Helpful information for anyone with a mentally challenged special needs child

The following information should prove helpful for anyone with a mentally challenged special needs child.  While a good portion of this “open letter” was written originally to a mother with a lower functioning 13 year old Down's syndrome student, I hope you find much information which will help with your child(ren).

This is one outtake from the full article:

"...As with any population of individuals, it is difficult to make a blanket statement that applies correctly to every Downs child. Many typical Downs children will have mental ages (and interests) approximately between seven and twelve years old as an adult, but not all (some will be higher and some will be lower). Obviously, a 7 year old's abilities will be less than the teen age reasoning abilities of a 12 year old. For these children, emphasize learning safety skills, personal information, leisure time activities that they can enjoy, and job related/work skills training which encourages them to function within their family and community. For higher functioning children, stress academics that lead to better job placements as adults.

In years past, Downs children were labeled as "educable" or "trainable", according to their IQs. These labels were restrictive and unfair to the families and children alike. Today, these labels have been removed, allowing many Downs children to surpass expectations and break the strangle-hold of stereotypes. Therefore, never limit your child by low expectations, but expose him to many realistic situations where he will experience success..."

We noticed right away that much of this didn't seem applicable in our case but we have long been willing to collect all information available and keep it in reserve, even if its relevance didn't seem immediately apparent.

REACH School Provides Indispensable Services for South Shore Special Needs Kids

REACH, (or Realistic Educational Alternatives for Children with Handicaps) School, in Saint Lambert, Quebec, offers an alternate educational program within the family of services offered by the Riverside School Board. It is a regional program serving the territories of Riverside. Reach School is the only English public school for students with special needs in the Montreal area.

This year REACH has 7 classes, with a student population of approximately 65 students, aged 4 to 21 years. Each class has one teacher and one technician or attendant. Each class is composed so as to offer best learning potential for the students in a relatively homogeneous group.

 The school's vision addresses the needs of a safe and caring community of learners that fosters individual growth and autonomy.

REACH promotes the autonomy and development of its students with intellectual and/or pervasive developmental challenges, such as autism spectrum, Down's syndrome (trisomy 21) and many other conditions, through programs of life skills, social skills, personal development, and functional academics; at the same time, enriching its students lives through many other exciting, innovative and meaningful experiences with sports, music, the arts, communication and language building, and specifically with occupational therapy services.

Some of the school's annual events include a Welcome Back Corn Roast, Meet the Staff/Annual GB General Assembly, the Graduation Exercise, holiday concerts, special outings ( e.g. Granby Zoo in June) and activities such as participation in the Defi Sportif.

One of REACH's great assets is its participation in McGill's "Double Challenge Program". In this program, all students spend one morning a week at McGill University, for a period of about ten weeks, where they are paired with a McGill special education student and have access to an extensive range of specialized facilities. 

Each Thursday, several of the older students prepare ‘Yummy lunches' for all the school population, responsible for planning the menu, the budget, shopping and, of course, preparation and serving.

REACH has a focus on being as environmentally conscious as possible and many efforts to be more ecologically responsible within the school, the community and in the world are undertaken. They re-cycle, re-use, and reduce in many ways.

REACH has regularly participated in Arts Smarts, which partners with an artist from the community to come in and work with the students.

Some students learn important life and job skills at their work-study placements at such stores as Winners, Pharmaprix ToysRUs and Zellers. To facilitate this program, REACH has its own "travel trainer", who assists the students in using public transportation and, where necessary, in fulfilling their on-the-job responsibilities.

The children enjoy easy access to nearby community facilities, such as swimming at the community pool, visits to local parks, and field, the arena and gymnasium, which are all within walking distance through residential streets.

Typically REACH hosts work study students from McGill’s Occupational Therapy Department as well as from several local CEGEP programs. This year, Langmobile offered a summer day camp for the week before the new 2010/11 school year began.

This was the 3^rd year that REACH was able to hire its own Occupational Therapist, Mme. Carole Laliberte. This is an undertaking and special initiative of the parents who raise money for this vital service which we now enjoy 2 days a week. REACH also has speech therapy services and a music specialist. 

REACH School serves the communities of St. Lambert, Greenfield Park, Longueuil, St. Hubert, Brossard, St. Bruno, Ste. Hilaire, Chambly, La Prairie, Candiac, Beloeil, Carignan, St. Julie and all other territories of Riverside School Board.

To contact REACH School: 450-671-1649 Here is the The Riverside School Board link for REACH School.
 

