communiquéVOLUME 35 NUMBER 1

THE PUBLICATION OF THE LEARNING DISABILITIES ASSOCIATION OF ONTARIO

SUMMER 2008

CONTENTS

DEPARTMENTS

3 Editor’s Notebook: The Styles of Learning

4 Message From the Chair and CEO

4 LDAO & LD Happenings: New Teacher’s Kit Released • Dr. Adam Cox kicks off LDAO Workshop Series • Exciting New IEP Project for LDAO • JVS Learning Disability Centre replaces ALDER • Hotweb spotlights The Ontario Skills Passport

8 Public Policy Round Up: • Human Rights Reforms • New Members Added to Standards Development committees

9 Elsewhere: Bits and pieces of LD news from around the world

10 Ask the Expert: Drs Allyson G. Harrison and Alana Holmes introduce readers to Assessment Resource Centres

FEATURES

12 A Different Way of Learning:

Communiqué contributor Susan Joos serves up the lowdown on JUMP Math creator, playwright John Mighton in a special profi le • Entrepreneur Richard Danielli shares his recipe for running a suc-cessful business while conquering writing issues • Deana Collins offers up the scoop on mnemonics as a tool of the LD trade • Bernadette Paceshares her experiences and perspectives on something every parent of an LD child can relate to: social skills • Henri Audet muses on how the Camp Kirk experience improves self esteem in kids

THE BACK PAGES

22 Shelf Life: Richard Lavoie’s It’s So Much Work to Be Your Friend is reviewed

23 LDA Chapter News and Views: The Fonz goes to Essex, Wine and Vintages comes back to York Region and everyone goes to Kingston’s country music festival

25 Thanks to Donors and Sponsors

27 Provincial LD Contacts

2 COMMUNIQUE

Communiqué, the publication of LDAO, is published twice yearly. Articles should be submitted to editor Carter Hammett (carterh@ldao.ca) approximately six weeks before the pulication date. Content deadline for the Fall/Winter Issue is September 15th 2008. Communiqué reserves the right to edit submissions for clarity, length and accuracy. Advertising rates available upon request. Subscription rate for non-LDAO members is $25.00 yearly.

Communiqué provides a forum for information, news and opinions relevant to the fi eld of learning disabilities. The Association does not, in any sense, endorse opinions expressed or methods or programs mentioned. Articles may be reprinted unless otherwise stated. Please mention “LDAO Communiqué” and the article’s author if and when articles are reprinted.

LDAO Board of Directors

EXECUTIVEMs. Pam Howard, Chair, GuelphMr. Peter Chaban, Past Chair, TorontoMr. Steve Lee, Treasurer, Toronto

DIRECTORSMs. Hellen Bogie, KingstonDr. Glenn DiPasquale, NewmarketMr. Vinnie Greco, Sault Ste. MarieDr. Mark Handley-Derry, TorontoMs. Marianne Hasold-Schilter, TorontoMs. Susan Kennedy, MississaugaMs. Carol Lyons, NewmarketMr. Jay Mandarino, TorontoMs. Voula Michaelidis, TorontoMr. Don Pawlett, Thunder BayMr. Bruce Todd, KingstonMr. Douglas Waxman, Toronto

LDAO StaffExecutive Director: Maggie WygantDirector of Services and Program Development: Kate LloydDirector of Chapter and Member Services: Karen QuinnManager, Web Based Teaching Tool:

Cynthia GrundmannCoordinator of Public Policy and Client Services: Diane WagnerFund Development Consultant: Denise HardingFinancial Consultant: Cynthia ZoneWeb Based Teaching Tool In-House Coordinator:Carolyn GregoireAdministrative Assistant: Laura Hoddinott

Carter Hammett, Editor

EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK

The Styles of Learning

ne of the diffi culties I’ve always encountered with the term, “learning disabilities” is the implication that people with LDs simply cannot learn.O

This is a total myth, of course, but how we learn is something else entirely. In recent years more attention has been given to the concept of learning styles and multiple intelligences. Teachers shouldn’t be asking, “is this student intelligent?” but rather, “howis this student intelligent?”

Thankfully, we have been able to recognize the gifts that multiple intelligences can offer. The learner who may not be “book smart” is great with his hands, and just in time to realize that there’s a massive skills shortage within the Ontario trades. The learner with visual-spatial problems has developed awesome auditory skills on his way to becoming a successful broadcaster.

Much has been written about learning styles during the last decade and the fi eld has opened realms of possibility in adult learning too. For learners with LDs, styles of learning have also become a positive alternate to feelings of inadequacy and stupid-ity. I always fi nd myself telling clients that there is no such thing as “stupidity”; something is only that way once you have made the decision to label it thus, and the moment that’s happened you’ve created a judgment. A pity that judgment is so often applied against the self.

This issue of Communiqué focuses on different ways of learning and throughout we try to illuminate the ‘how’ as much as the ‘why’ of things. From a simple compensatory strategy like mnemonics,

through developing social skills or bolstering a sense of self es-teem by mastering the rope climb at Camp Kirk, there are many ways of developing competencies

One of these great success stories in recent years has been the advancement of JUMP Math in schools across the country. Founder John Mighton took some time out of a busy schedule in order to be profi led by contributor Susan Joos. Entrepreneur Richard Danielli struggled for years with written expression only to learn from his mistakes and start anew with a successful network solutions company. His story is offered here. The rights of Ontario postsecondary students with LDs have advanced in re-cent years with the establishment of Assessment and Resource Centres (ARC’s) in both Kingston and Sudbury—and with these, improved chances of academic success--and it’s a pleasure to be able to spotlight their valuable role. These are just a few of the highlights of what we hope will be a well-received issue.

Now, as summer approaches we hope you’re able to take some time and refl ect on all the gifts the season brings, and celebrate the abundance of learning possibilities you have within you.

Carter Hammett, Editor

SUMMER 3

CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUEHenri Audet is Executive Director of Camp Kirk• Oshawa-based writer Deana Collins is a regular contributor to Communiqué • Dr. Allyson G. Harrison received her Ph.D. in Psychology from Queen’s University, Kingston in 1992. She is currently employed as the Clinical Director of the Regional Assessment & Resource Centre at Queen’s University in Kingston. She also holds an appointment as an Adjunct professor in the department of Clinical Psychology at Queens. Dr. Harrison has been active both nationally and

internationally, providing continuing education on issues related to LD and ADHD. • Dr. Alana Holmes is a registered Psychologist trained in School Psychology (M.A., University of Toronto/Ontario Institute for Studies in Education), and Clinical Psychology (Ph.D., Lakehead University). She has provided service to school boards for students experiencing learning and behavioural challenges and worked with an in-tegrated services team providing mental health services to the remote and outlying communi-

ties of Thunder Bay. She is the Chief Psycholo-gist and Manager of the Northern Ontario and Assessment Resource Centre, in Sudbury• Toronto-based Susan Joos is a former teacher turned employment counsellor. • Welland’s Bernadette Pace is a mother of three exceptional children, who are a constant source of inspiration in her life and her articles. Apart from writing and working part-time as a Rehab Clerk for Speech Services, she is also working as a Certifi ed Parent Advocate, Specializing in Education.

Pam HowardMaggie Wygant

LDAO and LD NEWS

MESSAGEFROM THE CHAIR AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

This spring saw the rollout of the fi rst phase of a new LDAO initiative in seven of the GTA’s school boards. The Invest in Success Teacher’s Guide to Learning Disabilities is

a series of information sheets written specifi cally for classroom teachers about learning, learning disabilities and their impact in the classroom. In partnership with corporate sponsors and the GTA LD chapters, approximately 6000 packages were sent out to teachers in Toronto, Durham, York and Mississauga/Peel.

Each package contains concise and useful information about LDs and specifi c subtypes, as well as ADHD, assistive technologies, and how to employ learning strategies effectively to help students achieve their academic potential. Also included is information on each area’s respective LDA chapter and their services.

LDAO Launches Invest in Success Teachers’ Guide to Learning Disabilities

On March 4th LDAO hosted a conference call with staff and board representatives from all chapters. As the initial step of a more expansive and inclusive plan for chapter support and devel-opment (including quarterly conference calls), the conversation was a productive start. It is encouraging and rewarding to have the input, expertise and success stories from across the province, which we believe will result in some very concrete outcomes: more widely adapted best practices for governance, fundraising, marketing, advocacy and program development and delivery. We would like to thank the staff and volunteers who devoted two hours of their time to be involved and who will continue to do so.

In the same spirit of partnership LDAO, with assistance from the chapters, and their board of education contacts, has been able to work with four school boards to pilot its Teachers’ Package on Learning Disabilities. To date we have distributed about 6,000 packages and the feedback has been extremely positive from teachers. Also, with support from the Ministry of Education and working with several parent organizations, LDAO is developing an online Individual Education Plan (IEP) parent resource. We are particularly enthusiastic about working with other parent service organizations in this process.

As the provincial learning disabilities association, it is sometimes diffi cult to manage the priorities of our many–pronged mission. And like many of our sister organizations, just staying afl oat sometimes takes precedence over better intentions and higher aspirations. While LDAO continued to evolve the Web-Based Teaching Tool Program, with the Ministry of Education’s partner-ship, through some very challenging times it is a welcome relief to be able to direct more attention and effort to all of our stake-holders and to develop professional synergies that will facilitate more and better services for children, youth and adults with learning disabilities.

Maggie L. Wygant Pam HowardExecutive Director Chair

Feedback from teachers and other parties will be collected at the end of this pilot phase, which LDAO will incorporate for a larger roll-out of this important project. If you would like to know more about the Teachers’ Guide to LDs or inquire about how your board can get involved, please contact Kate Lloyd at 416 929 4311 ext. 23.

4 COMMUNIQUE

Farewell to Jeff Clayton

This summer Jeff Clayton will be leaving LDAO to follow his passion for working with students with LD. Jeff has recently accepted a position at WillowWood School in

Toronto, where he will be assuming a leadership role. The LDAO and its Board of Directors wish him the best of luck with his new position and in all of his future endeavours.

LDAO Announces New IEP ResourceProject for Parents and Students

LDAO has recently received funding from the Ministry of Education for an exciting project that will ultimately result in the development of a web-based resource for parents

and students about their consultative role in the development of Individual Education Plans (IEPs). The project addresses the need to inform parents, guardians and students about their roles and responsibilities in the creation and implementation of IEPs for students with special education needs. The goals of the project include:

• Supporting the Ministry of Education’s (EDU) objectives of promoting cooperative connections between parents and schools, and parent collaboration in the education of their children.

• Helping parents understand the importance of the IEP in meeting their children’s special education needs, resulting in higher levels of student achievement.

