June is Brain Injury and Safety Awareness Month –

By Isabelle St-Jean RSW

The focus of this blog article includes disabilities that result from brain injury.

In Canada alone, thousands of people acquire brain injuries each year and most of them are young adults.  The incidence of such injuries is two times greater in men than in women.  Although the disabilities that result from brain injuries vary among people, some areas of commonality tend to include memory loss, impaired reasoning skills and “one-track thinking”.

 

Speaking of prevention, for children and youth, wearing a helmet is evidently the most important habit.  Whether it is for snowboarding, cycling or skateboarding, a child should be encourage to think that wearing a helmet is not just an option, it’s a necessary imperative. 

 

Research in this field reveals that head injury is the leading cause of death in bicycle crashes and is the most important determinant of bicycle related death and permanent disability. Head injuries account for more than 60 percent of bicycle-related deaths, more than two-thirds of bicycle-related hospital admissions and about one-third of hospital emergency room visits for bicycling injuries.  Given these statistics it is surprising to see that some adults and children still go cycling without the protection of a helmet.  It has been proven that helmet use reduces the risk of bicycle-related death and injury and the severity of head injury when a crash occurs.

 

While most head and brain injury occur by accident, there was at least one rare case in which a child was born with only half of her brain.  Consider the case of Michelle Mack now in her late 20’s who has completed high school and is living a relatively full life with only half of her brain functioning. Ten years ago, Dr. Jordan Grafman, chief of the Cognitive Neuroscience Section at the National Institutes of Health, finally diagnosed the problem that Michelle had been experiencing. 

 

An MRI scan revealed she was missing nearly all the left side of her brain. While it was clear Mack has some problems, Grafman said he and the family were shocked by the extent of the damage. “We were surprised to see the extent of the lesion in her brain, which basically took away the left side of her brain,” said Grafman. “There’s some very deep structures remaining, but the surface of her brain, the cortex is 95 percent gone and some of the deeper structures, structures that control movement, are missing. These are all structures that are important for movement, behavior, cognition.”

The only answer, Grafman said, was that Mack’s brain has rewired itself. The remaining half took over some of the essential functions that are normally done by the left, such as speaking and reading. That rewiring, however, came at a cost.

 

“Michelle has fairly normal language abilities, certainly basic language abilities, she can construct a sentence, she can understand instructions, she can find words when she’s talking, but actually she has some trouble in some aspects of visual-spatial processing,” said Grafman. “It’s quite possible that in her learning, in her development, when the right hemisphere either took over or developed some of the language abilities that it cost her in some of the skills that are normally mediated by the right side of the brain,” added Grafman. 

 

This story shows that the brain can have astounding resilience and adaptive capabilities in addition to its neuroplasticity.  Such story implies that those who may have the misfortune of having a brain injury, it may be possible to recover more faculties over time than we previously thought possible, prior to the extensive research on neuroscience.

 

With summer just ahead of us here in the lower mainland, we parents must be vigilant in not only modeling the use of a helmet for activities such as cycling, but that we insist on our children having to wear such a protection gear.

 

Do you have a story of someone you know recovered well from a brain injury?  If you have any comments or stories to add here, we would like to hear back from you.  Thanks in advance for participating in this conversation about increasing safety for everyone this month and all the ones to follow.

 

May is Hearing Awareness Month: Celebrating those who defied the Odds in Spite of Deafness.

By Isabelle St-Jean RSW

 

In the deaf community, it is not uncommon to find people who have developed inordinate levels of resilience and resourcefulness.  Consider the example of American actress Marlee Matlin who has remarkably surmounted the challenges of being deaf to succeed in the very competitive world of acting and the movie industry.

