Posts Tagged ‘disabilities’
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Michelle Kungl’s incredible journey
… her experience highlights the problem most people on social assistance face when they try to work or receive income from other sources. More than 900,000 Ontarians rely on social assistance, including more than 490,000 on ODSP. Barely 10 per cent of individuals receiving ODSP have employment income… the government has already increased the amount individuals and families can deduct from their earnings for disability-work related expenses from $300 to $1,000 a month.
Tags: disabilities, economy, featured, Health, mental Health, participation, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Inclusion Delivery System | No Comments »
Time to regulate occupational health and safety professionals
… home inspectors, paramedics and human resources professionals are now regulated in some form in one or more provinces. In fact, provinces are increasingly regulating a suite of health professionals that may include everyone from dental hygienists to diagnostic sonographers, but not OHS professionals… Regulating OHS professionals as other countries have done would be a significant step forward in making Canada’s workplaces safer and healthier.
Tags: crime prevention, disabilities, Health, mental Health, standard of living
Posted in Health Delivery System | 1 Comment »
Why doesn’t Ontario want health-care workers to be accountable?
No one knows for sure how many PSWs there are in Ontario, precisely because the field is so unregulated. Miranda Ferrier guesses there are about 135,000. About 30,000 belong to her association, and every one of them has to have an enhanced criminal record check and local police check — every year — and the association has in place a code of ethics, standards of practice and ongoing education. If these things were made mandatory… PSWs would have to be similarly checked out and there would be some accountability.
Tags: disabilities, Health, jurisdiction, mental Health
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
Freeing our people: Updates from the long road to deinstitutionalization
How can we expect any better from society when our own government continues to fund deeply segregated, dehumanizing and dangerous forms of support for people with intellectual disabilities? Out of sight, out of mind has hidden many disturbing facts about intellectual disability from the public for far too long… These wrongs must be righted and further abuse prevented. We need to bring the “left behind” forward if we are to become an inclusive and accessible country.
Tags: disabilities, featured, ideology, participation, rights, standard of living
Posted in Inclusion Policy Context | No Comments »
Dyslexic kids in Canada deserve better
In Ontario alone, more than 40,000 children are waiting for assessment out of 250,000 who struggle with dyslexia. Tragically, assessment and intervention will come far too late for this group’s learning development. It is a “wait-and-fail” disaster. Of children with learning disabilities, 80-85 per cent of them are believed to be dyslexic… A University of Toronto study reveals that a dyslexic child is five times more likely to be physically abused than the average child… Not only is the situation a living tragedy, it also has monumental costs to our country.
Tags: disabilities, ideology, jurisdiction, mental Health, participation, youth
Posted in Education Debates | No Comments »
There’s no cure for autism — my daughter is wonderful just the way she is
My daughter doesn’t have a special talent or ability, and she isn’t a quirky genius. She may never live independently or hold down a successful career. But these are arbitrary measurements of success, and she doesn’t need to achieve them to be valuable and worthwhile. What she needs is the freedom to be herself — as flappy, happy and autistic as she may be.
Tags: disabilities, featured, Health, ideology, mental Health
Posted in Inclusion Debates | No Comments »
Mentally ill people need to be calmed down, not shot
No one is suggesting that police stand there and allow themselves to be stabbed or beaten. De-escalation training teaches that not drawing a weapon in the first place can prevent the threats; offering help instead of screaming “drop the weapon,” can change an interaction… police forces now employ crisis intervention teams that include unarmed social workers, backed up by police who carry shields and tasers instead of guns.
Tags: crime prevention, disabilities, ideology, mental Health
Posted in Inclusion Policy Context | 1 Comment »
Invictus Games are an opportunity to advocate for disability rights
… Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities, Carla Qualtrough has yet to produce the legislation she was tasked with… Even provincially, the government has failed to keep its promise of enforcing the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act… The Liberal government has even gone so far as to obstruct investigations by disability advocates. This does not seem like leadership “committed to building a more accessible Ontario
Tags: disabilities, Health, ideology, participation, rights, standard of living
Posted in Inclusion Debates | No Comments »
Mental disabilities shouldn’t be accommodated with extra time on exams
Provincial human rights commissions insist that these extra-time accommodations are necessary. These commissions are not neutral investigative bodies but advocacy agencies with expansive agendas and wide powers to interpret and apply human rights code provisions. On this subject, their directions are inconsistent with prevailing principles of human rights law.
Tags: disabilities, featured, ideology, mental Health, rights
Posted in Equality Debates | 3 Comments »
School fundraising report says amounts raised far outpace government grants for needy areas
Ontario now ranks fifth in Canada in per-student spending… much of the additional money has been spent on class size reductions, and full-day kindergarten. Both of those initiatives have benefitted elementary teachers and created thousands of jobs. Overall, the report says whether special education, English-as-a-Second-Language students or school maintenance, these areas “have all been underfunded for two decades.”
Tags: budget, disabilities, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, poverty
Posted in Policy Context | No Comments »
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