• Outlining and explaining the EDU policy on IEPs in language parents can understand.

• Encouraging students themselves to become involved, in a gradual process, as this becomes age-appropriate.

To achieve these goals, LDAO has brought together a reference committee consisting of representatives of a number of provin-cial parent associations to review and develop materials for the IEP resource. The project will be completed by the end of March 2009, after which the Ministry of Education will translate the materials into French.

THIS JUST IN ...HARRY POTTER’S POPULARITY BENEFITS UK DYSLEXIA CHARITY

You know you’re a popular writer when your work is worth $61 a word. That’s a price most writers can only dream of but exactly what Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling’s worth.

Earlier in June, the popular author auctioned an 800-word handwritten prequel to the popular “Harry Potter” series for $49,000 in a London UK bookstore The Associated Press reported. Written on both sides of A5 paper, the story

was auctioned at the fl agship store of the Waterstone’s chain to benefi t a Dyslexia charity as well as the English branch of the writers advocacy group, PEN.

Twelve writers, including Canadian Margaret Atwood, participated in the event. Other notable authors included Doris Lessing, Nick Hornby and Tom Stoppard.

SUMMER 5

Dr. Adam Cox Opens LDAO’s Workshop Series

JVS Toronto Learning Disabilities Centre Takes Off in Toronto

Cox spoke about Executive Control as a common element of multiple exceptionalities which can be concretely understood and dealt with. Breaking Executive Control - or what he calls “The Ex Factor” - into eight discrete subsets, he outlined the effects of defi -cits in each area - initiation, attention, cognitive fl exibility, working memory, organization, planning, self-monitoring, and emotional control - and gave useful strategies for helping with each. He stressed these subsets/skills developed with age, that the human brains were not fully developed until age 25, and that viewing child and youth development from a developmental perspective encour-aged greater patience and empathy in educators and parents.

Books on Executive Function

No Mind Left Behind: Understanding and Fostering Executive Control,Adam J. Cox, 2007, Penguin Group (Canada).

Executive Function in Education: From Theory to Practice,Lynn Meltzer, ed., 2007, the Guilford Press.

The Source for Development of Executive Functions,Gail J. Richard & Jill K. Fahy, 2005, LinguiSystems, Inc.

Executive Skills in Children and Adolescents: A Practical Guide to Assessment and Intervention,Peg Dawson & Richard Guare, 2004, the Guilford Press.

6 COMMUNIQUE

JVS Toronto Learning Disabilities Centre (LDC) is the new ser-vice providing support to job seekers with learning disabilities and ADHD in Toronto.

Project GOLD (Generating Opportunities for Learning Disabilities) is the employment component of JVS LDC and will continue to provide the same services as before including employment and career counselling, developing return to work action plans, helping job seekers understand their disabilities, providing workshops on life skills, job search and learning disabilities, as well as job devel-oping and job coaching.

Under the JVS Toronto LDC criteria, participants must be residents of Toronto, have a self-disclosed learning disability or ADHD, and be ineligible for ODSP Employment Supports. Service to current ALDER clients will continue uninterrupted.

JVS Toronto LDC replaces the former ALDER (Adult Learning Disability Employment Resources) which closed its doors March

Dr. Cox also discussed broad approaches to education, in-cluding teacher education, physical plant design, and gender issues. While obviously well-grounded in solid science and pedagogy, Dr. Cox presented his ideas in clear, down-to-earth language and engaged the audience warmly through-out. LDAO looks forward to more practical and successful events like this in the future.

For more information on Dr. Adam Cox visit www.dradamcox.com.

Sick Kids’ Hospital and LDAO have partnered again to present public workshops and lectures, this year focussing on practical approaches to LDs and ADHD. The series started March 3rd with a lecture by Dr. Adam Cox, author of No Mind Left Behind: Understanding and Fostering Execu-tive Control and Boys of Few Words.The workshop was well-attended and well-received, with no shortage of questions from the audience and good conversations following.

Dr. Adam Cox

31 after eight years of service to the LD community. For many years, ALDER was one of the few Ontario-based service providers dedicated to fi nding meaningful work for job seek-ers with learning disabilities and ADHD. However, funding challenges that have plagued many service providers in recent years partly dictated the decision to shut down... Three years ago, ALDER formed a partnership with JVS Toronto to manage its federally-funded programming, and Project GOLD was born.

GOLD will continue to operate out of 120 Front St. E, in the St. Lawrence Market area of downtown Toronto. Participants receiving ODSP Employment Supports will now be directed to JVS’ Abilityworks program while The Ontario March of Dimes will pick up programming for Ontario Works clients.

For further information, call JVS Toronto LDC at 416.693.2922.

The Ontario Skills Passport (OSP) provides clear descriptions of the Essential Skills and work habits impor-tant for work, learning and life. Essential Skills are used in

virtually all occupations and are transferable from school to work, job to job and sector to sector.

The OSP offers high school students, adult learners, job seekers, workers, employers, teachers, trainers, practitioners, job develop-ers and counsellors a common language, resources and tools that help build competence, confi dence and connections.

In the Getting Started section of the OSP website (http://skills.edu.gov.on.ca) you can access the OSP Webcast and Flowcharts to get an overview of the OSP and how people are using it. In the Resources section, you can access the OSP Tracker, OSP brochure and teacher/practitioner-developed resources to sup-port the use of the OSP in a variety of educational and training contexts.

New Features Include:

OSP Webcast - Get an overview of the OSP and see how peopleare using it.

OSP Flow Charts - Get an overview of the OSP and how you can use it.

Essential Skills and Work Habits in Work, Learning and Life

• See videos that show how people use Essential Skills and Work Habits in everyday life.

• Learn more about Essential Skills and skill levels.

•Search for sample tasks in work, learning and life.

HOTWEB:Ontario Skills PassportWebsite Offers New Tools and Resources!

OSP Check-Up ToolsComplete a self-assessment of your Essential Skills and work habits. Then choose real workplace activity sets to practice and build your skills. There is a Facilitator’s Guide for teachers, train-ers and practitioners.

OSP Check-In Tool for Practitioners/CounsellorsAccess an intake, referral and planning tool that focuses on Essential Skills and work habits.

OSP Tracker • Use the OSP Tracker to track and plan your skills development over time.

• Order free OSP Promotional Materials for employers and learners/job seekers.

• Complete list of occupations and tasks in the OSP database.

http://skills.edu.gov.on.ca

SUMMER 7

The Centre for Working Memory and Learning in the UK offers a fascinating look at studies being conducted into a somewhat misunderstood area of learning disabilities. The site walks visitors through current research projects, publica-tions and also offers practical advice for both teachers and parents. Additionally, the site includes summaries of tests for working memory currently available on the market. A useful, practical and easy to use website that offers a lot for lay people as well as professionals. Make sure you visit them at: www.york.ac.uk/res/wml/

FYI

PUBLIC POLICY ROUND UP:

Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Standards Development

In September 2007, as part of the election campaign, the government made a number of commitments to the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA)

Alliance, which included adjusting the membership of the AODA standards development committees to ensure 50 per cent mem-bership from the disability community, and waiving the ministries’ offi cial roles as voting committee members. The standards devel-opment process was put on hold while new committee members representing the disability community were recruited, and in early March orientation meetings were held for new members.

The Employment Accessibility Standards Development Committee met at the end of March and welcomed 13 additional members, recognizing the wealth of experience and diversity of the expanded membership, but also the importance of building on the work done by the committee to date. Presentations at the meetings included an analysis of barriers to accessible employ-ment and an inter-jurisdictional review of accessible employment best practices and legislation in 19 jurisdictions. The committee met again in late May.

The Information and Communication Standards Develop-ment Committee resumed in early April and brought the new members up to date on the progress made so far in creating the fi rst draft of the standard. It was clear that a lot of new expertise and perspectives have been added to the committee. Subcommit-tees have been set up to work on sections of the draft standard, to bring back to the full committee in August. The committee is still struggling with balancing the need to be specifi c enough so that organizations know when they are in compliance, with the need for fl exibility in order to encourage innovation.

Human Rights Reform

The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) and the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) have been working on implementing the transition from the current system of handling human rights complaints to the new one, where com-plaints will go directly to the HRTO. This change will come into effect on June 30, 2008, and any new complaints as of that date will follow the new system.

In January 2008 the HRTO released new Rules of Practice to govern the Tribunal’s process for all complaints that have been or will be referred to the Tribunal by the OHRC (under the old system) up until January 1, 2009 (when the OHRC will no longer have the statutory authority to refer complaints to the Tribunal): www.hrto.ca/english/rules/. At the end of January the HRTO also released for consultation (until March 14th) proposed Rules of Practice for the new process to start on June 30, 2008. LDAO submitted a response to this consultation, and looks forward to contributing to public consultations on drafting the HRTO Policy on Accessibility and Accommodation.

A transition team has begun planning for and setting up the new Human Rights Legal Support Centre, which will open on June 30, 2008.

Ministry of Education Dispute Resolution Processes

The Provincial Advisory Committee on Dispute Resolution (for special education programs and services) met on May 8th and members were pleased to learn that the piloting of formal dispute resolution processes in six school boards will be extended to June 2009. The committee heard from the research team about their plans for evaluation of the pilot projects, and welcomed plans from the Ministry to provide further training on the informal dispute resolution processes outlined in Shared Solutions.

8 COMMUNIQUE

SUMMER 9

ELSEWHEREUnited KingdomAdults Struggle with Arithmetic, Survey FindsOne in four adults has diffi culty with mental arithmetic a British survey suggests.

Women are less confi dent than men BBC Online reports, with one in three struggling to add up sums in their head, compared to 18 per cent of men, the poll of 2000 adults found.

Some 47 per cent of those polled wished they learned more math at school, the survey for numeracy campaign charity Every Child Counts suggested.

And more than half of women asked math questions by their children or family said they struggled to answer them.

The fi ndings tie in with earlier research that suggests a large chunk of the adult population has problems doing basic math. This is problematic as it is estimated that these skills are needed up to 14 times a day.

The survey suggested one in fi ve adults aged 25 to 34 said they felt a greater ability in math would further them in their career.

Metro, March 10

IndiaGovernment Learns a Lesson from Tare Zameen ParThe Indian Film Taare Zameen Par follows the struggles of a young boy with Dyslexia, and how he fl ourishes under the atten-tion of a caring teacher. Its success in India has led the govern-ment to action. The Minister for Women and Child Development, Renuka Chowdhury says, “We have started workshops for principals from various schools and have also started camps for parents to be sensitized. It is more important to create aware-ness. It is a huge task and Taare Zameen Par did it brilliantly. A whole lot of people went home and discussed Dyslexia after they saw the movie. When the discussion starts, the change starts.”

