In Canada, Agencies Urge Delaying New Residential Safety Rules

Interesting story from Canada. Definitely see why providers have concerns.

With inspectors throughout Alberta poised to start auditing homes, social service agencies that help people with developmental disabilities are urging the provincial government to delay the implementation of new safety regulations.
The beefed-up rules are aimed at creating a safer environment for clients of Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) who live in the community, but agencies in the sector say the new standards will prompt landlords who rent to PDD recipients to evict those tenants rather than undertake costly renovations.

Fight to Get Service Dogs in Schools

From our friends in Canada.

Parents of children with autism are battling school boards on an equal-rights issue that promises to heat up ahead of this month’s provincial byelections.

Braydon Drexler, 6, a child with autism
and Keats, his service dog, in Winnipeg.

Do dogs belong in classrooms? Families that have seen their easily agitated, sometimes non-verbal children blossom into calmer, more communicative kids around highly trained service animals think so. Supported by lawyers and equal-rights activists, they are fighting for the dogs to be viewed as assistive devices, no less essential than hearing aids in helping kids absorb curriculum.

Autism Event Pegged to U.N. Raises Awareness

NEW YORK, N.Y. -- A milestone for 16-year-old Jaden Lake, who has autism, is sometimes as basic as a kiss.

He's the son of Canadian Parliament member Mike Lake, who traveled to New York this week in the shadow of the United Nations General Assembly to raise awareness about autism spectrum disorders, believed to affect roughly 1 in 88 children in the United States.

Lake and his wife, Debi, say it's often the small victories that count most when raising the eldest of their two children.

Dog Returned to Boy with Special Needs

Lukas Smith with his dog Bailey.

OK, I can't resist a story with a happy ending, especially when it involves animals. 

A special needs boy from Canada has been reunited with his beloved dog after the stolen pet was returned anonymously to the child's family.
Four-year-old Lukas Smith made headlines last week when his dog Bailey was stolen in front of a grocery store in Peterborough, Canada.

Study Finds Quick Tests Help Spot Development Delays

A new study out of Canada can help parents and doctors ask the right questions to identify developmental delays in children.

BRITISH COLUMBIA -- Researchers with BC Children's Hospital and the University of British Columbia say two quick, low-cost questionnaires can help family doctors better identify developmental delays in children.
Parents can complete the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) or the Parents’ Evaluation of Developmental Status (PEDS) at home or in the family physician’s office, with the physician scoring the tests and providing results in a matter of minutes.

"It really asks them, 'Do you have concerns about your child's development in a number of areas?' so that's not too difficult for most parents to answer anyway," said family doctor and study co-author Dr. David Joyce.

"And just asking those simple questions about concerns is better than asking none of those questions at all."

Study Questions Toddler Autism Screening

NEW YORK -- There is no solid evidence to support screening toddlers for autism, a new study concludes.
It's estimated that autism spectrum disorders, which range from mild Asperger's Syndrome to severe mental retardation and social disability, affect nearly one percent of kids in the U.S., putting a significant burden on families and society at large.
Both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention encourage routine screening for the disorders.
But the new report, a review of the medical literature, suggests those recommendations are premature.
"We don't have research evidence to show how well screening works and whether we do more good than harm," Dr. Jan Willem Gorter, a pediatrician at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, told Reuters Health.

Questions Linger After Deportation Averted

The case of a Moncton, N.B., family who faced deportation because of their son's medical condition is raising questions whether Canada's immigration policies discriminate against people with disabilities.
On Friday, the Maeng family was spared deportation back to South Korea out of concerns that their youngest son, who has been diagnosed with autism and epilepsy, might cost the province's health and education systems too much.
Canada's immigration law includes the provision for medical inadmissibility. Those whom the provinces deem would represent an excessive demand on social services can be refused.

Adults With Autism Finding Their Place

Wonderful story from a monthly publication in Montreal called The Senior Times. Check this out.


MONTREAL -- As you walk into Darlene Berringer’s apartment on Sherbrooke near Greene, Yosef Robinson and Ansovina Dolce take you into the room where they are working on their projects.
Yosef is 27 and has a master's degree in urban planning and Anso is working on her art.
“Each of them is brilliant in their own respect,” Berringer says of her autistic students. Her mission is to integrate them fully into careers where their talents and personalities can shine. Berringer was the founding director of Giant Steps, a school for autistic children and adolescents. It started small, she says, in a church basement in Pointe Claire. The school now has branches worldwide.