Open letter to the Regroupement pour la Trisomie 21

This letter was sent recently by parents of a child with Down's Syndrome to the Regroupement pour la Trisomie 21, the association for Down's Syndrome in Quebec. We will keep you appraised of what response is received, if any.

Hi,

As parent's of a 13-year-old boy with Down's Syndrome born here in Quebec, we would like to express our opinion that, by not having English on your website, the Regroupement pour la Trisomie 21 is fundamentally in error.


Although I speak some French, my wife does not and due to your French-only policy, we have been deprived of any benefits that your organization may have offered us over the past 13+ years since our son was born.


As you may well imagine, parents of kids with special needs are not the people who can most easily cope with navigating a second or third language when they go to seek help with their challenges.


The vast majority of websites in Quebec, or certainly Montreal, that deal with a wide public, are presented bilingually.


Your group should be a leader, representing a progressive view of "inclusion" and "diversity" in society. Yet you intentionally exclude English from your site and have no doubt driven away dozens or hundreds of families who need help, like ourselves.


Is this a welcoming, inclusive organization?


Furthermore, the Province of Quebec has undertaken to provide English services in health and education wherever warranted. Yet your organization seems totally oblivious to this moral obligation.


In conclusion, we would like to say that we are aware there are financial constraints in all charitable endeavors, no more so than in funding for special needs. This does not in any way justify alienating a large percentage of the population in the Montreal area, many of whom would benefit greatly from the assistance you could offer.


Therefore we urge you to implement an official bilingualism policy at your earliest possible convenience and anxiously await your response.


Sincerely yours,

RAPID seeking to facilitate ped day and before/after school day care for south shore RSB special needs kids

RAPID, the non-profit that looks out for the rights and well being of English language special needs families on Montreal's south shore, is hoping to announce ped day and day care programs in the near future.

RAPID has been working together with ARSDI (L’Association de la Rive-Sud pour la Déficience Intellectuelle) to offer the services, which should be obtainable for any Riverside School Board children who are not being served by their own school.

The south shore of Montreal (parts of which also known as the "Monteregie") is served by Riverside School Board (St. Lambert, Greenfield Park, Longueuil, St. Hubert, Brossard, St. Bruno, Ste. Hilaire, Chambly, La Prairie, Candiac, Beloeil, Carignan, St. Julie and others) as well as New Frontiers School Board (Chateauguay, Ormstown, etc.) and Eastern Townships School Board (Magog, Granby, Cowansville, etc.). 

Heartfelt letter from a special needs parent

Here's an interesting blog by a special needs teacher called, (surprise, surprise)  Notes From a Special Needs Teacher.

What caught my eye was an inspirational letter from a special needs parent that is currently the most recent post on the blog.

Fairly long, but worth re-pasting, I thought.

Read and reflect...