CNN-IBNLive.com (India) February 08, 2008

United StatesADHD children should have hearts checkedAttention-defi cit hyperactivity disorder drugs can increase heart rate and blood pressure so children should have hearts checked, U.S. guidelines say.

Children with ADHD should get careful cardiac evaluation and monitoring -- including an electrocardiogram before treatment with these stimulant drugs, an American Heart Association state-

LD Notes From Around the Worldment recommends. An electrocardiogram measures the heart’s electrical activity and can often identify heart rhythm abnormali-ties such as those that can lead to sudden cardiac death.

If heart problems are suspected after the evaluation, children should be referred to a pediatric cardiologist and children should have their heart health monitored periodically, the guidelines say.

Stimulant medications can increase heart rate and blood pres-sure of children, but these side effects are insignifi cant for most children with ADHD; however, it’s an important consideration for children who have a heart condition. Certain heart conditions in-crease the risk for sudden cardiac death, which occurs when the heart rhythm becomes erratic and doesn’t pump blood through the body, the statement says.

The statement on Cardiovascular Monitoring of Children and Adolescents with Heart Disease Receiving Stimulant Drugs is published online in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association

UPI.com, April 23

FinlandADHD Symptoms Change with AgeU.S. researchers looking at attention-defi cit hyperactivity disorder in Finnish children confi rm ADHD symptoms change with age.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, confi rms hyperactive and impul-sive behaviours do decrease with age, while inattention increas-ingly becomes predominant.

Two-thirds of children with ADHD continue to exhibit signifi cant levels of inattentiveness and impairment into adolescence, de-spite the differences between treatment approaches and cultures between the United States and Finland, the study said.

University of California, Los Angeles, researchers, led by Susan Smalley, looked at ADHD teens in Finland that were part of a long-term study begun prenatally in 1986 by the Imperial College London and the University of Oulu, Finland.

The ADHD population in northern Finland exhibited two genes associated with ADHD known as DBH and DRD2. These genes affect the regulation of dopamine -- a neurotransmitter involved in attention, motivation and emotion. Although the researchers say the genes likely account for very little of the genetic variation underlying ADHD, the fi ndings further support the involvement of the dopamine pathway in the disorder.

United Press International Jan. 24, 2008

ASK THE EXPERT

As Easy as A-R-C

One of the biggest identifi ed barriers to the success of students with learning disabilities (LD) at the post-sec-ondary level is inadequate or incomplete documentation

of their disability (Bell, 2002; LOTF, 2002). This creates a problem as more and more students identifi ed as having such disabilities are now enrolling in college and university. Indeed, there are presently more than 13,000 students in Ontario’s colleges and universities who have diagnosed LDs. These students are ca-pable of being successful...if they have the supports and services they require to level the playing fi eld and demonstrate what they know. In order to access these existing supports, however, they require an updated and comprehensive psychoeducational as-sessment.

In 1997, the Ontario government struck the Learning Opportuni-ties Task Force (LOTF). The mandate of this task force was to investigate the status of post-secondary students with LD and make recommendations that would enhance access and services for students with specifi c learning disabilities. The fi nal report of the task force was submitted to the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (MTCU) in November 2002. This report contained seven key fi ndings and 24 recommendations. One of the key fi ndings was that:

“A signifi cant majority of the students arrived at (post-secondary) institutions with no, or at best inadequate, diagnostic information. As a result, students had neither appropriate documentation nor an understanding of their own learning disabilities. A compre-hensive, up-to-date diagnostic assessment is essential for the provision of requisite supports, services, programs and accom-modations for students with learning disabilities.”

The LOTF therefore recommended that, “The Province should es-tablish, implement and evaluate the concept of Regional Assess-ment and Resource Centres” or ARC’s.

In a proactive and visionary move, the MTCU decided to accept this recommendation and fund two such assessment centres. The fi rst of these, the Regional Assessment and Resource Centre (RARC) was established at Queen’s University in Kingston in September 2003. The second, the Northern Ontario Assessment and Resource Centre/Centre d’évaluation et de ressources du Nord de l’Ontario (NOARC/CÉRNO), began in April 2004 at Cam-brian College in Sudbury. These centres and the psychological professionals, who work with them in every part of the province, can assist high-school students in making a successful transition to college or university.

How can students with learning disabilities make a

successful transition to post-secondary education?

Dr. Allyson G. Harrison and Dr. Alana Holmes show

you how with Assessment and Resource Centres

Accessing the ARC’s

The ARC’s allow students to get appropriate, comprehensive and reasonably-priced assessments that identify their strengths and make specifi c and relevant recommendations for accommoda-tions and supports. The diagnosis of LD has, until now, not al-ways been available to individuals without the fi nancial means to pay for an expensive assessment. Happily, initiatives such as the ARC’s provide students with an opportunity to undergo such an assessment at a cost that is appropriate to their fi nancial means. To date, these centres have provided over 1,000 assessments.

Kingston’s RARC is a stand-alone clinic and serves students in all of southern Ontario. Its Mobile Assessment Team (MAT) provides assessments in all cities in this region to assist in the transition process. NOARC/CÉRNO is physically located over the Glenn Crombie Centre for Disability Services at Cambrian Col-lege in Sudbury. Its in-house team of psychological profession-als provides assessments primarily to the three post-secondary institutions in Sudbury. NOARC/CÉRNO’s roster of external psychological practitioners provides service to students on all of the main campuses (and some satellite campuses) of the eight other colleges and universities in Northern Ontario.

Ideally, such assessments should occur before the student begins college or university. This enables them to start their post-secondary studies having already forged a relationship with the Disability Offi ce, understanding their learning profi le and needs, and in possession of appropriate documentation capable of securing their accommodations. In fact, it is recommended that all students in need of accommodation, and accepted into a post-secondary institution, secure an appointment with the Disability Offi ce staff for assistance in determining if their existing documentation is adequate to garner accommodations. Help-ful documentation might include: medical reports, IEPs, IRPCs, educational assessments, and professional assessment reports. Disability Offi ce staff can review the presented documents and advise on the need for additional documentation or updated assessment.

10 COMMUNIQUE

Dr. Alana Holmes and Dr. Allyson G. Harrison

Transition Planning

Students and their parents may not be aware of the various meth-ods of funding such assessments. Currently, the ARC’s provide assessments at a modest fee, with a sliding fee scale based on fi nancial need. In addition, students with disabilities who are eligible to receive even $1.00 of OSAP may access the Bursary for Students with Disabilities (BSWD), which can in fact fund a transition assessment. As well, students denied OSAP but with proven fi nancial need may receive an assessment funded by their home ARC.

Research from the LOTF also identifi ed that students with LD re-quire specialized transition planning to help them succeed at the post-secondary level. One transition initiative developed by the team at RARC is a program called On-Line to Success, available to any Ontario student planning to attend college or university anywhere in the world. This past year, the program ran in seven different school boards, and feedback from students, teachers and parents about the value of this program has been universally positive. Furthermore, the follow-up information we have on past participants would indicate that they continue to feel that this pro-gram signifi cantly improved their fi rst-year transition experience. Presenting information about this unique program has given us national exposure, and RARC has received requests from all over Canada to allow other schools to use this program as part of their curriculum. Students with LD should also investigate other transi-tion programs provided at their chosen institution.

But Wait! That’s Not All ...

While it is true that the ARCs provide high-quality assessments, their mandate is much broader than this. They also provide train-ing opportunities for graduate students in psychology, education and rehabilitation medicine; engage in clinical research; offer transition support and disability-specifi c counselling to students; and act as a resource for people seeking LD-specifi c information.

In any area of student service, one needs to engage in research, the results of which will improve and advance the service that is being provided. Providing service without continually validating it as well as generally endeavouring to “push back the frontiers of knowledge” would be to abandon one’s role as a professional. To this end, these two centres have begun collaborating on joint research projects that will benefi t students with LD all over North America. Their combined research efforts will help to inform both our practice and the practice of other professionals in this area of service provision across Canada. It will help clinicians make more accurate diagnoses, which in turn will lead to provision of more appropriate treatment and academic support.

The ARCs are able to provide updated or initial assessments for any Ontario student accepted into or enrolled in college or uni-versity. For further information about these assessment centres please contact using the information below. A referral may be initiated through the Disability Service offi ce where students have been accepted.

• In 2004, the fi rst Regional Assessment and Resource Centres (ARCs) were established in Kingston and Sudbury for postsecondary students with learning disabilities.

• The ARCs allow students to receive reasonably-priced assessments, transition planning, including a service called On-Line to Success, which is available to any Ontario student in the world. Training opportunities exist for some students to engage in research as well.

* There is a signifi cant difference between a psycholog-ical diagnosis of an LD and the criteria for identifi ca-tion of an LD in elementary or high school. In ad-dition, at the post-secondary level, students can only access disability-related accommodations and services if they have a formal diagnosis of a disability. Sadly, most parents and students are not aware of this fact, and are surprised when the accommodations they have always received in high school are no longer offered to them based solely on an “identifi cation.” Criteria for an appropriate and thorough assessment report may be found at www.ldao.ca/what_are_lds/as-sessments.php

At a GlanceFor further information on the ARSs please contact them at the addresses below:

Regional Assessment and Resource Centre (RARC)

Queen’s University 186 Barrie St. Kingston, Ont. K7L 3N6Phone: 613-533-6311 www.queensu-hcds.org/rarc/

The Northern Ontario Assessment & Resource Centre/Centre d’évaluation et de ressources du Nord de l’Ontario (NOARC/CÉRNO)1400 Barrydowne Rd. Sudbury, Ont. P3A 3V8Phone: 705-524-7397 Fax: 705-524-6779 www.noarc-cerno.ca

SUMMER 11

12 COMMUNIQUE

A Different Way of Learning

Thirty years ago, the concept of learning styles and prefer-ences took off when David A. Kolb, introduced the concept that learning preferences can be described using two continuums: active experimentation-refl ective observation and abstract conceptu-alization-concrete experience. The result is four types of learning styles:

Converging - the decision maker (active experimentation-abstract conceptualization)

Accommodating - the do-er (active experimentation-concrete experience)

Assimilating - the planner (refl ective observation-abstract conceptualization)

Diverging - the creator (refl ective observation-concrete experience)

Much has been developed and debated over the past three decades and there is little consensus about the success of this learning styles model. We certainly know that

adults benefi t from multi-modal learning, but as recently as last year, Susan Greenfi eld said that “from a neuroscientifi c point of view [the learning styles approach to

teaching] is nonsense”in The Times Educational Supplement Magazine.

