-
Listen to Dr. Ashleigh Molloy's interview with Frank Proctor on AM 740 Saturday, March 21 on World Down Syndrome Day.
-
RDSP Pressure is OFF
Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, announced that the deadline for opening an RDSP, making contributions and applying for the matching Grant and the income-tested Bond for the 2008 contribution year has been extended to March 2, 2009 from December 31, 2008. The 2009 RDSP contribution year will begin March 3, 2009.
This means that there is no longer the need to rush out to BMO before December 31 to open an RDSP in order to receive the 2008 Grants and Bonds. The extension of the deadline may also allow time for additional financial institutions to enter into the RDSP marketplace thus providing families with options with respect to where the RDSP's are place.
-
The RDSP is Here
Today the Bank of Montreal announced that they will have an RDSP application form available by Monday December 22, 2008. You can call the investment centre before Monday if you wish and they will make arrangements to fax or email the application to you on the 22nd. Their number at the call centre is 1-800-665-7700. Their hours are Monday to Friday, 7AM to 11PM and Saturday 9AM-5PM. They will take your information and send/fax/email you an application. You can then mail/fax the completed application back to them. The plan can hold all the same investments as an RRSP i.e. GICs, mutual funds, savings accounts etc.
Unfortunately, BMO is the only choice available at this point. That is not to say that they may not be a good choice, but I always like to have more than one option. Early in 2009 there should be several other financial institutions with plans available. We at the Special Needs Planning Group will be in a position of offering personalized service to those of you who wish to wait until these other options become available or for those who choose to switch plans if a better option comes along.
Most people need not panic due to the short time frame available to qualify for the 2008 Registered Disability Savings Grants and Bonds. Only those people with disabilities who are 30 years of age and older stand to loose 1 year of grants and bonds from the Federal Government if they delay establishing the plan until 2009. Others will be able to collect the full 20 years of grants even if they start their RDSP in 2009. In addition, the government has the option not to pay the 2008 grants and bonds until June 2010 and so the earnings from 2008 grants and bonds may not be an issue.
We look forward to meeting all your RDSP needs in the future.
Graeme Treeby
The Special Needs Planning Group
Your RDSP Centre
www.specialneedsplanning.ca
It's Official - RDSP will not result in a claw back to ODSP
benefits
Over the past months, Community Living Ontario has been working with
other disability advocacy organizations in Ontario to press the
government to ensure that people will be able to invest in the new
Registered Disability Saving Program (RDSP) without effecting the income
they received through the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP)
Income Supports.
We have just received word (see attached) that the government announced
today that they have listed and will be allowing investments in RDSP
without any claw back to ODSP benefits. This is great news that will
help many to save for their future needs. Thanks to those of you who
assisted in our recent letter writing campaign to the Premier on this
matter and who took other actions to raise this issue with their local
MPP. You have been heard.
Gordon Kyle
Director of Social Policy and Government Relations
Community Living Ontario
Toronto Star: Niki's a proud delivery boy
Down syndrome scout excited for opportunity to spend another year giving gift boxes to kids [more]
Good news ... attendants can travel for free if needed for in-flight assistance, and people who need more than one seat due to their size, and where their size has caused a disability, are only allowed to be charged one fare. Hats off to the Council of Canadians with Disabilities for pursuing this case for years to its just conclusion!
Council of Canadians with Disabilities Press Release
PUSH Northwest Press Release
-
WE WISH TO THANK ALL OF OUR SPONSORS FOR
THEIR GENEROUS SUPPORT OF THE 2008 DSAO PROVINCIAL CONFERENCE
Conference workshop info
Platinum
- Cochrane Family
- Sick Kids Foundation
Gold
Silver
Coffee
Break
- Down Syndrome Association-National
Capital Region
Bronze
- Down Syndrome Association of Hamilton
- World's Finest Chocolate
Dinner
Table
- Durham Down Syndrome Association
-
Hello
All You Dancers Out There!
Get ready to come out and have some fun! The next dance is
January 9th.
View photos
Parents, if you've already signed a waiver, no need to do
it again! But please, all parents must remember to sign the
contact sheet each dance and add the names of any teens who
you are car-pooling with.
See Krystal's
review!