My dear friend,
I am so sorry for your pain.
Don’t worry; no one else sees it, I promise. To the rest of the world, you’re fine. But when you’ve been there, you can’t miss it.
I see it in your eyes. That awful, combustible mixture of heart-wrenching pain and abject fear. God, I remember the fear.
I see it in the weight of that invisible cloak that you wear. I remember the coarseness of its fabric on my skin. Like raw wool in the middle of the desert. You see, it was mine for a time.
I never would have wanted to pass it on to you, my love. I remember so well suffocating under the weight of it, struggling for breath, fighting to throw it off while wrapping myself in its awful warmth, clutching its worn edges for dear life.
I know that it feels like it’s permanent, fixed. But one day down the line you will wake up and find that you’ve left it next to the bed. Eventually, you’ll hang it in the closet. You’ll visit it now and then. You’ll try it on for size. You’ll run your fingers over the fabric and remember when you lived in it, when it was constant, when you couldn’t take it off and leave it behind. But soon days will go by before you wear it again, then weeks, then months.
I know you are staring down what looks to be an impossibly steep learning curve. I know it looks like an immovable mountain. It is not. I know you don’t believe me, but step by step you will climb until suddenly, without warning, you will look down. You will see how far you’ve come. You’ll breathe. I promise. You might even be able to take in the view.
You will doubt yourself. You won’t trust your instincts right away. You will be afraid that you don’t have the capacity to be what your baby will need you to be. Worse, you’ll think  that you don’t even know what she needs you to be. You do. I promise. You will.
When you became a mother, you held that tiny baby girl in your arms and in an instant, she filled your heart. You were overwhelmed with love. The kind of love you never expected. The kind that knocks the wind out of you. The kind of all encompassing love that you think couldn’t possibly leave room for any other. But it did.
When your son was born, you looked into those big blue eyes and he crawled right into your heart. He made room for himself, didn’t he? He carved out a space all his own. Suddenly your heart was just bigger. And then again when your youngest was born. She made herself right at home there too.
That’s how it happens. When you need capacity you find it. Your heart expands. It just does. It’s elastic. I promise.
You are so much stronger than you think you are. Trust me. I know you. Hell, I am you.
You will find people in your life who get it and some that don’t. You’ll find some that want to get it and some that never will. You’ll find a closeness with people you never thought you had anything in common with. You’ll find comfort and relief with friends who speak your new language. You’ll find your village.
You’ll change. One day you’ll notice a shift. You’ll realize that certain words have dropped out of your lexicon. The ones you hadn’t ever thought could be hurtful. Dude, that’s retarded. Never again. You won’t laugh at vulnerability. You’ll see the world through a lens of sensitivity. The people around you will notice. You’ll change them too.
You will learn to ask for help. You’ll have to. It won’t be easy. You’ll forget sometimes. Life will remind you.
You will read more than you can process. You’ll buy books that you can’t handle reading. You’ll feel guilty that they’re sitting by the side of the bed unopened. Take small bites. The information isn’t going anywhere. Let your heart heal. It will. Breathe. You can.
You will blame yourself. You’ll think you missed signs you should have seen. You’ll be convinced that you should have known. That you should have somehow gotten help earlier. You couldn’t have known. Don’t let yourself live there for long.
You will dig deep and find reserves of energy you never would have believed you had. You will run on adrenaline and crash into dreamless sleep. But you will come through it. I swear, you will. You will find a rhythm.
You will neglect yourself. You will suddenly realize that you haven’t stopped moving. You’ve missed the gym. You’ve taken care of everyone but you. You will forget how important it is to take care of yourself. Listen to me. If you hear nothing else, hear this. You MUST take care of yourself. You are no use to anyone unless you are healthy. I mean that holistically, my friend. HEALTHY. Nourished, rested, soul-fed. Your children deserve that example.
A friend will force you to take a walk. You will go outside. You will look at the sky. Follow the clouds upward. Try to find where they end. You’ll need that. You’ll need the air. You’ll need to remember how small we all really are.
You will question your faith. Or find it. Maybe both.
You will never, ever take progress for granted. Every milestone met, no matter what the timing, will be cause for celebration. Every baby step will be a quantum leap. You will find the people who understand that. You will revel in their support and love and shared excitement.
You will encounter people who care for your child in ways that restore your faith in humanity. You will cherish the teachers and therapists and caregivers who see past your child’s challenges and who truly understand her strengths. They will feel like family.
You will examine and re-examine every one of your own insecurities. You will recognize some of your child’s challenges as your own. You will get to know yourself as you get to know your child. You will look to the tools you have used to mitigate your own challenges. You will share them. You will both be better for it.
You will come to understand that there are gifts in all of this. Tolerance, compassion, understanding. Precious, life altering gifts.
You will worry about your other children. You will feel like you’re not giving them enough time. You will find the time. Yes, you will. No, really. You will. You will discover that the time that means something to them is not big. It’s not a trip to the circus. It doesn’t involve planning. It’s free. You will forget the dog and pony shows. Instead, you will find fifteen minutes before bed. You will close the door. You will sit on the floor. You’ll play Barbies with your daughter or Legos with your son. You’ll talk. You’ll listen. You’ll listen some more. You’ll start to believe they’ll be OK. And they will. You will be a better parent for all of it.
You will find the tools that you need. You will take bits and pieces of different theories and practices. You’ll talk to parents and doctors and therapists. You’ll take something from each of them. You’ll even find value in those you don’t agree with at all. Sometimes the most. From the scraps that you gather, you will start to build your child’s quilt. A little of this, a little of that, a lot of love.
You will speak hesitantly at first, but you’ll find your voice. You will come to see that no one knows your child better than you do. You will respectfully listen to the experts in each field. You will value their experience and their knowledge. But you will ultimately remember that while they are the experts in science, you are the expert in your child.
You will think you can’t handle it. You will be wrong.
This is not an easy road, but its rewards are tremendous. It’s joys are the very sweetest of life’s nectar. You will drink them in and taste and smell and feel every last drop of them.
You will be OK.
You will  help your sweet girl be far better than OK. You will show her boundless love. She will know that she is accepted and cherished and celebrated for every last morsel of who she is. She will know that her Mama’s there at every turn. She will believe in herself as you believe in her. She will astound you. Over and over and over again. She will teach you far more than you teach her. She will fly.
You will be OK.
And I will be here for you. Every step of the way.
With love,
Jess

G.I.R.A.F. Autisme - an option for families on the South Shore

Spotted while out and about... above the Mikes on Taschereau, there is an office for the organization, G.I.R.A.F. The initials stand for, Groupe d’Intervention et de Réadaptation pour enfants Autistes et leur Famille. There wasn't time to look into the operation any further at that time, however they do have a website, at www.giraf-autisme.com where their programs are outlined and the phone number is (450) 904-2144.