The debate continues. What is clear is that many communities simply do not fi t into the dated style of “book learning” and classroom teaching that have dominated

academics for so long. This issue of Communique, looks at some of these differ-ences and reports on the successes of programs like Camp Kirk and JUMP Math

and how one entrepreneur successfully grew his business while developing his own methods for overcoming writing diffi culties. One writer introduces read-

ers to a practical tool of the trade in mnemonics, and one mother traces the journey of her children’s social learning and its impact on their

development.

We hope these stories provide a forum for continuing the debate!

*Making Things Wrok

Richard Danielli

Business owners and serial en-trepreneurs need to be able to roll with the punches. They have

to accept that there will be times when things don’t work out just right. Well, things not working out is the story of my life.

I own eSubnet, a Toronto consulting fi rm, which provides data networking and in-ternet security services. As a consultant, I travel to a variety of countries, work for a number of companies and organiza-tions. Day in and day out, I am fi xing a data network issue at one place, securing a web server someplace else, or helping improve service deliverability for another client. One of the highlights of my job is “ethical hacking” where I get to play the bad guy, so that the bad guys fail.

I also have a learning disability. It got me where I am today.

It wasn’t until entering university that I learned I might have Dyslexia. I struggled all through grade and high schools with low marks because of poor spelling, while studying the humanities. During high school they thought I had a comprehen-sion problem. Everyone seemed frustrat-ed at not understanding my challenges. I also had trouble concentrating during class or while completing homework. This was to become a major infl uence on the path my life took.

School grades didn’t come easily. Every-one thought that if I simply wrote out the words often enough then I would learn to spell them. This was not the case. People, including me, could not understand what was wrong because I was obviously intel-ligent. When I spoke on a subject I was fully cognizant of facts, people, places, and dates.

THE WRITE STUFF?

But when it came to writing, I was unable to get any of this down on paper. I was frustrated for losing marks on history papers because of grammar and spelling errors. That sort of thing was for English class, wasn’t it?

During high school, I faced the task of se-lecting my life’s path. The general thinking then was that you would pick your career and that was that. You would graduate from school, be hired by a company and there you were, all set until you retired. Of course we now know this is not how the world works.

I had the toughest time imaginable selecting the one thing I would be doing for the rest of my life but fi nally chose computers. I knew they would eventually become important and it was one subject I was really good at. I easily grasped what was going on inside the computer and often completed assignments ahead of schedule.

Part way through university, I decided that I’d spent enough time sitting at a desk and couldn’t take it any more. I had already switched my major away from computers and into philosophy, which I had the most amazing time with. This was my fi rst real exposure to the subject and I got along well with the philosophers as they were in their own ways stuck in systems which did not work for them.

SOUND FAMILIAR?

For the next several yearsI had numerous jobs ranging from stock boy, to construc-tion labourer, and bicycle courier, eventu-ally becoming an electrician. Scoring high enough on the electrician’s test to earn my inter-provincial license, I could practice my trade in any province, except Quebec. The fi rst company I owned was as an electrical contractor. That effort didn’t work out. I was overly nice to clients causing me to not charge enough to allow the company to succeed.

I returned to the job market. The fi rst place I worked sold and repaired comput-ers, later moving to a fi rm that provided security solutions to large and medium companies. Two-and-a-half years later, I departed from that job and once again focused on starting my own company.

SUMMER 13

In a fast-paced world where the written word is pervasive and all encompassing, one man rose above his challenges to create a thriving computer fi rm while learning “the write stuff.” Richard Danielli shares his story.

14 COMMUNIQUE

During the last decade I have learned to communicate better with the written word. To achieve this I wrote, and wrote, and wrote. I gave my writing to friends and colleagues for feedback. Now, the frustration I had in school is gone. Now I understand that my ability to convey a message was equally as important as the message. I still can’t write a story but I do excel at writing documentation.

When you have something like Dyslexia, you develop tools for dealing with your shortcomings.

Here are some things that I do.

UNSCRAMBLING SCRABBLE

Recently I have begun to play online Scrabble. I was introduced to this by Carolyn Burke, who is the CEO of Integ-rity Incorporated and a key member of my advisory board. By playing the game I am learning how letters fi t together. The online system where I play has a set-ting to ensure that all words are spelled properly. Without it I might have become the fi rst player to get a negative score in the game.

I often wonder how I make this work. Here I am with so many challenges which I have dealt with all of my life. And, that is the answer. I have struggled most of my life.

Struggle is what I am used to and fi nding solutions is what I do.

Editor’s note: Yes, the title is intentional!

• Throughout his life, entrepreneur Richard Danielli has struggled with attention problems and writ-ing. He went through a number of careers, including electrician before deciding to start his own computer solutions company in Toronto.

• He uses various methods to help him with his writing, including playing online Scrabble, ensuring his emails are proofread, either by colleagues or electronically.

• Today, he still struggles with writing but has developed enough coping strategies to enable him to run a successful business.

At a Glance

• Every email I send gets spell-checked automatically.

• For important communications, I read out loud to myself so I can hear the words I wrote.

• A friend or colleague reads really important communications.

• I use ‘also’ instead of too (I always have a hard time keeping the ‘to’s straight)

• I triple-check long distance numbers because transposition errors can be costly with long distance.

• I have my phone number written on delivery menus to ensure I get it right for the delivery guy.

• I have staff that looks after some of the details I can’t seem to remember month- to- month.

IN PERSONJump Math: A Guided Discovery

Have you ever yearned to do something in your life but felt you couldn’t? Meet Dr. John Mighton–

mathematician, playwright and founder of JUMP Math – a respected system he developed for teaching and learning math. He is also the author of The Myth of Ability –which chronicles the evolu-tion of JUMP, along with insights into the teaching methods that have won raves on both sides of the Atlantic, and The End of Ignorance - a passionate examination of how we learn.

Mighton writes in The Myth of Ability that “based on my work with elementary students, I am convinced that all children, except possibly those who are so severely disabled that they would not be enrolled in a regular school, can be led to think mathematically”.

He started JUMP Math back in 1998 while tutoring Toronto students. Less than a de-cade later JUMP programs are offered in 114 schools in 31 cities across fi ve prov-inces. In Ontario alone, 36 schools rely on JUMP-trained tutors to support classroom students in math. Schools in London, England, also participate in JUMP.

Mighton feels that one of the reasons JUMP Math is successful is that many of the things described in The Myth of Ability are now being confi rmed by psychological research. There is growing

evidence that the brain is really plastic, that people can develop new abilities and new intelligences can emerge at any time in life with training. This is referred to as neuroplasticity. But this research also suggests that it won’t happen unless the mind is engaged and attentive. Mighton believes that excitement, fun, and a sense that you are going to conquer something, especially when collaborating with others can all magnify neuroplasticity. All these attitudes are embedded into the JUMP Math approach.

Mighton never believed he had a talent for math, his marks fl uctuating wildly in school. But in his 20’s he discovered the work of poet Sylvia Plath and began to think he could develop a talent for writing. Plath taught herself to write by sheer determination, learning everything she could about poetry using imitation to determine how it worked and then writing her own version of it. At fi rst her work was derivative, but she gradually developed her own voice, becoming one of the most celebrated poets of the past century.

This was a revelation for Mighton. He started imitating her poetry, other poets, then, eventually playwrights, and saw that with relentless practice he could develop a voice of his own. Ten years later the text for his play, Possible Worlds received the Governor General’s Award.

The same thing happened again in mathe-matics. He had always been intimidated by math and almost failed Calculus at univer-sity. But when playwriting failed to gener-ate a living income, he started tutoring. He worked his way back through high school material at his own pace and through hav-ing to explain and repeat it over and over, things once mysterious to him became easier. This gave him the confi dence to go back and do mathematics.

That experience underlies a lot of JUMP’S philosophy: even if you apparently lack a particular skill, you can develop it through rigorous work, guidance, and training. Many people think that things like original-ity, creativity, and an ability to discover new skills come out of nowhere. While some-times this happens, it doesn’t mean you can’t develop those things in a person who appears to lack a natural gift.

The question Mighton raises in The End of Ignorance is why are we so reluctant to give children that kind of guided train-ing? He emphasizes that it doesn’t mean teaching in a rote way. If you tell a student everything and treat them like a robot and never explain why things work; never test their knowledge by giving them new op-portunities to extend their knowledge - that is rote learning.

Photo: Peter Bregg

SUMMER 15

It all began as a way to make a little extra money for himself, but now award-winning Canadian playwright Johan Mighton is just as well known for creating the wildly successful JUMP Math Program that’s offered in schools across the country and has changed the lives of thousands. Susan Joosreports on the phenomenon that’s gaining an international reputation.

16 COMMUNIQUE

However, guided discovery occurs when learners are allowed to take steps them-selves to make a discovery, no matter how small the step is. Even with the simplest tasks, if you constantly embed bigger ideas into the process, helping them gen-eralize and--as much as possible--expect-ing them to make those steps, or through self-talk demonstrating they understand different aspects of the concept, that is guided discovery. JUMP Math espouses this approach.

More evidence is starting to emerge that working memory is weak, as psycholo-gists publish more research. Some state that we can usually only retain one or two things at a time, and that we need lots of practice before concepts emerge. If you haven’t consolidated the basic concepts and skills before trying to learn a larger concept, you are often overwhelmed just with the mental effort of mastering the basic skills. No one expects a novice to play the piano or compose beautiful music without knowing where the notes are. But kids arrive in high school without those basic number facts and operations. Mighton asks why this is.

The success of JUMP methods is sup-ported by current research. During 2006-2007, three independent studies were conducted in London, England and Vancouver. In all schools teachers were asked to target those children who weren’t expected to meet age-related expecta-tions on the national tests at the end of the Canadian equivalent to grade 6. Four hundred and fi fty-four students, 90 per cent of whom were at least two years below age-related expectations, received four-to-10 months of JUMP instruction. The national test results at the end of the year were particularly strong among children who were two years below age-related expectations. The results showed 69% were at or close to age-related ex-pectations one school year later. Overall, 33% of the students achieved success, even though 60% were more than two years below age-related expectations at the start of the pilot.

Improvements in confi dence and the attitude of all children participating in the program were almost universally reported. It was further stated that “effective use of

the JUMP materials in accordance with the program’s principles and methodol-ogy has the potential to support teachers to raise the quality of their teaching (and therefore children’s learning) from satis-factory or good to outstanding.

“All teachers reported a signifi cant improvement in attitude and self esteem in the vast majority of pupils participat-ing in the pilot. Behaviour also improved; children who had been disruptive during lessons were engaged, focused and en-thusiastic during the JUMP sessions.”