 

Here are 3 lesser known deaf people who have defied the odds to achieve their hearts desires:

 

Heather Whitestone McCallum became Miss America in 1995. Profoundly deafened as a toddler, Heather Whitestone was educated in mainstream and oral-school settings. She began competing in local pageants as a teenager, and won the Miss Alabama 1994 title on her third try, having reached second place twice. On September 17, 1994, she became the first Miss America with a disability. Her stunning ballet routine wowed judges and viewers. STARS (“Success Through Action and Realization of your DreamS”) was her motivational program; she also campaigned for early identification of deafness, carrying her message to audiences in all sectors and states, earning Congressional recognition and numerous honors. She received a cochlear implant in 2002. She’s a devoted mom to her two sons and a popular public speaker.

Frank Peter Hochman was the first born-deaf American to become a physician. And he did it in the face of overwhelming discouragement.  After completing High School in Manhattan, he earned his B.S. in Biology at City College of New York in 1958. Since no medical school would accept him, he worked as a chemist for the New York Department of Health. Finally, in 1972, he entered Rutgers Medical School/College of Medicine and Dentistry, at age 37 the nation’s oldest medical student. In 1976 he received his M.D., and served a residency in Family Practice in two California hospitals. He set up private practice in Fremont, where about 10 percent of his patients are Deaf. A popular teacher and presenter, he founded the Society of Hearing Impaired Physicians, to encourage others to achieve their goals.

Stefan LeFors, a Canadian born professional football player was born in Canada in a family that included two deaf parents and a deaf brother.  Although he was played for most of his career with American teams, he was traded to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2009. In that same year, Stefan was named Winnipeg’s starting quarterback for the start of the season.

It is inspiring to see, as you can read through the above short biographies, that with strong determination, persistence and the full strength of the human spirit, extraordinary things can be achieved regardless of disability.   

For an account of challenges surmounted by Jewish deaf people in history, you can view the very touching documentary entitled Exodus: Deaf Jewish Family Escapes the Holocaust on www.deaftv.com/film/Exodus/

 

We look forward to your feedback and contribution to this blog article. 

 

 

May is Speech and Hearing Awareness Month

By Isabelle St-Jean, RSW

 

 One organization that takes center stage in celebrating this month is the Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists.  This association has developed a website that helps to stimulate awareness around the issues associated with speech and hearing impairments: www.maymonth.ca .  This informative website also includes “positive outcomes” that are about stories of hope and determination in people facing speech and hearing challenges.  If you are the parent of a child getting services from a speech and language pathologist you may suggest that you child enter the contest currently announced on the may month website.  The winner will win a $100.00 gift certificate for ToysRus.

 This association of professionals also has another website that includes much useful information, help finding a professional, etc.  It is www.speachandhearing.ca

As part of fostering awareness of the various segments of our population that may require treatments or aids for speech and/or hearing problems, seniors are among those who are at risk of developing these impairments.  Seniors will make up 25% of the population of Canadians by 2041. Facts on communication and aging include:

• 1 in 10 Canadians have a speech, language or hearing problem
• Hearing loss is the third most prevalent chronic disability among older adults
• 20% of adults over 65, 40% over 75 and 80% of nursing home residents have a significant hearing problem.
• 6-12% of seniors experience speech, language or voice difficulties.

In the deaf culture and community, we know that a significant number of people are engaged activists.  In the magazine Lilith www.lilith.org for and by Jewish feminist women, there are several great articles in this spring issue about stories of hearing mothers raising deaf children and deaf women telling their stories.  These stories are filled with accounts of grief, and pain but also about the triumph of defying the odds and the ability to live a full and rich life, no matter what. 

We would like to hear your stories as well and invite your comments about your experience especially if you are part of the deaf community or if you have children who have speech and/or hearing impairments.

 

April is Autism Awareness Month: A Supportive Practice to explore for Families and Children with Autism

By Isabelle St-Jean, RSW.

 With this month’s focus on augmenting our awareness of issues and needs of people with autism, this article serves to shed light a lesser known practice that can help children and teens with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder).  The intent here is not to promote or recommend this modality but just to help you being aware of it and you may choose to research it to find out more about its use and/or effectiveness. 