Could be a convenient solution for some of our readers. Anyone with further information, please let us know.

Some FAQs on bilingualism and ASDs

Quebec is one of the areas of the world where bilingualism is very important. No doubt it is a top priority for most English-speaking parents that their children become proficient in French, in order to optimize their future opportunities in this province. Obviously, this holds true for children with special needs, when at all possible.

However, many parents have worried that attempts to teach two languages may be confusing, or have other undesirable effects. 

Some studies in the past that have concluded that many special needs have not been found to be detrimental to a child's ability to succeed in learning a second language.

A new study that some families from the South Shore participated in was called Home Language Study, funded by Autism Speaks and conducted by co-investigators C. Hambly and Dr. E. Fombonne.

There are no findings as yet posted on the website, but there is an informative page of FAQs that could be of interest to many.

New gov't school board restrictions hammer Quebec special needs kids

The core reason for a serious new budget shortfall at Lester B. Pearson School Board is changes to accounting regulations imposed on school boards by the provincial government.

According to a recent story in the Montreal Gazette, LBPSB is scrambling to find an additional $500,000 just to keep services for special needs kids in their schools at roughly the same level as in past years. This, after the board already injected $750,000 over and above the allocation made last June.

LBPSB Director General Bob Mills said new provincial regulations, prohibiting the board from dipping into its surplus by more than 10%, are largely responsible for the board being unable to make up its special needs shortfall in the usual manner. As described in the article by Brenda Branswell, the Quebec Ministry of Education & Leisure typically provides the board with $10-11 million for special needs, which the board tops up with about $4 million which it gets from its surplus and other sources.

This situation plays out in other school districts across the province to varying degrees, depending on local situations.

Now that the new accounting is putting the spotlight on the situation, perhaps the shortfall of government funding for special needs will get more attention as well.

The fact is that the provincial funding, which is based on a system that "codes" students according to conditions they have or have been evaluated with, only provides significant funding for the most severe cases. Many of the less serious cases generate no additional provincial funding whatsoever - even though most if not all of these students require special attention from teachers both in the classroom and administratively.

Parents of Montreal 14-year-old take legal action to integrate son in school

The West Island parents of a 14-year-old adopted boy, who suffers effects of radiation acquired from his Chernobyl birth parents, have been forced to take extreme action to have the boy integrated at a Lester B Pearson School Board high school.

According to a story in the Aug. 19 Montreal Gazette, the case in Quebec Superior Court had been postponed until later in August. At present, news of any decision is not readily available.

The School Board Chairman Marcus Tabachnick said that LBPSB integrates 98% of its special needs kids, more than any other district in Quebec. However, in this case the board was offering to provide either partial home schooling or a full time technician to sit with the boy in school hallways.

The student's condition affects his speech and behaviour. He attended regular classes until 2007, when he was suspended from classes due to incidents at school, the details of which are disputed by the parents.

5th Annual Autism Awareness Gala

This is about an upcoming event.

It isn't specifically south shore but may be of interest to many.

I just took the text directly from the notice, as follows:

5th Annual Autism Awareness Gala benefiting the Otis Grant Foundation - featuring A Chinese Auction ($20/20 tickets), Entertainment and we are honored to have Mr ADAM REID as the Master Of Ceremony - Surprise Guests - Black & White theme -
Autism currently affects 1-91 children - it could be someone close to you - Time is of the essence and the time to help is NOW!!

Since this is the big 5th year - 5 LUCKY guests will win one of 5 Golden Ticket Prizes - Chocolates By Design will be providing all the chocolate this year and inside 5 will be a GOLDEN TICKET!

Tickets are $90 with a $45 tax receipt -

Corporate Sponships are available - individual or group tickets
can be purchased - donations/sponsorships are greatly
appreciated -

For more info please contact Melissa Vitulano either by email at autismgala@aol.com or 514-758-6396