-
1001 Drawings ... Drawing ourselves
closer to people living with intellectual disabilities
An invitation to become a partner in a
public action campaign without precedent on the Internet.
The challenge is simple, and it is
addressed to everyone, young and old: To create more than
1001 drawings, honouring people living with intellectual
disabilities, before the celebration of the International
Day of Persons with Disabilities, December 3, 2008! To mark
this special day, a slide show featuring all of the
drawings received will be shown in a variety of places
around the world. All of the drawings will also be
disseminated widely across the Internet. [more]
-
AN INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE IN The
Family Quality of Life Research Project ... [more]
-
MUSIC MORNING AT
SURREY PLACE CENTRE
Join us for an adventure in music, discussions, and
refreshments With participation by: Occupational
Therapists; Speech and Language Pathologists; Developmental
Therapists; and more
-
Back to School
Anxiety
What can parents do to help their children start off the
school year in a positive way?
-
Postitive
Transition By Stephanie Jones, North York Region’s Home
Management Consultant.
Q: How can I help my child make a positive transition back
to school?
-
Announcing Keys To The Studio
Original music from people diagnosed with developmental and
intellectual disabilities is virtually absent in the world
of the arts. To begin filling this void, we now give you …
Keys To The Studio, a music program designed specifically
for this group of emerging musicians. [more]
-
The Basics: Supporting Learners With
Intellectual Challenge In Regular Classrooms
A Resource for Teachers By Gary Bunch
Supporting Learners Series: Resources for Teachers
This is the first of a series of short, readable, positive
support books for teachers that focus on the unique
‘enabling adjustments’ that may be required to provide the
best possible learning opportunities for all students –
together in regular classrooms. Each book will focus on the
adjustments a particular disability label might require. In
particular, each book will support the thesis that good
teaching is good teaching, thus the most critical training
supports teachers need are the enormous creative resources
they already have in their teaching careers. Good teaching
works for all. Good teachers already know how to do that.
Get yours today, along with Effective Teaching Strategies
for Successful Inclusion (A Resource Guide for Educators
and Parents) By PREP
Contact DSAT: info@dsat.ca or (416) 966-0990
Cost: $25 (for both books) plus $2.60 shipping and handling
-
Call for a prenatal and postnatal
diagnosed condition awareness act:
Today, about 90% of children diagnosed with Down syndrome
are aborted in North America. That percentage is comparable
for children diagnosed with other conditions such as spina
bifida, dwarfism, cystic fibrosis etc. If screening
programs are extended, attitudes, education and awareness
programs should also be extended. Support and access to
information about the condition can make all the difference
to a woman trying to make an informed and difficult
decision.
In the U.S. Senators Kennedy and Brownback
recently re-introduced the ‘Prenatal and Postnatal
Diagnosed Condition Awareness Act’. The NSDSS started a
petition to urge our Canadian political leaders to create a
similar bill. This act will ensure that prospective and new
parents have access to reliable information about the
diagnosed condition and connections with support groups are
made. It should also provide for the establishment of
awareness and education programs for health care providers
etc. Creating this act could mean another important step
towards a collective recognition of the value of each
unique individual.
Please make a difference and sign the petition and forward it to anyone who
might be interested.
Waves of Change
Renate Lindeman
Nova Scotia Down Syndrome Society
www.novascotiadownsyndromesociety.com
mail@novascotiadownsyndromesociety.com
-
Promoting Workplace Safety to the
Disabled Community
Everyone working in Ontario has the right to a safe and
healthy workplace. But, for the tens of thousands of
disabled people employed or seeking employment in this
province, getting the information they need to ensure their
health and safety at work can be a challenge. [more]
-
If
People with Down Syndrome Ruled the World ...
This paper was originally delivered as a plenary address at
the conference in Chicago in July of 2005, co-sponsored by
the National Down Syndrome Society and the National
Association for Down Syndrome.
-
Raising
Krystal ... an article from Today's Parent, March 2006.
Madeleine Greey was seven months pregnant when she learned
her baby had Down syndrome. Sixteen years later, she shares
their journey.
-
R.E.A.L.
Life Recreation and Education for Active Living
A unique urban & rural experience that offers teens and
adults the opportunity to learn new skills, be productive &
build meaningful, independent lives.
-
$3.00
admission for support person accompanying a person with a
disability to a movie