Perhaps you’re already familiar with EFT, which stands for Emotional Freedom Technique? This is an increasingly known and widely used energy-based meridian therapy primarily used by psychiatrists, psychologists, life coaches, counselors and lay people to relieve physical or emotional pain, anxiety, and even to address childhood trauma.  The following article is an excerpt from a recent newsletter on EFT:

I have been a psychotherapist in Toronto for many years now, practicing classical therapeutic techniques with a broad range of clients. In the last few years, I have included EFT in my work, and have seen many dramatic events as a result of it. But I wanted to talk about one in particular, because for the first time I was able to convince a parent to try EFT with her child.

 

My client, Katia, who is happy to share this information with my readers, has a 7-year-old son who was diagnosed many years ago with severe autism. Her husband quit his job and devoted himself full-time to helping David function as well as might be hoped and he was certainly able to make a difference, after three years of enormous effort using the Sonrise technique. But like many parents of autistic children, he began to run out of steam.

Katia came to me without her son, David, and together she and I worked on some of her frustrations as a parent, using the EFT protocol. Then I gave her some statements to use with David. We decided that we would work initially on making him more responsive to his parents and less of a challenge to their patience. Katia told me that David was very sensitive to noise, and would scream and cry when she turned on the blender in the kitchen. He would also scream in the car if she had the radio on. EFT combines tapping on key acupuncture points while repeating a kind of affirmation at the same time. Katia used statements that focused on the noisy blender, the irritation David felt when he heard it, and his reaction (screaming).

 

Katia would tap (practice EFT) every evening while David was going to sleep. She would tap on herself as a surrogate and on him. Amazingly EFT works both ways, which is a Godsend for autistic children who don’t like to be touched. She added statements for his speech problems, and his difficulty communicating. All this time Katia’s husband was away on a trip. When he returned after one month, he said he noticed immediately an enormous change in his son’s behaviour. He said he hardly recognized David. These are some of the things he and Katia saw in just one month.  Apparently, other relatives also commented on the amazing changes they noticed in David.

 

To learn more about EFT, you may visit www.eftuniverse.com .  This site has numerous articles, information and practitioners of this method (some Canadians among them).  They also have a free e-newsletter.

Feel free to reply and contribute a comment if you have experienced EFT for yourself and or for some family members.

As usual, feel free to contact me for more info about the above or other services provided by the Special Needs department at JFSA.   You can reach me through my e-mail at istjean@jfsa.ca or call on Tuesdays or Thursdays 604 257-5151 ext 223.

April is Autism Awareness Month: Latest News on Autism Today.

By Isabelle St-Jean, RSW

Inclusion event: April 15, 2012

The World in A Garden extends a special invitation to families of children and teens with autism to come, volunteer and explore the World in A Garden . See article about therapeutic gardening below.  For more details about this event  see the poster on April 10 blog post.

Rising Prevalence of Autism

According to the latest research in America, autism is on the rise and it now affects about 1 in 88 children in the US.  This represents and 80% rise over the past decade.  A survey, sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is the latest evidence of a steady upward trend in a disorder whose cause remains unknown despite much research in recent years. The rising rate of autism could be the result of finding children missed in earlier surveys or an actual increase in the condition — or a combination of the two. The trend has been observed in Canada and Western Europe as well as the United States.  To learn more about this, visit:www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/fed…

*

Jewish Teen with Autism sees her dream come true

As part of the latest news I found about autism, a particularly touching story was reported about a non-verbal Jewish teenager, Carly Fleishman who has autism and who wrote a book with her father Arthur Fleishman.  This just-published book Carly’s Voice: Breaking Through Autism (Simon and Schuster), includes one of Carly’s an amazing dreams which became a reality.  Around the time of her bat mitzvah, Carly wanted to have her TV idol, talk show host Ellen DeGeneres read her Jewish coming-of-age speech when she turned 13.  Carly worked hard on her speech, for many weeks and then her mother contacted DeGeneres’s manager, agent and producer of the show, to ensure the letter/speech and request would be seen. On the day of her bat mitzva celebration, Carly saw the DVD made by Ellen DeGeneres in which she reads Carly’s speech which had taken Carly 4 months to complete.  You can read more about Carly and about the book on this website:

 http://www.thespec.com/news/article/694453–computer-unlocks-autistic-teen-s-exceptional-voice