The emotional or inclusive aspect is one key area that teachers feel is addressed. It refers to the sense of security created with an approach that espouses such practices as:

• Isolating the particular skills required to solve the problem

• Assume there is something wrong in your explanation if your students don’t understand your lesson

• Use of explicit teaching

• Engagement, encouragement and empowerment (use of psychology of

learning)

One teacher stated “there is more of an awareness of emotional intelligence in this program that I love…the development of

a sense of safety, the stimulation of self worth and value, dignity and a sense of community…reliability of logic…. It weaves new positive connections in the brain, not just math connections”.

“Learning/remembering to break things down smaller and smaller and making certain they have the prerequisite knowl-edge to accomplish the task; sequential progression of concept learning”, com-mented another instructor.

All these practices support writer David Sousa’s claim that the learning environ-

John Mighton

John Mighton emphasizes the following important JUMP Math principles

• Assessment: Before you begin the lesson, verify that your students have the skills needed to complete the task. John Mighton states that this assessment is the key to JUMP Math. The worksheets are the assessment tools. He states that they are part of the program but teachers need to also supplement their lessons with enriched activities. There are workbooks now related to the full Ontario Curriculum from Gr.1-8. There are also lesson plans on the JUMP Math website that show teachers how to teach the concepts fully and offer many activities and bonus questions (www.jumpmath.org).

• Scaffolding - the exercises have to be arranged so that the discoveries kids make in one exercise naturally lead to the next exercise. Have a gradual series of increasingly harder exercises.

• Allow enough time for practice, especially with weaker students

• Raise the bar incrementally through “bonus questions”. You constantly provide a set of bonus questions that look harder, but do not introduce too much new information to keep the faster students working while the weaker students are practicing

ment is critical to the student’s com-prehension of material. He says when “students feel positive about their learning environment, endorphins are released in the brain. Endorphins produce a feeling of euphoria and stimulate the frontal lobes, thereby making the learning experience more pleasurable and successful”.

Vancouver feedback included the fact that teachers felt “that the simplifi cation, incrementalsteps, rep-etition and reinforce-ment offered reaches all learners and gives students the chance to overcome obstacles as well as build the memory of strategies and concepts. This includes the reduction of language.

There is also a perception that progres-sions of steps from simple to complex or from concrete to abstract builds the

student’s foundation slowly, solidify-ing key concepts that liberates them to strategize at deeper levels and take more risks. Furthermore, the teachers reported, ”the use of JUMP Math un-folds the student’s thinking skills, pro-motes independent thinking and serves to create excitement and curiosity”

Mighton states, “You can fi nd concepts embedded in the simplest rules and proceduresof math”. We teach either too much in the small steps and proceduresor too much in the big-ger con-

cepts. Teaching math should be like a hologram. If you cut a piece out of a hologram you can know everything about the big picture - the entire picture is embedded in that piece. We have to start thinking of mathematical concepts as holograms, I think”

SUMMER 17

• Playwright and teacher John Mighton started JUMP Math back in 1998 while tutoring To-ronto students. Less than decade later JUMP programs are offered in 114 schools in 31 cities across fi ve provinces.

• Research suggests There is growing evidence that the brain is really plastic, that people can develop new abilities and new intelligences can emerge at any time in life with training. This is referred to as neuroplasticity and is a key application relating to JUMP Math.

When asked about adults with learning disabilities and the potential they have for making progress with their learning, Mighton feels that what he calls “mental occupational therapy” (he compares it with physical occupational therapy that might be used for someone with a physical dis-ability) can be done at any age. It’s not too late for adults. He states that until 10 years ago people would have thought that the brain is fi xed by age six. He states it is not and now the scientifi c work in the area of cognition is showing this. This is the hope he has for adults with LD.

Mighton’s perspectives on learning and education also encompass how he feels about the state of affairs in our world. He feels hopeful for three reasons. Firstly is the new scientifi c work on cognition (plasticity) that is providing understanding about how the brain actually works and people are fi nally opening up to it. Scien-tists therefore are also beginning to recog-nize more about what kids need to learn. He feels much of the research results are supported in the JUMP approach. JUMP is now supported by some of the leading educators, neurologists and cogniscien-tists. There is a growing body of evidence that the brain can really change itself but only if we teach it according to certain principles which also take into account the limitations of the brain. This means lots of practice, scaffolding and attentiveness. Mighton believes this research will change education.

He also feels for the fi rst time, people are really beginning to connect the effect of their actions to the environment, pointing to Al Gore’s movie An Inconvenient Truthwhich contributed to a greater sense of conscience. It helped people to under-stand how small things add up.

Thirdly, he has seen what happens when teachers take education into their own hands–when they form study groups and mentor each other. He claims that what has been occurring in British Columbia is one of the most inspiring things he has ever seen and says that teachers are re-ally mobilizing to improve their teaching.

John Mighton’s approach to learning is empowering, inspiring and successful. For more information, visit JUMP’s website: www.jumpmath.org.

• Part of JUMP’S philosophy is even if you apparently lack a par-ticular skill, you can develop it through rigorous work, guidance, and training.

• A recent study conducted in Van-couver and England demonstrat-ed that 69% of school children involved in JUMP Math were at or close to age-related expecta-tions one school year later.

At a Glance

18 COMMUNIQUE

Raising Exceptional Childrenwith Social Skills Struggles:A Parent’s EnlightenmentAs every parent knows, learning disabilities can have a social component, and often these kids are out of synch with their peers. The pain of being ridiculed and ostracized can be heartbreaking.But there is hope. Here, parent and advocate Bernadette Pace shares her story and offers solutionsand hope carved from a lifetime of experience.

Born into this world as creatures of social nature, our lives are intri-cately connected and affected by

our interactions with others. From infancy we mimic those close to us and their feedback provides guidance. During child-hood we begin to fi ne - tune our social know-how as we build new relationships and strengthen those already cherished.

But when neurobiological disorders, including learning disabilities (LD), involve diffi culties with social cognition – the ‘thinking’ behind the practice of social skills – connecting with others can be-come challenging.

As a parent of three children, 11, 12 and 15 years of age, each diagnosed with different disorders and disabilities (ADHD, Tourette Syndrome, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Sensory Integration Dysfunction, Anxiety, Nonverbal LD, Lan-guage Processing LD), I am able to share insight into the challenges they face each day. The most signifi cant observation is that although each child’s diagnosis is unique and symptoms vary, one common-ality remains prominent – social.

Unlike a physical disability, LDs are ‘invisible’ and not as easily recognized. Unfortunately, when others are unaware, a child’s faux pas can be interpreted as intentional and incite criticism, teasing, or spur active avoidance by peers. He/she may be subjected to harsh judgements, and labels such as “rude”, “obnoxious”, “self-centred”, “mean-spirited”, or “insen-sitive.”

Often a child having problems with at-tention and poor impulse control says or does the wrong thing at exactly the wrong time. A common misperception is that since the child looks ‘fi ne’ and is verbose, his/her errant ways are purely attitudinal.

In order to help my children and to advo-cate more effectively, I set out to become an expert on their respective disabilities. As I delved into various sources – visits with specialists, support group contacts, books, journals, videos, web information - I learned that our ability to relate well with others is contingent upon multiple complex functions within the brain, each of which is performed in a fraction of a second.

To date, various researchers have identi-fi ed a number of interrelated cognitive processes involved in social interactions. A basic description includes: receptive language (how we take in information via the senses); language processing (how we identify, sort the incoming information and store/retrieve from memory); atten-tion control, impulse control, and emotion control; problem solving skills (planning, previewing, and selecting appropriate re-sponses); as well as monitoring outcome and adapting responses as necessary.

According to Dr. Ross Greene, Found-ing Director of the Collaborative Problem Solving Institute in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, and author of The Explosive Child, “This process [social information processing] is non-stop and requires a lot of effi ciency and fl exibility. It’s barely

noticeable to people for whom it happens automatically, but it’s very frustrating if you’re not one of those people.” 1

Since LD manifestations are unique for each child, social interactions can be mild-ly-to-severely affected by defi cient lan-guage skills. Similar diffi culties arise when a child has poor attention and impulse control, as diagnosed in ADHD, or when a child has diffi culty with emotion regulation (frustration tolerance) and cognitive fl ex-ibility (mind set shifting), often associated with Tourette Syndrome. Incidentally, it is not uncommon for children with disorders to have defi ciencies in multiple areas and to varying degrees.

• Research suggests as many as 75% of children with LD have social skills defi cits.2

• On average a child spends about 1,000 hours a year in the classroom, account-ing for less than 20% of his/her time. The remaining time is spent in social environments – hallways, playground, sports, recreational activities, and com-munity settings - wherein the greatest challenges occur for a child with LD.3

Dr. Marshall Raskind, an LD researcher, shares his perspective: “Children with LD are often socially rejected by their peers, and have problems establishing and main-taining friendships...researchers continue to study the reasons behind such prob-lems, which can be more debilitating than the academic diffi culties most commonly equated with LD.” (Research

Trends: Social Information Processing and Emotional Understanding in Children with LD, www.schwablearning.org)

Such debilitation is painfully evident in school and recreational activities. Both environments require interactive prowess. Dr. Mel Levine, founder of All Kinds of Minds Institute, writes in his book, A Mind at a Time, “In relating to one another, kids constantly have to absorb and interpret social feedback. They need to pick up subtle cues etched on the facial expres-sions or body movements of those with whom they are interacting. Of course, if you are insensitive when it comes to social feedback, as is the case for many kids with social cognitive dysfunctions, you don’t even notice you are infuriating the person you’re with.”4

As my children progressed from primary to middle school, and after sampling various recreational outlets, they had established a track record of negative outcomes from being socially out-of-sync. Classmate birthday invitations dwindled and eventually ceased along with the phone calls for play dates. Discussions about their school day started to include recantations of being teased and exclud-ed at recess. My children’s unwavering ability to place themselves at odds with teachers, coaches, camp counsellors, and other adults further contributed to social isolation.

How does one wide-eyed, guppy-gasping parent handle a child’s blip in social cog-nition? Upon recovering from brief shock, I recall a statement from Dr. Duncan McKinlay, Psychologist, Child and Parent Resource Institute, London, ON, during his “Putting on the Brakes” seminar. He stated, “It is always the child performing the inappropriate act, and it is always the disorder(s) making it diffi cult for the child to act appropriately.”

In the past I tried to differentiate between what was “intentional” and what was “dis-order” to decide how to respond.

I have learned fi rsthand that it is bet-ter to error on the side of “disorder” and focus on skill building while teaching accountability, than to error on the side of “intentional” and repeatedly resort to upping-the-ante consequences. The latter decision carries a risk of cultivating feel-ings of hopelessness and disconnection.

