Down Syndrome Daily: CDSS

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Thursday, May 10, 2012

Fantastic Speakers lined up for the CDSS Conference 5/18-5/20

The 2012 Canadian Down Syndrome Conference is May 18-20 in Toronto.

Remember to register for the conference if you haven't yet - spots are filling up fast. We hope to see you there!

You can also download the 2012 Conference Preview brochure. Included in the brochure is more information about the conference, including a short list of sessions!
Download it here: 2.3 MB (PDF file)
If you have any questions or concerns please email lyng@cdss.ca

Keynote and Endnote Speakers

Our Keynote Speaker: Marlee Matlin

Academy Award winning actress, author, mother, and advocate.

Marlee Matlin received worldwide critical acclaim for her motion picture debut in Paramount Pictures’ Children of a Lesser God, earning her the Academy Award for Best Actress. At age 21, she became the youngest recipient of the Best Actress Oscar, making her one of only four actresses to receive that honour for a film debut. In addition to the Oscar, Matlin was honoured by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association with the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama.

Passionate about children, she has also appeared in a number of educational and children’s programs. She can currently be seen starring in Disney’s highly acclaimed Baby Einstein DVD series, teaching sign language to infants and toddlers.

Matlin currently serves as a National Celebrity Spokesperson for the American Red Cross, encouraging Americans to donate blood. She has worked on behalf of closed captioning and was instrumental in getting Congress to pass federal legislation requiring all televisions manufactured in the United States be equipped with closed captioning technology. She also serves on the boards of a number of charitable organizations including Easter Seals, The Children Affected by Aids Foundation, as well as those charities which primarily benefit children. In 1995, Matlin served as Chairperson for National Volunteer Week and was honored in a White House Rose Garden ceremony by President Clinton. In 2006 Matlin was honored by AOL as “Chief Everything Officer,” highlighting the important contributions of mothers, both home and work environments.

Our Endnote Speaker: Dr. Dave Williams

Astronaut, medical doctor, and parent advocate.

With a passion for healthcare and risk management, prior to entering the Canadian Space Agency's program, Dr. Dave Williams worked as an emergency room doctor and later as director of emergency services at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto. Formerly the director for the McMaster Centre for Medical Robotics, where he led a team dedicated to developing innovative technologies to assist the development of local and remote patient care. July 2011 marked a new journey for Williams as he became President and Chief Executive Officer of Southlake Regional Health Centre.

Dave Williams joined an exclusive club when he blasted into space aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia, and again on Shuttle Endeavour where he walked out into the great beyond. Having also lived and worked in the world's only underwater ocean laboratory, he became Canada's first dual astronaut and aquanaut.

A true Canadian hero, Williams is down-to-earth with a compelling and unique approach to peak performance, environmental stewardship, our futures and risk management.

2012 Speakers and Sessions

Sessions in Red are Self-Advocate Friendly

Sessions in Blue are Self-Advocate Only

Sara Bingham: Enhancing Language and Lessening Frustration
Emily Bolyea-Kyere: An Introduction to the Best Buddies Friendship Program
Patrice César: Film Presentation: Trisomie 21 Défi Pérou (translated title: Up with Downs: The Peruvian Challenge)
Dr. Brian Chicoine: Promoting Health for Adolescents and Adults with Down Syndrome
Jim Cochrane: Step by Step- A Lifetime of Transitions
Joe Dale and Mark Wafer: Employment Options for Adults Who Have a Disability
Maria Dellapina, Specs 4 Us: Children's Vision Awareness for Parents and Guardians
Sujeet Desai: My Story: Improvising Disability with Multiple Intelligence
Dr. Koch: Whats Next: Politically, Practically, and Socially (Bioethics of Prenatal Screening)
Laura LaChance: Dental Care and Down Syndrome
Barbara Laird: Before Behavior Begin
Arleigh Luckett and Kristy Simons: Potty Time- A Whole Body Approach to Toilet Learning
Marlee Matlin: Self-Advocate Meet & Greet
Dr. Dennis McGuire: Promoting Strengths and Creative Potential in Persons with Down Syndrome
Mercer Family: Leaving Home
Karen Meredith Blott: Getting What You Want: Why You Need to Consider Personality
Lorraine Paquin, Jullian Paquin, and Nicole Paquin: Advocacy and Action
Dr. Gordon L. Porter, CM: Making the Case for Inclusion: Strategies for Parent Activists
Dr. Mary Pothos: Medical Issues in Children with Down Syndrome: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know and More
Erin Sheldon: Using Technology for Inclusion
Sarah Strathy and Maryanne Bruni, Silver Creek Preschool: Total Communication Approach in an Integrated Pre-school
Catherine St. Cyr: The Benefits of the Montessori Experience for Children with Down Syndrome
Surrey Place Centre: Caregiver Tools and Strategies for the Health of Boys and Men with Down Syndrome
Surrey Place Centre: Caregiver Tools and Strategies for the Health of Girls and Women with Down Syndrome
Surrey Place Centre: What You Need to Know… All About Your Health
Voices At The Table Advocacy (VATTA) Committee: Down Syndrome: The Evolution

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Canada bars a family immigrating because their daughter has Down syndrome

from CTV.ca and the Canadian Press:
A New Democrat MP is demanding the federal government reverse a decision to bar a family from India from immigrating to Canada to join their son in B.C. because their adult daughter has Down Syndrome.

The son, Kevin Patel of Vancouver, wanted to sponsor his parents and sister to come to Canada to become permanent residents.

But Immigration Canada rejected the request because it says his sister's condition could pose an excessive burden on Canada's health and social services.

"Are we looking at immigration as a nation-building exercise?" Patel said at a news conference as he questioned the government's priorities.

