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'I'm still on the bus' |
 Jonathan Mooney, author of The Short Bus: A Journey Beyond Normal, talks about his trip across the United States in a special-ed bus where he meets children and adults who share one thing in common: they've been told they're broken. Jonathan's perceptions about disability shift when he meets those considered outcasts, and instead finds beauty, strength and a common humanity More |
| Self-care: It's not a frill! |
 Parents of kids with special needs know what it's like to live with chronic stress. Amy Baskin became one of those moms when her younger daughter was diagnosed with autism 14 years ago. As she traipsed from specialist to specialist, she noticed she looked like all the others moms in the waiting rooms: exhausted and overwhelmed. She couldn't find a book to help her maintain her physical and mental health while navigating the new world of child disability. So she wrote one. More |
| When siblings step in |
 "What keeps us awake at night is knowing we won't be here forever. And always questioning whether we're doing the right thing. We want Carol to have a life that is rich and includes all the things she does and one where she is protected - whether we're there or not." I interviewed Pat Ellingson about her decision to become primary caregiver to her sister Carol when their mother died. More |
| The tyranny of two words |
 Mental retardation was coined as a medical term over 50 years ago, a then neutral term to replace idiot, imbecile and moron. But a quick trip to the thesaurus reveals that the words today mark a person as "abnormal, subnormal and deficient." And any kid can tell you that the shortform "retard" connotes someone who's useless. Special Olympics is holding a day to encourage people to give up use of the R-word. More |
| The sleepover |
 My son Jacob, 7, had his first sleepover on the weekend. It was at a girl's house. Her parents were away for the weekend. And he had a great time.
Jake is not like most boys his age and can't do what most kids do. My little boy has Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease (PMD), a disorder that affects all the nerves in his body. More |
| Now you see him, now you don't |
It's been cool to see families in the blogosphere reporting on their kids' trials of different communication software that runs on an iPod. For the last month, my son Ben has been using Proloquo2Go, which combines categories of words, picture symbols and photos, text-to-speech voices as well as a keyboard and a 7,000 word default vocabulary. More |
Send your photos
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We invite you to send us a digital photo of your child "in bloom." E-mail to lkinross@bloorview.caand we'll feature as many as possible in our summer issue. |
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Articles in BLOOM are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Community and web resources listed in BLOOM do not necessarily signify endorsement by Bloorview Kids Rehab. Where appropriate, please consult your physician.
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