It is my experience as a parent advocate that the combined support of specialists, informed and understanding school pro-fessionals and family members ensures a child with disorders/LD has the oppor-tunity for positive learning experiences, strengthened skills, and healthy relation-ship building.

Today, with a strong parent-school team collaborating for student success, my chil-dren’s needs are more accurately defi ned in their respective Individualized Educa-tion Program (IEP). The accommodations refl ect our joint expertise in what works well. Many environmental stressors were reduced or eliminated, providing relief from a variety of symptoms caused by neurobiological disorders. School offi cials also addressed the teasing. These steps created more accessible opportunities for my children to enhance language skills and improve academics, thereby raising self-esteem.

As for confl ict resolution, an alternate model was introduced involving col-laborative problem solving, described in Dr. Ross Greene’s book, The Explosive Child. This strategy departs from the tra-ditional reward and punishment method in changing a child’s challenging behaviours and focuses on skill building in prob-lem solving. The implementation of this program is responsible for my children’s improvement in confl ict resolution and for being viewed in a more positive light by peers and adults.

Additional coaching in social cognition, such as drawing attention to non-verbal feedback and reviewing unspoken social rules, is ongoing within a growing circle of support.

Understanding relationship building is a lifelong learning experience for all of us and helps me to keep my children’s dif-fi culties in perspective. Maintaining a posi-tive outlook and celebrating their achieve-ments, no matter how small, is the secret to success in overcoming adversity.

As the parent of three exceptional children with varying disabilities, Ber-nadette Pace has learned that one common facet binds their differences together: social skills. Social faux pas can in turn be misinterpreted by others thereby subjecting kids with invisible disabilities to ridicule and isolation.

She discovered that the brain is engaged in a series of interrelated cognitive processes involved in social interactions, including: receptive language, lan-guage processing, attention, emotional and impulse control, problem solving skills and monitoring outcome and adapting responses as necessary.

She has learned that having a team of specialists, informed and understand-ing school professionals and family members ensures a child with disorders/LD has the opportunity for positive learning experiences, strengthened skills, and social success.

At a Glance

RESOURCES

1 Greene, Ross W., Ph.D. The Explosive Child, Harp-erCollins Publishers, New York, NY, 2005. (45)

2 Kavale, K.A. & Forness, S.R. (1996). “Social Skills Defi cits and LD: A meta-analysis.” Journal of Learn-ing Disabilities, 29(3): 226-237

3 Lavoie, Richard. (December, 2005 online chat with the National Center for Learning Disabilities). “Help-ing Children with LD Find Social Success.” www.ncld.org/content/view/955

4 Levine, Mel, M.D. A Mind at a Time, Simon & Schus-ter, New York, NY, 2002 (234)

SUMMER 19

Tools of the Trade

Remember Mnemonics

Mnemonics are visual and verbal devices that help us remem-ber information. Invented as

educational aids in ancient Greece by Simonides the Younger, they’re a sort of didactic art form that contrives phrases, rhymes, diagrams and acronyms to sup-port human memory.

The term “mnemonic” is over 2500 years old and comes from the Greek word mnemonikós, which refers to the mind. Al-though a plethora of mnemonics currently exists, they all have one thing in common: They’re memory joggers that serve the noble purpose of learning.

Invariably, information must be stored and then remembered in order for learning to take place. Since mnemonic methods dramatically improve certain aspects of memory, like name and number recol-lection, they have countless applications in every day life. But they’re also popular study tools and are used professionally in such fi elds as music, medicine, biology, electronics, spelling, physics and geog-raphy.

Mnemonics, then, are excellent learning strategies. As such, associated special education teachers are fi nally starting to promote the use of mnemonics in both classroom and home study environments. Research shows that individuals with learning disabilities (LD) and learning challenges, such as ADHD, have weak memories. Mnemonics, therefore, have incredible implications in bettering the lives of these populations. Fortunately, students are increasingly being provided with lists of popular mnemonics, in order to assist their memory of diverse curricu-lum, so the power of mnemonics might well be proven!

There are three main categories of mne-monics. They are:

Key-word Mnemonics use catchy words, phrases or rhymes that contain letters representing list items to be remembered. Key-word mnemonics is the concept behind passwords. They’re used as acronyms and are featured in all sorts of anagrams. The example below illustrates a popular mnemonic that is used to re-member the order of all planets in terms of distance from the sun:

My Very Easy Method: Just Set Up Nine Planets.

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto.

Normally, this information would be diffi -cult to recall, yet this particular mnemonic makes it easy! This kind of mnemonic does, however, have a shortcoming: It has the potential to lose clarity once a letter is repeated.

Anamonics, another type of mnemonic, consists of a core---usually of six or seven letters---paired with a semantically related phrase. Every letter of the phrase can be

added to the core and rearranged to form at least one acceptable word. There are countless examples of anamonics in the game of Scrabble, where letters are used in various ways to create acceptable words off words.

Visual Mnemonics, the third and last broad category of mnemonic, are tech-niques that use pictures or diagrams to jog memory. This visual mnemonic, for example, helps one to remember the two types of camels:

A Bactrian () Camel has two () humps, but a Dromedary ) only has one )

The world of mnemonics is vast, fun and utilitarian. Today there are many web sites that feature thousands of different mnemonics to both entertain and help people. Indeed, progressive visions of fu-ture educational institutions are fi lled with mnemonic learning strategies. Educa-tors, counsellors, parents and individuals with learning disabilities and challenges should take solace in the fact that such alternative learning methods are more woven into the fabric of reality than ever before.

….So the next time you or someone you know has diffi culty remembering a key piece of information, do everyone a favour and share a mnemonic!

20 COMMUNIQUE

Compensatory strategies come in many shapes and sizes. One of the easiest memory joggers, especially for people with auditory processing disorders, is mnemonics. Contributor Deana Collins sheds light on this useful tool of the trade.

The Camp Kirk Experience by Henri Audet

As a parent of a child who has a learning disability and/or Atten-tion Defi cit Hyperactivity Disorder

(ADHD), you know that these children can have diffi cult experiences at school, home or in the community. Because we live in such a competitive world, these children may have a hard time perform-ing to expected standards, which only contributes to creating the feeling of being “inadequate”, “stupid” or “dumb”. These kids painfully experience a sense of failure and expect this every day. The end result is that the child will isolate himself avoiding anything that may require taking a risk, whether socially (making friends), academically (learning new math skills) or emotionally (learning to overcome fears).

The child may protect himself by with-drawing, fi ghting, or using hurtful words so others won’t know how badly he feels underneath this tough exterior. We often refer to this as the “better bad than dumb” syndrome. Although the child’s protective mechanisms make sense in the short term. In the long term, these methods of dealing with things further jeopardize the sense of self, preventing the child from taking necessary risks in order to grow and discover strengths, talents and self worth.

THE SOLUTION

The solution is quite obvious. Notwith-standing the learning or attention diffi cul-ties kids may have, they need to also be given opportunities to perform and to challenge themselves in a nurturing, pro-tective and non-competitive environment. They can then begin to build confi dence, to trust in themselves and gradually, trust others.

WHAT IS CAMP KIRK AND HOW MAY IT HELP YOUR CHILD?

Camp Kirk began in 1993 and is located just outside of the village of Kirkfi eld, ON on a property that spans 114 acres with its very own marsh affectionately known as the “Bucky-Mucky Swamp”. Camp Kirk was established to offer direct service to children ages 6 to 14 who have learning disabilities and/or attention defi -cit disorders and to their families.

Camp Kirk is a registered Ontario non-profi t corporation. Its mission is to provide a nurturing, non-competitive and support-ive environment that allows children with LD the opportunity to enjoy a residential camping experience and to develop so-cial, emotional and physical skills, thereby raising their self-esteem.

It’s often very comforting for these chil-dren to be in an environment where they can see they are not alone and in a place where they and their issues are validated. Staff is nurturing and trained to identify

strengths no matter how small and to help children take the steps they need to take in order to build on those strengths. The challenge ropes courses and climb-ing walls, our ecology and martial arts programmes are just a few of the many activities we use to work with campers. The other very important factor here is that, much of what kids will learn and take from the Camp Kirk experience is transferable to other areas of life. Knowing that he has been able to accomplish what was accomplished at camp, your child is more likely to face each new challenge with a “yes I can” attitude and perform to the best of their ability which is all one can ask for.

No one can express the effect that the Camp Kirk experience has on a child but a parent. Haley’s mom says it best in a letter to me shortly after her daughter returned home:

“Haley had the best time at camp! Thank you for this opportunity. She now has memories to last her forever. What can we do to thank you? Haley came home with a little more maturity, a little more vocabulary, and a lot more happiness. I don’t know what you do, but you do it well. I always tell her doctors to: “wave that magic wand and make everything perfect.” Well, where did you get your want, I need one...

Thank you again for all the fun she had. We can only repay you with words.

Thank you a million times over.”

SUMMER 21

Henri Audet’s last article for Communique proved to be so popular, we decided to invite him back for a sequel of sorts. In this issue, Audet focuses more on the Camp Kirk and its benefi ts to the self esteem of campers.

For over three decades Richard Lavoie, former teacher, headmas-ter, founder of the famous F.A.T.

City workshops and author has been one of North America’s leading advocates on learning disabilities. Everywhere Lavoie goes, he seems to provoke an almost delirious rapture in his audience, many of them parents, who are hungry for solu-tions, answers, possibilities. He never fails to deliver.

Stopping in Peterborough last spring to promote his last book It’s So Much Work to Be Your Friend, published in 2005, Lavoie spoke at length about the impor-tance of social skills being the key to adult success in children with LD and ADHD. “Our ultimate happiness is determined by our social skills, not by academic skills,” he says fi rmly. “In some aboriginal communities, criminals were sentenced to shunning and they were removed from their communities,” he says. “Some spe-cial needs kids are shunned everyday.”

Just about any parent can relate to the social component of their child’s LD. The kid with ADHD constantly interrupts conversations; the youngster with visual-spatial problems consistently loses things; the nonverbal child fails to read social cues. The list goes on and on.

It is social skills development that is the theme of It’s So Much Work to Be Your Friend. Lavoie states that the average child might spend 1000 hours a year in the classroom, but 95 per cent of his time is spent outside of the classroom. Far too many of these kids report being friend-less and lonely and it is these childhood experiences that can lay the foundation for possible substance abuse and criminal activity during the adult years.

In Lavoie’s eyes, LD is a pervasive dis-

ability that “impacts on every aspect of everyday. LD kids are missing out on the “social laboratory where you learn social skills. Friendship is supposed to be fun, not work,” he says.