"Or are we looking at immigration as a commercial project where we only bring in young people, only smart people, so that they can fund our economy? Should we treat immigrants as a commodity and not as person or as a family?"

NDP citizenship critic Don Davies said the government's conclusion is not supported by any facts and is instead based on stereotypes of people with Down Syndrome.

Davies, who outlined his concerns in a letter to Canadian immigration officials based in India, described the daughter's condition as "mild Down Syndrome."

"Your officer has come to the disturbing and baseless decision that, while she would not be an undue burden on Canada's medical system, the mere fact she has Down Syndrome means she would be an undue burden on Canada's social security system," Davies writes in the letter, issued to the media on Friday.

"This conclusion is not supported by any facts, is contradicted by the evidence submitted in this case and, with all due respect, represents an outdated stereotype of a person with Down Syndrome that is not in keeping with modern understanding of people with this condition. Frankly, it represents a bigoted and discriminatory view that is unacceptable in 2012."

Davies said Patel, whose legal given name is Kaivalya, has been living in North American since 2000. He is currently working as a certified general accountant.

He applied in 2006 to sponsor his mother, father and sister to come to Canada, and that application was granted in 2008, according to Davies. The family submitted an application for permanent residency in 2009, and have since undergone medical exams and submitted financial information.

"The family has complied with all the requests your office has placed on them and they have also affirmed repeatedly that Aditi (the daughter) does not have any special medical, para-medical or respite care needs," Davies writes.

"Aditi has been extremely self-reliant, physically independent and healthy as an individual. On the contrary, Aditi has demonstrated great skill in knitting, candle and incense making as well as outdoor sports, for which her medals and certificates as well as inter-state trips for badminton competition are a testament."

Davies said if immigration officials refuse to grant the Patel family entry into Canada, the country will have failed Kevin Patel and denied him the opportunity to have his family live in this country with him.

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney was unavailable to comment on the story Friday, though his communications director, Ana Curic, responded on his behalf.

Curic wrote in an email that she couldn't discuss the Patels in detail because of privacy laws, but she said Kenney's office contacted Davies on Friday for more information and staff are looking into the case.

"Generally speaking, decision makers at (Citizenship and Immigration Canada) must apply the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act as it is written," wrote Curic.

"Under (the act,) which came into effect in 2002, permanent resident applicants and their immediate family members must be medically assessed to determine if they pose a danger to public health or public safety, and whether their presence would pose an excessive demand on Canada's health and social services systems."
She continued: "Excessive demand is based on anticipated health and social service costs over a five- to 10-year period and/or the potential impact on waiting lists.

"Canada's immigration law does not discriminate against those with illness or disability. It does strive, however, to find the appropriate balance between those wanting to immigrate to Canada, and the limited medical resources that are paid for by Canadian taxpayers."

Sunday, February 12, 2012

The 2012 CDSS Conference Keynote and Endnote Speakers Announcement

from the CDSS:

The Canadian Down Syndrome Society is pleased to announce the Keynote and Endnote speakers who will be part of the CDSS 25th Anniversary National Conference in Toronto, May 18-20, 2012.

Marlee Matlin, Academy Award winning actress, author, mother, and advocate, will join us as our Keynote speaker.
Dr. Dave Williams, astronaut, doctor, and father of a child with Down syndrome, will join us as our Endnote speaker.

We are honoured to have these two inspiring advocates join us for our celebration!

For more information about these speakers, please visit our Speakers page.

More news about the conference will be released soon.

Friday, November 25, 2011

Canadian Down Syndrome Society’s See the Ability Campaign

from Northern Life:

Holly Wright is just like many other 12-year-old girls.

She shares many of the same thoughts and feelings as other girls her age. She likes Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez, for example. In fact, she likes many of the pop icons adored by other girls her age. Holly, for all intents and purposes, is an average tween. The only thing that sets her apart from her peers is that she was born with Down syndrome.

Down syndrome is a naturally-occurring chromosomal arrangement that has always existed, and is universal across racial, gender and socio-economic lines. It is the result of extra genetic material associated with the 21st chromosome, and its symptoms vary from individual to individual, but it more commonly results in an effect on learning, according to the Down Syndrome Association of Sudbury.

This doesn’t stop Holly from living her life the way it is meant to be lived by an energetic 12-year-old. It has also garnered her national attention. Holly was selected to be the poster girl for the Canadian Down Syndrome Society’s See the Ability campaign. A picture of Holly during her first kayak experience will be posted on 700 billboards across Canada, several of which might be erected around Sudbury.

“We’re really excited about this,” Lisa Wright said. “We thought it was going to be a collage of different children with Down syndrome, but when we were told it was just going to be Holly, it was really exciting.”

Each year, Wright submits a photo of Holly to the Canadian Down Syndrome Society for the organization’s annual calendar publication. She said she chooses photos that feature Holly engaged in the activities that are a part of her daily life.

This year, during Holly’s birthday, she learned to kayak at the family camp on Fairbank Lake, and a photo was captured on her very first attempt.

“It was a beautiful picture, so I decided to send it off to CDSS in hopes that it would make it in the calendar,” Lisa said. “Holly is loving this.”

Holly and her mom were participants in the fifth installment of the Down Syndrome Society of Sudbury’s Buddy Walk, the local effort to recognize 2011 National Down Syndrome Awareness Week, which started Nov. 1 and ends Nov. 7. This week celebrates the lives of Canadians with Down syndrome, who are going to school, working, getting married and making important contributions to the community.

Hundreds of people walked a short distance Nov. 6 for the Buddy Walk. They started at Lockerby Composite School and walked to Health Sciences North and back. The event raised $8,700 for the DSAS.

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