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A nasal-mask device works so well that disabled people who can't move at all can learn to write text messages and drive electric wheelchairs by sniffing.
Looking back on 20 years of disability rightsWhen I was younger, it was legal to discriminate against people like me.
Q and A, by StoryCorpsJoshua Littman, a 12-year-old boy with Asperger's syndrome, interviews his mother Sarah.
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| Bringing visibility to disability | 
Create a video under two minutes that will bring visibility to disability. Terrific prizes will be awarded including a first prize of $5000 cash. Only 5 more weeks left to enter.
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| Send us photos of your child in "bloom" | 
We will try to print as many as possible in the next issue. Email your digital photos to lkinross@hollandbloorview.ca
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'Rare' is the loneliest number |  The three taboos related to my son's rare syndrome (McCune-Albright syndrome/fibrous dysplasia) are pain in kids, deformity (especially facial deformity), and early death. As a group of parents who meet at family conferences and online, we rarely speak of these things. More |
| A recipe for success |  Lemon & Allspice Cookery is a Toronto catering business operated by a partnership of 15 people with intellectual disabilities. BLOOM interviewed Jeannette Campbell, executive director of the Common Ground Co-operative, which provides support to Lemon & Allspice, to learn about this novel partnership.
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| Just what the doctor ordered | 
His dream arrived in that box, which was much bigger than it looks. It was packed with eight exquisitely-wrapped gift bags -- one for every member of our family and two for the workers who will go to overnight camp with Ben. And in a large envelope was his dream: two full weeks of overnight camp from the Sunshine Foundation. More |
| Potty training: It's not a race | 
I was all set to write a victorious essay about how we had crossed the final potty-training hurdle. Seven days without an accident, even at night. No more Pull-ups, no more rubber underpants, no more carseat cushions in the washing machine, no more worries about our daughter sitting on the couch without a towel underneath her. More |
| Eric sees the beauty of technology |  Eric Wan has lived a life few can imagine. At 18 he was a healthy high-school student who excelled at computers and violin. Three days after a routine measles vaccination he was rushed to hospital unable to move and struggling to breathe. For four months he laid in intensive care, where he was diagnosed with transverse myelitis, an inflammation of the spinal cord. More |
| Of course I want another 'like him' | 
When I was younger I used to dream of having the perfect family. There would be me, a loving husband, and a bunch of rugrats to chase after. My dreams started to come true in my early 20s, when my loving husband and I got pregnant. However we didn't expect what was about to come. Ever since the birth of our first child other people have become judgmental: "Are you sure you want to have more kids?" More |
| Custody or services? |  Stacey Berton of Kitchener, Ont. is a single parent raising Wesley, 9, who has autism and symptoms of bipolar disorder. This past spring, Wesley's aggression increased to the point that he was hurting himself and others. "The school couldn't manage it and I was covered in bruises and there was no help," Stacey says. More |
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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 Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital. Where appropriate, please consult your physician.
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