This is a beautifully written book about a family’s most difficult choice during pregnancy. Choosing Naia is a very detailed account of a family’s choice to continue their pregnancy when they are faced with uncertainty. Not only is Naia’s story explained with fear, excitement, and love but many facts about Down Syndrome and the true love it can bring you are shared throughout this read.
A Survival Guide to Life with Children Ages 2-7
By Joanna Faber and Julie King
“A Survival Guide to life with little children!” Could this be true?
I am a mom of a lively 3 year old boy and a Resource Consultant (RC) who supports parents and Early Childhood Educators. I am thankful that I came across this book at our CISS resource library. Not only does it align with the practices used amongst our team of RC’s it also offers an abundance of fun, effective, concrete tools and tips that I couldn’t wait to begin implementing with my son and within my RC role. Continue reading
Visuals are a tool to visually convey messages and ensure they are understood.
The purpose of visuals is:
It seems there is a new article or research every week about the adverse effects of screen time on children. Too much screen time has been linked to child obesity, attachment issues, lack of sleep, delay in language acquisition and sensory overload to name just a few.
While children are watching TV, using a computer, gaming device, tablet or smartphone, they are missing out on opportunities. Opportunities to make connections with the world around them including forging real relationships with peers and adults in their life; opportunities to problem solve, to be creative, to feel, touch, smell and make sense of their environment. Continue reading
As an educator I found myself frequently volunteering to wash the dishes at the end of the day, it was the perfect stress reducer for me and gave me the opportunity to reflect on my day. Sensory play is not only important for children but for adults too!
Three personal sensory bins with moon sand to allow children easy access and choice. These bins have lids to allow them to stack for easy storage in an accessible area to promote independence. – Fairview Child Care.
As a parent, you are your child’s most important teacher. In fact, you have been preparing your child for school from the day that they were born. Everything you have done so far provided the foundation for your child to grow and learn throughout their lives! As a speech language pathologist, I understand the value of language in a child’s academic journey. But as a parent of three wonderful girls, I whole-heartily share the same concern every single parent has: Will my child be ready for school? Will he make friends? Will she know who to go to when she is hurt? Whether you are this easy-going parent or “that mom” who follows the school bus to school (not that I would know anything about this personally!), when the first day of school suddenly arrives, we all wonder how our little one will fair off. We all want our children to succeed, especially at school. Today, we will talk and share about what we can do at home to get our child ready for kindergarten. Continue reading
Camps:
Autism Ontario
City of Ottawa
List of Camps
Activities: Continue reading
2017
Angelia is currently ten years old and entering Grade 5. Up to July 2017, she attended The Children’s Village at Bridlewood. My grand-daughter is a curious, creative, energetic, enthusiastic and affectionate child who also has special needs. She has several diagnoses: ADHD, LD and ASD. Labels aside, her challenges include social skills, staying on task, emotional regulation and transitions. Using language to express her needs, wants and to carry on conversations is also difficult for her. Most children learn these skills easily; however Angelia requires extra time to learn these. Without the support from our resource consultant from Children’s Inclusion Support Services (CISS) and the dedicated teaching team of the child care program who implemented the recommended strategies, Angelia would not have been able to continue to attend. I also believe that CISS and the teaching team have played a major role in helping her to grow and develop into the child she is today. Continue reading
This morning, Madame Paule Mercier, supervisor at Aladin Childcare Services Inc. – Sainte-Anne showed me the new “Inclusion” poster that Children’s Inclusion Support Services (CISS) created to explain the renaming from “integration” to “inclusion”. Besides liking the great photos of our son Emanuel (as well as our dear friend Elise), the poster and photos really speak to how everyone benefits and is enriched by an inclusive environment. My take is that “integration” implied doing things because one had to do them for legal/political reasons, whereas “inclusion” implies doing things because everybody wins and everybody benefits. Continue reading
Amy recites expenses with the precision of an accountant. There was the HEPA filter to purify the air in her home: $1000. An American Sign Language (ASL) kit: $1500. A plasma car: $80.
These are all necessary to accommodate Amy’s three-year-old son, Wyatt. Wyatt was born with brainstem dysgenesis, a rare condition where blood flow to the baby’s brain is disrupted during pregnancy. Because of his condition, Wyatt has a host of respiratory, nervous and muscular problems that require special accommodation. Continue reading
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