxAmerica’sFinestCity Educator Torrie Dunlap believes that we look at kids with disabilities the wrong way. By calling their needs “special” and pushing them into “special” schools, groups and activities, we segregate them, sending a message that if you have a disability, you aren’t welcome to participate in “regular” activities. What we really […]

From exploitation to employment: Undoing Canada’s sheltered workshop system

BY TEUILA FUATAI APRIL 12, 2016 Like this article? rabble is reader-supported journalism.Chip in to keep stories like these coming. Thousands of intellectually disabled adults in Canada are earning less than $2 an hour under sheltered workshop programs. In part one of her investigation, rabble labour reporter Teuila Fuatai looks at what life is like for […]

Let’s Learn Together 2016

North Bay Let’s Learn Together is a two day conference for people from the Muskoka, Parry Sound district and Nipissing district who have a developmental disability. It is a rare opportunity for participants to meet or reunite with one another, to learn from each other and to gain confidence and skill in their ability to self-advocate. […]

Family: the tie that binds

Parent leaders and representatives from local associations, the Provincial Executive Directors’ Group and Community Living Ontario came together last Friday in Toronto for an update on four demonstration projects on family engagement. The services and supports that many Ontarians who live with an intellectual disability receive today are due to the collective voice and actions […]

Getting to Balance Lynn Walmsley

Getting to Balance Reprinted, with author’s permission, from CRU magazine 50th Edition in Queensland, Australia. My son Robert is 23 years old. We have received some paid supports since he was three years old. In the past seven years we have become much more intentional in finding natural, unpaid supports amongst friends and family, as […]

Graduation Day for the Hospitality and Tourism students!

Since 2014, Canadore College has offered a four-week Hospitality & Tourism course that provides participants with essential knowledge and certifications to be employed in the hospitality industry. Participants learn about excellence in customer service, effective communication, and dealing with difficult people. Certifications include First Aid and CPR, Safe Food Handling, WHMIS, and a Statement of Training […]

The Quiet Room

The Quiet Room, or QR, is a reference found in the files of people who resided in institutions for the developmentally delayed. A room is described in the Muskoka Report as follows: about 9 feet by 8 feet with an iron grating about one and a half feet ahead of a window. It has a […]

Home is Where the Comfort Is

Tim Vankoughnett is an integral part of the community of Parry Sound. If you haven’t seen him at the Bobby Orr Community Centre, Harvest Share, The Salvation Army, Pet Value or the Legion, you may know him simply from seeing him walking along the street to Tim Hortons or the Fire Hall. Tim was born […]

Home Depot Orange Door Project; Making the Dreams of Youth a Reality

Every year Home Depot of Canada Foundation raises funds for the Orange Door Project. The project is aimed at youth who are vulnerable or at risk of homelessness; helping them to build skills and connections within their communities that will support them to achieve their goals. For the past three years, Home Depot in Parry […]

Lesson Learned From Our Journey Of Inclusive Education by Martin and Darcy Elks

This article appeared in the periodical Thinking About School Inclusion (2012). Issue 12 pp 10-13. Belonging Matters. Melbourne Martin and Darcy Elks live in Pennsylvania. They have three children, one of which has a disability. Mary has experienced the same opportunities in life that have been available to her brother and sister, including a […]