*

Research confirms information processing capacity higher in those with Autism

Confirming what many suspected, new research from the UK suggests people with autism have a greater than normal capacity for processing information. This aptitude is evident even when the presentation is presented rapidly. Autistic individuals are also better at detecting information defined as ‘critical.’ Investigators believe the findings may help to explain the apparently higher than average prevalence of people with autism spectrum disorders in the IT industry.

As you likely know, autism is a lifelong developmental disorder that affects social interaction, communication and, often, learning; although, people with autism show an increased ability to focus attention on certain tasks. However, lab and field research has shown that these individuals can be more sensitive to the distracting effects of irrelevant stimuli, such as flashing lights or particular sounds, which can be easily ignored by people without the disorder.

In the study, Professor Nilli Lavie, from the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at UCL, hypothesized that this combination of the ability to focus and a susceptibility to distraction might be caused by a higher than normal information processing capacity.

“Our work on perceptual capacity in the typical adult brain suggests a clear explanation for the unique cognitive profile that people with autism show,” she says.

“People who have higher perceptual capacity are able to process more information from a scene, but this may also include some irrelevant information which they may find harder to ignore. Our research suggests autism does not involve a distractibility deficit but rather an information processing advantage.”

Furthermore, Professor Lavie says: “Our study confirms our hypothesis that people with autism have higher perceptual capacity compared to the typical population. This can only be seen once the task becomes more demanding, with more information to process. In the more challenging task conditions, people with autism are able to perceive significantly more information than the typical adult.”

Researchers believes the finding may help explain why people with autism spectrum disorders, such as Asperger’s syndrome, may excel in some careers such as IT, which can require intense concentration and the ability to process a great deal of information from a computer screen. For more details on this research and article:

psychcentral.com/news/2012/03/23/autism-linked-to-.

*

Gardening seen as therapeutic for those with Autism

Most teenage boys would balk at the idea of planting daffodils and watering flowerbeds. But for 16-year-old Angus Boyd-Smith, gardening isn’t just a hobby – it has changed his life. Angus has Down’s syndrome. Six months ago, he started attending weekly horticultural therapy sessions, run near his home in Finchampstead in Berkshire by the gardening charity Thrive. He spends hours digging, watering and tending to flowers, fruit and vegetables that he has planted. “Before the therapy, Angus struggled to concentrate in class; there were some days he didn’t want to go to school,” says his mother Kim. “Now he can’t wait. He is happy, enthusiastic, and has something to focus on. We can see Angus working in a garden centre or an allotment in years to come. This has given him a future.”

Research shows that horticultural therapy improves mental and physical well-being; its benefits are now being extended to young people with conditions such as autism and Down’s syndrome.

Natasha Etherington, a horticultural therapist based in Vancouver is the author a new book on gardening for children with autism and special educational needs. She says “planting a flower and waiting for it to bloom gives delayed satisfaction that makes the children feel like they’re part of something, as well as providing a stress-free, relaxing environment.” Her book is entitled: Gardening For Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Special Educational Needs. To find out more about this article click on the following link:www.telegraph.co.uk/health/9084308/Gardening-thera…  

To read more about autism news, look up the site: www.researchautism.net

If you have news of interest to contribute to this blog, feel free to make your comments and send us the information.

Word in A Garden and Autism Awareness Month event

Click on the poster to enlarge and read the details.  See you there!

 

Focus on Youth: Upcoming events for Young People with Disabilities.

