Bradley Thomas Clattenburg was killed by three police officers after he pointed a gun at them. Earlier we wrote about a resident in long term care facility who died of a heart attack while in a scuffle with a RCMP police officer. In both cases the person who died had severe mental health issues. SIRT, the agency that investigates these deaths, leaves too many questions unanswered. We need formal inquests.
Alex Kronstein on supports for children with autism in the education system: “When it comes to inclusive education, it is a well-known fact that EPAs and other school support staff do not have anything close to adequate training to provide support for autistic kids. There are training modules developed by actually autistic people that could give EPAs and support workers a whole new perspective.”
News release: Government is inviting Nova Scotians to help advance work toward a barrier-free province. People can apply to serve on new committees that will develop standards to make the communities we live in more accessible for persons with disabilities.
“…we have to fight our own battles. The government would still be gleefully discriminating against us if we didn’t sue them,” writes disability activist Paul Vienneau.
Almost two years after a judge ordered the NS Human Rights Commission to change its intake process we still don’t know what those changes look like.
” I am the mother of a nine-year old boy living with autism in a province that has been defined as one of Canada’s autism wastelands, given its lack of services and funding,” writes Nancy Spina in an open letter to Minister Kelly Regan. “Outdated and inflexible criteria have an impact on children with disabilities and on the women who care for them who lose the opportunity of providing for their families, and having fulfilling careers.”
The results of the 2018 Statistics Canada disabilities survey are in. More than in any other province people in Nova Scotia self-identify as disabled in some shape or form, and that’s not just because we have a large share of older people, as is so often assumed.
Faith Cronin calls on Stephen McNeil to finally address the lack of community living opportunities for people with disabilities. “To our great shame, Nova Scotia has continued to profoundly exclude and discriminate against persons with disabilities. I call on you to immediately take the bold and ethical actions necessary to end this shameful Nova Scotian legacy.”
Many parents of autistic children are told about the EIBI program, and that it’s extremely important that their children receive it so they can have a good future. And they almost always accept this advice without question. But there are other options that are not based in Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA), and that are non-pathologizing, e.g. that do not assume that there is something fundamentally wrong with the child. Alex Kronstein takes a look at one such option.
On the International Day for Persons with a Disability Paul Vienneau takes stock. Some progress, especially in the crafting of Bill 59, and a long way to go, he writes. “It’s as if the government thinks the work is done now. But change doesn’t come from from legislation. The legislation is merely the starting point.”