In the book, he identifi es four key social skills: the ability to join or enter a group; the ability to establish and maintain friendships; to resolve confl icts and to ‘tune in’ to social skills. Each factor is analyzed with a keen sense of cause, effect and solution attached to it. One solution discussed early on is the concept of “social skills autopsies” which have successfully been used to improve social competencies in children throughout North America by providing ‘real-time’ learning opportunities. These are often successful in part because many LD children learn best in practical situations. Social skills autopsies are based on three principles: social skills errors are gener-ally unintentional, punishing a child for unintended behaviour is ineffective and that traditional approaches to social skills development—role playing, modeling, vid-eos, lectures—have all proven ineffective. Social skills autopsies thus follow a model based on practice, immediate feedback, instruction and positive reinforcement and are successful because they allow the child to see the cause-and-effect relation-ship between his social behaviours and the responses of others.

Another chapter, and one of the most useful in the book addresses disorga-nized kids, who Lavoie states, can come across as “unpredictable and unreliable, often complicating social plans because of tardiness and inability to adhere to social schedules.” He identifi es four distinct profi les affecting organization, including, material-spatial, temporal-spatial, transitional—so named because so many LD kids have trouble “shifting

gears” during seemingly minor transi-tions such as interrupting an activity to clean a room because company’s coming over—and prospective retrieval, which is primarily affected by memory. Many kids have problems with executive functioning, a relatively new term that deals with logic and problem solving, and Lavoie offers many suggestions on how to organize a child’s day, including help with homework, time management and chunking activities.

Other chapters delve into paralinguistics, ADHD, proxemics (personal space) and developing social skills within the com-munity, all told in a plain spoken, com-mon-sense approach that is so typical of Lavoie’s work.

All told, It’s So Much Work to Be Your Friend is another important contribution to the fi eld of LD literature from a man who “gets it” and writes about kids who don’t. Parents would do well to have this valu-able resource on their bookshelf. For more information on this book, be sure to visit www.ricklavoie.com

It’s So Much Work to Be Your Friend: Helping the Child with Learning Dis-abilities Find Social Success by Richard Lavoie, Touchstone Press, New York, NY, 2005. 394 pages.

Shelf Life:

Lavoie Book Offers Hope for Social Skills Development by Carter Hammett

22 COMMUNIQUE

Chapter News and ViewsPETERBOROUGH

Peterborough Receives Community Leadership Award from Trillium FoundationThis past November, LDAP was chosen as the recipient of the Ontario Trillium Foundation’s 25th Anniversary Award winner! Out of all of the agencies from Durham, Clarington, City of Kawartha Lakes, Haliburton and Peterborough regions who have received the many millions of dollars in grants, we were chosen the #1 agency “for remaining a leader in the not-for-profi t or charitable sector by consistently delivering on the Foundation’s granting priorities and for grant success and excellence in helping to build healthy and vibrant communities”!!

In 1999, LDAP received Trillium approval for a fi ve- year grant, which would allow the agency to partner with Trent University in the development of Encouraging Young Readers, a tutoring program that included ongoing research measuring the impact of this tutoring for the children participating. This initial foray into the development of a tutoring program designed specifi cally for learn-ing disabled students was the brainchild of our past Executive Director, Janet Greene, in partnership with the School of Educa-tion and Professional Learning at Trent University.

Since the completion of this program, the service growth at LDAP has been beyond anyone’s imagination! Within the fi rst year of this grant, LDAP and Trent reported providing tutoring to 59 children in Peterborough. Today, 7 ½ years later, Trent continues to provide tutoring in local schools, while LDAP has expanded our tutoring program, providing this service to 40 com-munities in the Peterborough, Northumberland, Clarington and City of Kawartha Lakes regions. This past fi scal year, the agency provided tutoring to 898 children and adaptive technology train-ing to 115 parents and professionals.

The inception and resulting success of this program would not have been possible without the support of the Ontario Trillium Foundation. After the completion of this initial grant, we were completely destroyed in the Peterborough fl ood of 2004. Trillium provided further support which allowed us to rebuild and move forward, while most recently, Trillium has supported our efforts to reach the many isolated and under serviced rural communities in the regions previously mentioned.

We are extremely proud of our tutoring program and the positive results we are seeing with our participating children, and we are tremendously grateful to our Ontario Government for maintaining the Ontario Trillium Foundation, which benefi ts so many across this wonderful province.

This is truly amazing and a very proud honour for the staff, board and volunteers of the Learning Disabilities Association of Peter-borough!

The award ceremony took place at the Buckhorn Community Centre, Tuesday November 27th, 2007. We were the last recipi-ents to get an award…because we got the BIG one!

KINGSTON

Tomm Festival Back for Another YearJohn Conlee and The Abrams Brothers headline this year’s Tomm Festival, in what is fast becoming a local tradition, as the best of country, bluegrass, folk and gospel music is once again offered up in support of LD Kingston.

This year’s festival runs June 13 – 15 at Lake Ontario Park. A weekend pass is only $65 for early birds purchasing tickets before May 1, and only $75 after. Children 16 and under are free if accompanied by an adult. Single day admission is as follows: Friday, $45; Saturday, $35; Sunday, $30.

Tickets are available at The Grand Theatre (call: 613.530.2050) or from the Learning Disabilities Association of Kingston (call: 613.545.0373) or visit www.kingstontommfest.com for complete details. See you there!

SUMMER 23

Pictured at the event – Back Row, Left to Right: Ron Brown – Past LDAP Board Chair (2002 – 2005), Teresa Coppens – LDAP Board Director, Lloyd White – OTF Grant Review Team Chair, Susan Ramey – LDAP Resource Development Coordinator, Hugh O’Neil – OTF Board Vice Chair, Lionel Towns – LDAP Board Treasurer, Jackie Powell – OTF Program Manager, Janet Greene – LDAP Retired Executive Director. Front Row, Left to Right: Tom Phillips – LDAP Board Director, Jane Smith – LDAP Offi ce Manager/Bookkeeper, Shari Davis – LDAP Executive Direc-tor, Kristi McKay – LDAP Computers for Literacy Development Coordinator, Sasha Korper – LDAP Northumberland Resource Facilitator, Maria Castiglione – LDAP Program Manager

WINDSOR-ESSEX COUNTY

The Fonz Visits WindsorLDAWE, in partnership with the Greater Essex County District School Board, Shire Biochem, the Windsor Volunteers for Lit-eracy, CHUM Radio, the Pay Attention and Learn Task Force, and the Council for Exceptional Children will be hosting an evening with Henry Winkler – Learning Disabilities: Everything is Possible! Henry Winkler is best known as an actor and executive producer. Henry has also written a series of children’s novels with co-author Lin Oliver entitled, Hank Zipzer: The World’s Most Amazing Under-Achiever. These books are inspired by Winkler’s struggle through school, due to his learning challenges. Tickets will be available soon for the August 21, 2008 event. Further information can be found on the LDAWE website: www.ldawe.ca.

LDAWE is excited to announce the STAR After-School and March Break literacy tutoring program for children who are not achiev-ing curriculum standards in reading or writing from grades 3-8.This program is a partnership with the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board and the LDAWE and is in conjunction with the Ontario Focus Intervention Partnership (O.F.I.P.). The STAR program will be offered beginning in mid-March and ending in mid-June 2008.

This program will be offered at four locations in Windsor and Essex County. Each site will be staffed with a lead facilitator, four tutors, and an adaptive technology facilitator.

LDAWE is moving May 1, 2008… down the hall to a bigger space! The new address will be 647 Ouellette Avenue, Suite 101, Windsor, Ontario, N9A 4J4

SUDBURY COMMENT

Taking Stock of Our Market- Time to Invest! All the talk and media coverage recently about declining stock markets and the world’s economic instability has lead me to refl ect upon the great losses we are suffering as a community in Sudbury and in our society across the country. No.... this is not an alarmist forecasting gloom and doom or predicting a reces-sion like you can read in any newspaper today. This is merely me, sharing with you some thoughts of opportunity and some hopes for brighter investment forecasts.

With the fi nancial markets experiencing turbulence and the economy wavering, this is an opportune time to be talking about our investments and return on our investments (ROI).I’m not talk-ing directly about your personal fi nancial situation! I am suggest-ing there is a strong correlation between what we invest in our education system and in our community services for people with learning disabilities today, and the ROI benefi ts in our workplaces and the social fabric of our great city a few years down the road.

You see, by making important investments in students with learn-ing disabilities today; we will be demonstrating that it’s okay to learn a different way and that a different way can lead to suc-cess! Many of our leaders of tomorrow will come from the rank

and fi le of students with learning disabilities today. Won’t we all benefi t and be proud when many of these young students with learning disabilities can follow in the footsteps of.... pick names of successful people today .......... for all of these people too have learning disabilities.

What we need to do is make some conscious decisions about our investments in these young people and develop some fi nancial strategies to maximize the return on investment from these young and talented individuals. How is your risk tolerance? This is a real low risk investment with very high returns in the short and long term. These are capital investments in the most valuable resource we have: our children and youth. What better place to invest? Where could you get a better ROI with immediate capital gains today and long-term capital development in the future? This is really a no-brainer and does not require a fi nancial planner or investment expert! It only requires a good understanding and appreciation for young people with learning disabilities and a conscious decision by all of us to support them to reach their full potential! A small investment with a huge return! Worried about timing the market? There is no better time! The reality of bright fu-tures ahead is within our reach today. Pretty exciting possibilities eh? Worthy of some thought, yes? More importantly, very worthy of some action today!

Let’s check in on the markets! Let’s invest in students with learn-ing disabilities!

YORK REGION

Vintages and Jazz Returns to York RegionProgram Updates:

We have a new morning parent support group every second Tuesday of the month. The program will run until June. We also continue to be involved in York Region’s diverse communities by doing presentations and providing support to the Chinese and Tamil communities.

We were also grateful to receive a Regional grant to run SOAR/Job Fit Program in various locations and will also be running three, individual one-week summer camp groups. Two will be in Newmarket and the other will be in Richmond Hill.

Fundraising

We are in the midst of preparing for our annual fund raising event: Vintages & Jazz, which will be held on Sunday May 4th from 2pm to 5pm. Tickets are $25 each. We will also have a raffl e with four wonderful prizes. Tickets are $10 for each or three for $25.

ABCs & 123s Tutoring Program:

We are pleased to have four more volunteers join our program this month and have introduced our programs to three new schools within York Region. It is so nice to provide this extra help to these students and their parents. The parents are very grateful and we are proud to assist them in their learning journeys.