By Isabelle St-Jean, RSW.

Following up from the successful Transition Fair that took place at the JCC on February 26^th, we are aware that parents of youth with disabilities often seek out more activities in which their children can be engaged and socialize.

As we know, adolescence is typically a difficult time characterized by peer pressures, the need to choose a career direction, the desire to find avenues of expression for talents and passions.  In addition, communication is often strained between parents and teens which further exacerbate the stress of going through this time of life. For some young people, depending on their type of disability, it is yet more difficult for their need to belong to be satisfied.

With spring just around the corner, new activities, fairs and festivals are about to take place in Vancouver in the next few weeks, here are some announcements of events that you and or your teen may choose to attend:

–          Leisure Fair for children and youth with disabilities will take place at the Trout Lake Community Centre at 3360 Victoria Drive on Tuesday April 3^rd, from 6:00pm to 8:30pm.  To find out more contact Tina Pardiwala @ tpardiwala.

–          Youth Arts Festival is seeking young people with various talents to be part of the Ignite Annual Youth Arts Festival at the CULTCH– from May 14^th to 19^th.  (Although this is not specifically announced as an event for teens with disabilities, the information provided on the website suggests that they would most likely have a policy of inclusiveness.) The Festival will include a visual arts exhibit and all kinds of performances. The deadline for an audition is March 23^rd.  To find out more, visit the website: www.igniteyouthfest.ca 

–          Youth Bridges To the Future is an organization that inspires and assists the youth of BC who are living with a physical disability, to be confident and independent individuals. On March 31^st, they will have a March Movie Madness event at 2:15pm at the Hillcrest Centre (4745 Clancy Loranger Way, Vancouver).  For more info, contact: chelsea.billinkoff@muscle.ca

If you are aware of programs and activities for youth with disabilities, please contribute the info to this blog so others can benefit from it as well.

Isabelle St-Jean is the Special Needs Coordinator at JFSA working primarily on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  To find out more about her services, you may contact her at 604 257-5151 ext. 223 or call 604 257-5151 ext. 223.

 

 

 

Beyond February: Going Forward in the Spirit of Inclusiveness.

By Isabelle St-Jean, RSW

 

As Jewish Disability Awareness Month just came to a close, we are wise to keep striving to support efforts to foster inclusion in our Jewish communities.  Numerous activities and events have taken place in North America this past month to augment awareness and celebrate the strengths of people with disabilities. Here in Vancouver, the Jewish Community Centre hosted its first annual Transition Fair for families of young people with disabilities. 

This February 26^th event, sponsored and organized by the JCC, the Jewish Federation and the Jewish Family Service Agency, turned out to be successful and well-attended.  As part of the event, Dr. Thomas Armstrong presented relevant and uplifting information on neurodiversity as well as 8 types of intelligence.  In addition, there was a panel of young people who spoke eloquently about their experiences, including challenges and opportunities encountered while transitioning from high school into adulthood.

The Fair also gave the chance for attendees to learn about the various services represented at this event.  More than 30 organizations participated to provide information about their valuable programs.  If you are part of a family connected with a young person with a disability, we hope you will be joining us next year.  Meanwhile, going forward with greater awareness, you may be in a position to take action on a few of the following suggestions:

1.  Participate in a community-wide disability awareness event such as the showing of “Autistic License” or any of the fine films that serve to support inclusiveness.
2. Start a Committee on Inclusion in your workplace.
3. Join the Facebook page celebrating Jewish Disability Awareness Month. Over 1,000 fans are sharing ideas and resources to celebrate diversity within the Jewish community.
4.  Find more ideas assembled in by UJA-Federation that have been successful in New York synagogues –– large and small –– in prior years. This year, for the first time, UJA-Federation will honor exemplary synagogue inclusion efforts with Synagogue Inclusion Awards. 

