Rapid-ARSDI Open House - first event of 2011 in final planning

Watch for news of the first RAPID event for 2011 - It will be a joint Open House with ARSDI (L’Association de la Rive-Sud pour la Déficience Intellectuelle) - date and time TBA mid-late February. There is also planned to be a financial planning seminar with a focus on special needs issues held in conjunction with this open house. Stay tuned for further news!

Rapid Meeting

The next Rapid meeting is Tuesday, Jan. 11, 5 p.m. at the ARSDI. Major item of discussion will be the Open House now in planning for the latter part of February.

REACH Holiday Concert a Much-Loved Tradition

While many children and their parents are busy with ballet recitals, choir concerts and school plays at this time of year,  for many REACH students and their parents, the annual Christmas concert is their time to shine.

REACH's Time to Shine

The REACH School Holiday Concert was held Dec. 17 at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in St. Lambert. As always, there was a great turnout and a near-packed house, including parents, Riverside School Board representatives and other community members, for the occasion.

Without more careful research, it wouldn't be possible to say that the REACH holiday or Christmas concert has been presented every year without fail for any particular length of time. It is certain, though, that the tradition has endured many, many years and holds a special place in the hearts of all of the members of the REACH community.

This year's production included songs by all of the classes, with inclusion of various props, musical accompaniments and audience participation. There was also an entertaining Christmas play performed by the older classes. Following the student features, there was also a carol sing-a-long including the audience.

The morning's proceedings began with a singing of O Canada and  brief addresses by the school principal and the church reverend. Following the concert, participants were invited back to the school for a potluck lunch contributed to by the parents.

REACH Students Enjoy Seasonal Festivities

As may be well imagined, there are some daunting challenges for any school to present a Christmas concert in this day and age. Issues ranging from what to politically correctly call the event through to rehearsal logistics all create hurdles to the production of a successful concert.

In the case of REACH School, there is the obvious challenge involved in conceiving and adapting all of the aspects of the program for such a diverse community. As a school for intellectually challenged kids, REACH personnel do a lot of thinking outside the box to create an event that all can participate in and enjoy, while still providing the audience and parents with an occasion to remember with pride and fondness for years to come.

Due to the size and sparse population of REACH's huge service area, there are only a small number of students in each age group and ability level. However, the diversity and age range of the school's students do allow for creation of a program that includes humour, song, creativity, fun, sharing, interaction and great memories for all.

 Strong Ties in the Community Appreciated

REACH's strong ties within the St. Lambert and south shore community are most appreciated at this time of year. The ability to use the facility offered by St. Andrew's church illustrate once again how REACH has always benefited from the physical assets of the community and the neighbourly warmth and generosity of the people of St. Lambert.         
 

Ontario announces $25 M new funding for ABA

The Ontario government announced $25 million in new funding for ABA (Applied Behaviour Analysis) therapy for autistic children yesterday.

The program is intended to benefit 8,000 children, although there has been no news about how these funds will be distributed. A current program, funded with $115 million, is currently treating 1,450 children with IBI therapy (Intensive Behaviour Intervention), while about 1,600 are on a waiting list.

Report: Mentally Disabled Sold for Manual Labour in Chinese Sweatshops

Mentally disabled and/or mentally ill men from Sichuan have been sold to do manual labour in Xinjiang, according to articles appearing in Danwei, the Chongqing Business News, the Tibet Business Daily and the Global Times.

A total of 11 workers, including eight mentally disabled people, were found to be working in appalling conditions at the Jiaersi Green Construction Material Chemical Factory in Toksun county, the Xinjiang Metropolitan newspaper reported.

According to the report, the workers have allegedly been confined to the factory, toiling for at least three years without being paid or given any protective uniforms or equipment. And authorities said the workers were forced to live in shabby conditions, not given showers for years and fed the same food as the boss' dogs.

A man in Sichuan Province has been arrested in connection with the case.

New autism study raises hope, questions

A new study has been hailed as a "Breakthrough Discovery" on the causes of autism. The study, published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, is entitled "Mitochondrial Dysfuction in Autism".

Writing about the study in the Huffington Post, Dr. Mark Hyman says that he has already successfully treated autism by addressing known causes of mitochondrial dysfunction, including environmental toxins such as mercury, lead and persistent organic pollutants, latent infections, gluten, sugar, allergens and nutritional deficiencies.

I found all these problems in Jackson, and over a period of two years we slowly unraveled and treated the underlying causes of his energy loss which included gut inflammation, mercury, and nutrient deficiencies. Over time, the tests for his mitochondrial function and oxidative stress (as well as levels of inflammation and nutrient status) all normalized. When they became normal, so did Jackson. He went from full-blown regressive autism to a normal, bright beautiful six-year-old boy.

Dr. Hyman writes that the information taken from the new study is one symptom of a complex variety of causes that could be associated with autism. A number of other symptoms could include systemic inflammation, brain inflammation and many others. Therefore, he says, future research "must synthesize current data and design relevant whole systems research studies that don't focus on a single factor, but examine all the factors together."

Hyman notes that most physicians do not test autistic patients for oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction or other related factors which could possibly be treated by controlling environmental factors.

For a comprehensive overview of this subject, please see the article in the Facing Autism in New Brunswick blog, with its wider analysis of the implications and controversial overtones.

León y Olvido

A Spanish film about Down syndrome and relationships.

This is just the trailer but if you speak Spanish it looks like you can pretty much watch the whole thing on Youtube.