24 COMMUNIQUE

Thank YouDonors and Sponsors

EDUCATORS WORKSHOP SERIES

ETCU

Eli Lilly Canada

Janssen-Ortho Inc.

Purdue Pharma

Shire Biochem Inc.

SOAR: SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED

RBC Foundation

TD Bank Financial Group

Paloma Foundation

The Lloyd Carr-Harris Foundation

Dynamic Mutual Funds

A TEACHER’S GUIDE TO LEARNING DISABILITIES

Eli Lilly Canada

Janssen-Ortho Inc

Transcanada Pipelines

LEARNING AND LEADERSHIP CORPORATE BREAKFAST

Beale Wallington Chong

BeaconPoint Financial Security Limited

Bright Red Communications

Business Development Bank of Canada

CIBC

CJ Graphics

Camp Arowhon

Calvin Dickinson

Dunsmore Law Professional Corporation

Eli Lilly Canada Inc.

Ernst and Young LLP

Vinnie Greco

Mark Handley-Derry

Clifford Hatch

Heathbridge Capital Management Ltd.

LDA Simcoe County

LDA Wellington County

LDA York Region

Steve Lee

Donald Lewtas

Jay Mandarino

M.S. Lamont and Associates

Microcomputer Science Centre

John Neufeld

Ontario English Catholic Teacher’s Association

Ontario Principal’s Council

Robert Richards

Scotiabank Group

Shire Biochem Inc.

INDIVIDUAL GIFTS

Randy and Roberta Barbeau

Harvey Barsanti

Cheryl Barton

Maureen Beckett

Jean Luc Bernard

Hellen Bogie

MJ Petersen Burfi eld

Peter Chaban

Heather Cochrane

Thomas Colton

Roy V. Cooper

Bill Cormier

Ron and Chris Deluco

Robert Denham

Glenn DiPasquale

Fausto Di Tomasso

Joanne and Gary Dumanski

Lynn Emslie

Dr. Bruce Ferguson

William and Alexandra Ferguson

Suzie Fitzpatrick

Richard and Elspeth Flemming

Ornella Forestieri

George Gekas

Jane Glassco

Morton Goldblach

E. Greco

Hon. Justice James Greco

John Greco

Vinnie Greco

Cynthia Grundmann

Dr. Mark Handley-Derry

Denise Harding

Thomas Hart

Kai Hildebrandt

Derek Hopgood

Marcia Kavanagh

SUMMER 25

Kristan Jayatunge

Caryl Laviolette

Steve Lee

Hartley Lefton

Mona Levenstein

Mr. and Mrs. Stephen William Lewis

Mark Lippmann

Norm Lyons

Dean and Carol MacKenzie

William and Kathleen Maguire

Jay Mandarino

John Marrack

Diane Marshall

Tony Martin

Eileen Mayo

Patrick McCauley

James McClure

Carole and Allan McPhee

Deborah Mitchell

Yarek Mlyzarczyk

Paula Niewustraten

Hilda O’Brien

Jack O’Neil

Elise Orenstein

Jean Paul Pacciocco

Pauline Perrow

Lisa Piggott

Nick and Mary Piraino

Shirley and Russel Plumley

Robert & Karen Quinn

Mimma Reszitnyk

Jean Seguin

Ruth Shaw

Italo and Peggy Simionati

Shari Stoch

Hon. Ray and Mary Kay Stortini

Amber Stuart

Harriet Thomas

Christopher Tossell

Donald Trottier

Diane Wagner

Josefa Wearmouth

Dr. Lynn Wells

Maggie Wygant

Laura Zimmer

DONATIONS

A & A King Family Foundation

ACPOSB

Alexander Henry High School

Book Events

CIBC World Markets Children’s Miracle Foundation

Centreville Public School

College Boreal

Consulting Engineers of Ontario (CEO)

Down Syndrome Association

F.K. Morrow Foundation

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts

Halton District School Board

IBM Canada Ltd Employee Charitable Fund

Jackman Foundation

LDA Durham Region

Liquor Control Board of Ontario

London Life Employees Trust

Microcomputer Science Centre

Midas Touch Imports

Ontario Power Generation Employees Trust

Ontario School Counsellors Association

Orano Limited Market Mall Pharmacy

Rome’s Independent Grocer

S. Golvin Charitable Foundation

Teachers Life Insurance Society

The Country Day School

Toronto Catholic District School Board

University of Ottawa

Verity International Limited

26 COMMUNIQUE

LDA Chapters Around the Province LDA Chatham-KentChatham-Kent Secondary School285 McNaughton Ave. EPO Box 1424, Chatham, ON N7M 5W8Contact: Dawn BabkirkTel: (519) 352-2024Fax: (519) 352-0734Email: ldack@netrover.comWeb site: www.ldchatham-kent.org

LDA Durham RegionP.O. Box 346, Pickering, ON L1V 2R6Contact: Donna Stevens-Cook

or Jutta GenovaTel: (905) 426-1442Email: info@ldadr.on.ca

LDA Halton County560 Guelph Line, Suite 9, Burlington, ON L7R 3M4Contact: Heather HoldenTel: (905) 333-1977Fax: (905) 333-8116Web site: www.ldahalton.ca

LDA Kingston417 Bagot St., Kingston, ON K7K 3C1Contact: Annabelle WilliamsTel: (613) 545-0373Fax: (613) 549-7855Email: ldak@kingston.comWeb site:http://kingston.com

LDA Kitchener-Waterloo171 Frederick St , KitchenerP.O. Box 29026 Frederick Plaza PostalOutletKitchener, ON N2H 6S6Contact: Charlotte BuchanTel: (519) 743-9091Fax: (519) 743-9027Email: ldakw@golden.netWeb site: www.ldakw.on.ca

LDA Lambton County560 Exmouth Street, Ste. 103Sarnia, ON N7T 5P5Contact: Annie SheehanTel: (519) 344-4919Fax: (519) 344-0380Email: ldalc@xcelco.on.caWeb site: www.sarnia.com/groups/lda-lc

LDA London Region205 Oxford Street E. Suite 205 London, ON N6A 5G6Contact: Tracy FawdryTel: (519) 438-6213Fax: (519) 438-0368E-mail: ldaoinfo@ldalondon.caWeb site: www.ldalondon.caLDA London Region services The City of London and the counties of Oxford,Middlesex, Perth, Huron, Bruce, Grey and Elgin

LDA Mississauga165 Dundas St. W., Suite 400, Mississauga, ON L5B 2N6Contact: Carla WarwickTel: (905) 272-4100Fax: (905) 272-4863E-mail: mississauga@ldapeel.comWeb site: http://www.ldapeel.com

LDA Niagara366 St. Paul St., St. Catharines, ON L2R 3N2Contact: Dawne MachTel: (905) 641-1021Fax: (905) 641-2336Email: ldaniagara@cogeco.net

LDA North Peel104-150 Central Park Dr., Brampton, ON L6T 2T9Contact: Carla WarwickTel: (905) 791-4100Fax: (905) 791-5189Email: mcollens.ldanp@bellnet.caWeb site: www.ldapeel.com

LDA Ottawa-Carleton160 Percy St., Ottawa, ON K1R 6E5Contact: Michelle Reis-Amores Tel: (613) 567-5864Fax: (613) 567-5979Email: ldaoc@rogers.comWeb site: http://ldao-c.ncf.ca/

LDA PeterboroughPeterborough Offi ce:159 King Street, Unit 204, Peterborough, ON K9J 2R8Contact: Shari DavisTel: (705) 748-9455Fax number: (705) 748-9455Toll Free: 1-866-503-3303E-mail: administration@ldaptbo.com

Northumberland Service:c/o Baltimore PS 9320 Burwash Rd.,Box 120, Baltimore, ON K0K 1C0Tel: (905) 377-9414Fax: (905) 377-9414 (phone fi rst)E-mail: ldanorth@bellnet.ca

Clarington Service:93 King St. W., Suite 204, Bowmanville, ON L1C 1R2Tel: (905) 623-1852Fax: (905) 623-1852 phone fi rstEmail: ldaclar@bellnet.ca

City of Kawartha Lakes Service206 Lindsay Street SouthLindsay, ON K9V 2N3Tel: (705) 324-2596Fax: (705) 324-2596 (phone fi rst)E-mail: ldackl@bellnet.ca

LDA Sault Ste. Marie898 Queen St., Sault Ste. Marie, ON P6A 2B4Contact: Susana HerranzTel: (705) 942-4310Fax: (705) 942-9228E-mail: learningdisabilities@shaw.caWeb site: http://www.geocities.com/ldassm

LDA Simcoe County76 Mulcaster St., 2nd FloorBarrie, ON L4M 3M4Contact: Shari PryceTel: (705) 726-5553 Toll Free: 1-866-919-5372Fax: (705) 730-1416E-mail: ldoffi ce@ldass.orgWeb site: www.ldass.org

LDA SudburyLockerby Composite School,1391 Ramsey View Court, PO Box 21038,Plaza 69, Sudbury, ON P3E 6G6Contact: Ron LessardTel: (705) 522-0100Fax: (705) 522-2289E-mail: info@ldasudbury.caWeb site: www.ldasudbury.ca

LDA Thunder BayP.O. Box 21090 Grandview Mall,Thunder Bay, ON P7A 8A7Contact: Lisa CoccimiglioTel: (807) 622-9741

LDA Toronto District203-121 Willowdale Ave., Toronto, ON M2N 6A3Contact: Mimi HoffmanTel: (416) 229 -1680Fax: (416) 229-1681E-mail: admin@ldatd.on.caWeb site: http://www.ldatd.on.ca

LDA Wellington County#233, 17A, 218 Silvercreek Pkwy. N.,Guelph, ON N1H 8E8Contact: Karen GuseTel: (519) 837-2050E-mail: wclda@rogers.com

LDA Windsor-Essex CountyHerb Gray Centre for Non-Profi t Excellence647 Ouellette Ave., Suite #101, Windsor, ON N9A 4J4Contact: Beverly ClarkeTel: 519-252-7889Fax: 519-252-4169E-mail: learningdisabilities@on.aibn.comWeb: http://www.ldawe.ca

LDA York Region221-11181 Yonge St., Richmond Hill, ON L4S 1L2Contact: Lynn ZiraldoTel: (905) 884-7933Fax: (905) 770-9377E-mail: info@ldayr.orgWeb site: www.ldayr.org

SUMMER 27

365 Bloor Street East,Suite 1004, Box 39,

Toronto, Ontario M4W 3L4Tel: (416) 929-4311Fax: (416) 929-3905

E-mail: membership@ldao.caWebsite: www.ldao.ca

Charitable Registration Number:124367145RR0001