Over to you… if you are a parent of a child with a disability, we would like to hear back from you about your experience of inclusiveness in your community.  What have you most appreciated? What have you wished to see being improved?

Isabelle St-Jean, RSW is the Special Needs Coordinator at the Jewish Family Service Agency, working on Tuesday and Thursdays, you may contact her at 604 257-5151, ext. 223, or e-mail: istjean@jfsa.ca

Neurodiversity: Come hear about it at the Transition Fair – February 26th

By Isabelle St-Jean, Special Needs Coordinator at the JFSA

As mentioned in the previous blog post, February is Jewish Disability Awareness month and the Jewish Community Centre will host a Transition Fair on Sunday February 26^th from 12 noon to 5:00pm.  Even for a typical teenager, it is often difficult to decide how to navigate the transition towards multiple options following the completion of high school.  Just imagine, how this decisional process can be further complicated and challenging for teens with various special needs. 

For the past few months, the organizing committee comprised of staff from the Jewish Federation, the Jewish Community Centre and the Jewish Family Service Agency have been working diligently to coordinate this event.  The Transition Fair is designed to showcase the range of programs, services and resources available to facilitate the transition of youth with special needs from high school towards post- secondary education, volunteer or job opportunities.  Organizations exhibiting at the fair represent government, not-for-profit and private agencies dedicated to easing this transition.  Attendees will have a chance to hear from keynote speaker and educator, Dr. Thomas Armstrong, who will speak about neurodiversity based on the new research on brain development as it relates to the diversity of brain functioning among us.  Another highlight of the afternoon will be a panel composed of young people with diverse needs who will describe their own experiences of transitioning from high school and share with the audience both the successes and the challenges.

On behalf of the organizing committee, we invite you to attend this important event and if you can help us to spread the word about it, thanks in advance. 

For more information, please see the poster on our website: http://www.jfsa.ca.

Autism Prevalence: Are there factors causing a surge in diagnosis?

By Isabelle St-Jean

This month is Jewish Disability Awareness Month and today we explore the rise of autism diagnosis over the past few years. Although research seems to suggest that “the jury is still out” on whether autism is more prevalent in Jewish community, what is apparent now is that incidence of autism goes up with affluence.  Among articles of interest, on this topic, here’s a link to: Living with Autism: Three Chicago Jewish Families Tell their Stories:

http://www.chicagojewishnews.com/story.htm?sid=1&id=251006

Based on an article recently published in the Vancouver Sun, according to the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about 1% of children in the US now have some form of autism which is 20 times what the percentage was in the 1980’s.  Canada has also seen a dramatic rise in the number of autism diagnosis over the past two decades.  Certainly, we see this disorder being addressed in more and more articles or in other form of media.  On Saturday February 4^th, the Vancouver Sun will publish a second part article on autism in adult life.

Although some people have feared that this higher incidence  suggest the disorder is reaching epidemic proportion, experts in the field tend to point out that it is the spreading awareness of autism that leads to more people being diagnosed.

In B.C. the government has been responsive to the increase in diagnosis and the budget for funding programs and services has risen to 42 million this year as compared to 4.1 million in 2001.   But depending on the severity of autism, some parents feel that the funding they receive for their child’s interventions is not sufficient.  If you are a parent of a child with autism, we’d like to hear from you. What is your experience of the extent to which this funding is sufficient, or not, to cover the services needed for your child? 

If you have a child with a disability we invite you to attend the Transition Fair that will take place at the Jewish Community Centre on Sunday February 26 from 1 to 5.  This event, focusing on teens and young adults with special needs and their families, will be free to everyone.  Even if your child is not yet a teenager, you will still benefit from attending and hearing the keynote by Dr. Thomas Armstrong entitled Neurodiversity: Celebrating Abilities in a Culture of Disability.

We look forward to seeing you there.

For more information about the special needs program at JFSA, call Isabelle St-Jean at 604 257-5151, ext. 223 or e-mail istjean@jfsa.ca.