The first week in February is White Cane Week in Canada. Initiated in 1946 by the Canadian Council of the Blind, White Cane week is all about awareness, activism and integration. Yes, it's not February. For blind people who use a cane, every week is white cane week. So let's roll with that. The white […]
I spent a day last week at Ontario's Accessibility Innovation Showcase (#OntarioAIS for Twitter users) down at the MaRs Discovery District. It highlighted the cutting-edge work of Ontario technology companies working to improve life for people with disabilities. It featured an amazing array of products and services. The folks at the Otto Bock booth shared […]
2015 is the 60th anniversary of the polio vaccine and many countries are celebrating an apparen’t eradication of polio. That's a wonderful good news story. Polio paralyzes muscles, including those muscles that allow one to breathe. In the early to mid 20th century paren’ts, fear stricken that their children would survive the disease only by use […]
Immerse yourself into the Parapan Am experience along with our athletes. Not only are they amazing competitors, but they know their way around social media. Feel their pain and their gain! A caveat: these are not scientifically chosen. I like them because of their frequency, retweet-ability and enthusiasm. If you've got a fave Parapan athlete […]
It's time for the Parapan Am Games! 8 days, 1600 athletes, over 40 delegations. The stellar accomplishments of our Canadian athletes at the Pan Am games have created a buzz which is still strong leading up to the Parapan opening ceremonies on August 7. Our 216 Parapan Am athletes are tough, dedicated and have a "no prisoners" […]
Although the Pan Am Games may have ended, the excitement hasn't died down just yet. The Parapan Am Games are set to begin this month (August 7, 2015) and will continue until August 15th. This year's Parapan Am Games will be the fifth edition since the Pan Am Games began, and it will include a […]
Over the last few months I’ve come across powerful and influential social media work done by and for people with disabilities. Here are five of my favourites (so far). It's definitely not an exclusive list. I hope you enjoy this mix! It reflects some of the work that I've been doing lately. No Bones About […]
Yesterday marked International Women's Day. Celebrated the world over, this is a time to honour and celebrate all the women who have made the world a better place and to look more deeply into women's causes. This year's theme is "Make it Happen" Historically, women have often faced tremendous challenges in doing the things we […]
A tribunal of the Ontario Human Rights Commission has been hearing a case about vulgar comments and actions targeted at disabled residents of a local Co-operative Housing unit. The victims include a young lad with cerebral palsy, his mother and other residents. Cerebral palsy (CP) is a historically misunderstood condition which is caused by an injury to the […]
It seems like there's a crowd on every corner when you come out during the holidays. You may have even spotted dogs among all the people, but service dogs tend to stand out a bit more. If you haven't encountered one before, a service dog is a highly trained animal paired specifically with a person […]