Riverside School Board presents upgrades and renovations planned for REACH School

Yesterday evening representatives from Riverside School Board came to REACH School in St. Lambert to present the plans for the upgrades to the school that are scheduled to be completed this summer. REACH is the English-language special needs school serving the south shore of Montreal. It is one of the few public English-language special needs schools in Quebec, and the only one in the Montreal area.

The plans include replacing all the windows in the school and substantial upgrades in a number of the classrooms and toilets. In many cases these upgrades are the minimum that would be required for the school to meet current standards for school construction. Improvements will include suspended ceilings in many of the rooms, painting throughout most of the school, new floors and new protected lights in the room used as a gym.

On the second floor, a "quiet room" that is no longer used will be converted into a bathroom, so that both upstairs classrooms will have their own bathroom, and a sink / washing area will be created that is separated from the toilets.

The OT room on the main floor will be enlarged by removal of unused closets and sensory lighting will be installed, in order to create the basis of a "sensory room". (the link gives a generic overview of a sensory room) This will be a room in which sensory stimuli can be controlled to establish an ideal environment for each student to feel secure, at ease and confident, as they learn to explore their feelings, their abilities and things being taught by teachers and other professionals. Further additions to the sensory room at REACH will be in terms of equipment that may be added either now or from time to time in the future.

The other major alteration on the main floor will be the enlargement of the kitchen area, where several students prepare lunch for the entire school one day a week, and the creation of a division between the kitchen and the large adjoining room. After the renovations, the larger classroom will be reduced in size and the enlarged kitchen area will also be able to potentially be used as a model "apartment" setting, where students could practice other independence and life skills, such as making a bed.

No doubt more detailed descriptions will be provided soon to all REACH parents. It was confirmed that these renovations have been approved by the school board and the contract for the work has been signed, although certain modifications to the plans could still be discussed during the next week or ten days.

April 2 World Autism Awareness Day

An impressive line-up of events is scheduled for the United Nations World Autism Awareness Day, which takes place today, April 2.

The link contains information about a special edition of postage stamps being released by the U.N., as well as other events and links, including activities associated with Kate Winslet's new book, The Golden Hat: Talking Back to Autism, and other stuff...

This of course, all coming hard on the heels of the recent news that the rate of autism in children in the U.S. has now risen to an astonishing 1 in 88, and 1 in 54 among boys.

RAPID's new website now up and running

RAPID's website is now up and running.

It is located at the same address that the previous, simple web page was at, www.rapidsouthshore.org.

The link is also available here in the side bar.

The website provides an overview of RAPID's services, activities, fundraising initiatives, contact information and links.

If you have any information that you would like to appear on the website, or have any suggestions or comments, you are most welcome to submit your ideas via email or even add them here below in the form of a comment.

Researchers from McGill University crack degeneration process that leads to Alzheimer’s

This new study opens the door to potential new pharmacological treatments that could delay the progression of Alzheimer's disease, according to scientists.

Given the well-established relationship between Alzheimer's and Down syndrome, it will be interesting to follow future developments in this area to look for clues as to what this could mean for people with Down syndrome.

Site could be of interest as a potential resource for special needs in Quebec

A site / group of interest that was recently noted is www.laccompagnateur.org.

This site appears to be an attempt to catalogue a significant portion of special needs services and interested parties in Quebec. They have even gone so far as to sort the listings by region, and do an English translation of the information, which is greatly appreciated.

Somehow though, they managed to put this whole thing together without mentioning REACH School, the only English-language public school for kids with intellectual disabilities in the Greater Montreal Region. Obviously Reach is located on the South Shore, in St. Lambert, and serves surrounding communities and most of the Monteregie.*

It isn't readily apparent whether the site continues to be active.

While we're at it, we might as well mention the "Monteregie Handicapped Portal", another website resource listing, in French only. This one doesn't list schools or school districts - but it is listed on the sidebar as it does target the South Shore Montreal area, and includes a good list of associations.

* April 8/2012  In the meantime, I have been in touch with the good people at the laccompagnateur site and they have promised to include REACH School and some of our other links in a future update of their site, so that is great news. It bears mentioning that they are a group of parents who have done all this on a volunteer basis, so kudos and best of luck to them in their endeavours in our common cause! 

Rapid to Participate in EMSB Special Needs Fair April 12

Rapid (Resources for the Anglophone Population with Intellectual Disabilities) will be represented at a public Special Needs Resource Fair hosted by John Grant and Paul VI High Schools, in collaboration with the English Montreal School Board and Inspirations Newspaper.

It will take place at the EMSB Administration building (6000 Fielding Avenue) in NDG on Thursday, April 12 (7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.) John Grant and Paul VI cater to students with special needs. Their mandate is to encourage personal and academic growth for all learners, regardless of the challenges they face. The Transitioning Towards Independence Resource Fair will bring together a variety of resources for parents, family members, teachers and caregivers of students of all ages with learning difficulties and/or special needs.

The goal of Rapid's participation in this event will be to raise the south shore non-profit organization's profile in the Greater Montreal region, to establish relations and contacts with key service providers and resources in the special needs sector, and to keep well-informed about ongoing innovations. 

Making all of these resources available under one roof will enable parents/guardians and teachers to make better informed life decisions for their special needs child or student.

Celebrate World Down Syndrome Day March 21

In November last year, the United Nations adopted a resolution to designate March 21 as World Down Syndrome Day.

Although this is the seventh annual WDSD, 2012 will be the first year that this occasion has been officially recognized by the United Nations. The video below was one of many produced to commemorate WDSD 2011, in the theme, "Let Us In".

The date, March 21, (21, 3)  is selected to represent the 3 copies of chromosome 21 that is the unique characteristic of all people with Down syndrome

We are not currently aware of any activities planned for the Montreal or South Shore / Monteregie areas however will try to find out if there is anything and post it here.