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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday October 4, 2006 - 15 Young lad speaks out about living with Tourette Syndrome By Wilma Blokhuis OAKVILLE LIVING EDITOR Calvin Cox is destined for a life in the theatre. He'll work the tics into his act. The 12-year-old is living with Tourette Syndrome (TS) and is facing the condition head on. "I have Tourette's," he said. "Tourette's doesn't have me. That's my motto." He challenges those to bully him at school by speaking out about the neurological disorder that causes repetitive, involuntary vocal and motor tics ­ in the classroom. Speaking is not a problem for the lad who aspires to become an actor. This past summer he attended a theatre school and a performing arts camp. Calvin performed in two plays, Annie and You're a Good Man Charlie Brown. "I took extra courses this summer to learning about lighting techniques," he said during a recent interview at East Side Mario's, a restaurant owned by his father Mike Cox at Oakville Place. "I want to learn everything I can about backstage stuff," said the Grade 8 student. In school he's participated in two school theatre productions, Fiddler on the Roof and Cinderella. And, to stop the bullying by creating understanding and awareness about his condition, Calvin has joined a Tourette Syndrome kids group "where we do puppet shows, watch movies and talk about Tourette's. He calls his puppet show Calvin and Friends using 12 puppets. "We also talk about bullying and what it feels like," continued Calvin, adding he's endured the pain of bullying at school. "It feels like you're being punched in the stomach when you're made fun of. People look at you weird. "I tell the kids it's OK to have Tourette's and not to feel bad. You can't help it if people stare at you." Calvin's presentations also include clowning, balloons and magic tricks. He makes snow cones and balloon animals to raise funds for the Tourette Syndrome Association of Ontario (TSAO). "I help my dad with his golf tournaments and I help him with fundraising. I teach kids to help other kids." Last year's tournament raised $8,000 and the second annual event at Deerfield raised $9,000. The Oakville, Burlington and Hamilton TS Support Group also organizes an annual fundraising walk-a-thon in June at Bronte Creek Provincial Park. Calvin said participation in this group has helped him better understand what TS is "and what a tic is. We jump up and down to see how it feels." When speaking in classrooms, Calvin includes in his presentations a 30-minute video titled I Have Tourette's, But Tourette's Doesn't Have Me, produced by Home Box Office (HBO) and the Tourette Syndrome Association in the United States. "I teach kids that having Tourette's is OK." Tics, said Calvin, include uncontrolled arm and hand movements, constant throat clearing, head movements, blinking and rolling of the eyes, or a random word ­ a verbal tic. Calvin learned he had TS when he was in Grade 4 "and when anybody asked me about it I would cry. When I got to Grade 5 I decided I wouldn't let anybody make me cry. I started my program in Grade 6." For comfort, Calvin has a pet. "It's recommended that kids with TS have a dog or a cat," said Calvin. "I have a dog to cheer me up. A pet will always love you." He has a Cockapoo name Scooby Doo. See Surprise page 18 A Credit Score Refresher by Nancy Jakubic Anthony Spadafora yp Mortgage Specialist Forecast: Perfectly warm and comfortably cozy. Count on it with a Lennox® home comfort system. Get up to a $ Instant Discount* with purchase of qualifying Lennox® products. 500 $ a Clean & Check** 10 Off 90 University Ave. West, Cobourg, ON K9A 2G8 905-372-6666 Serving Northumberland County for over 35 Years. TSSA #0076571678 USING CREDIT SCORES in lending decisions is as much art as science ­ especially when the loan is a mortgage. One of the most popular credit scoring models today is the FICOTM score, commonly known as a Beacon or Empirica score. FICOTM Direct 416 895 8610 scores are one of a range of products developed by Fair, Isaac Office ­ 905-828-1122 and Company, an international leader in customer analytics and anthony@assuredmortgage.ca decision technology. In Canada, Equifax sells the Beacon score and www.bestmortgage4you.ca TransUnion sells the Empirica score, but the models behind both 6509-C Mississauga Road, Mississauga, ON L5N 1A6 scores are essentially the same. They differ mostly in the information Rates are based upon approved credit and can change without notification. used to calculate the score and since 95 per cent of lenders report to both bureaus, those differences tend to be negligible. FICOTM scores are produced by a risk model designed to predict the likelihood that an individual will become delinquent on at least one ... the most Valuable Service we Provide credit account over the next two years, and industry experts agree that over 85 per cent of all delinquency is likely to occur within that time frame. The three digit FICOTM score rank-orders a customer in comparison to everyone else with a similar profile. Scores can range from 300 (very high risk) to 900 (extremely low risk). A retailer or credit card company may use automated credit scores as the only decision-making tool, but while FICOTM scores are appearing as one of the standard criteria on many mortgage lenders' product 905.330.7448 anton@tridelta.ca Anton Tucker offerings, it's only one spoke on the decision-making wheel. www.tridelta.ca CFP, FMA, FCSI OAKVILLE NORTH YORK MISSISSAUGA THORNHILL "A FICOTM score has a very specific purpose and it does it very well, but there are other scores that have different attributes," explains Craig Watts, Consumer Affairs Manager for Fair, Isaac Tim Trian, CFA - Portfolio Manager and Company. "Larger lenders in particular will develop a custom , Laura Trian, C.A., CFP CIM - Investment Advisor score, incorporate the FICOTM score, then add in their own collective information, such as a customer account history. This allows them to predict different things and makes the overall accuracy a little finer. Smaller mortgage lenders who may not have either the data or the financial resources to build their own custom scorecards will typically overlay the Beacon or Empirica score in a matrix with another score such as a bankruptcy or fraud score." This is because while FICOTM scores may evaluate fraud or bankruptcy history, they 200-2908 South Sheridan Way, Oakville do not predict the likelihood of fraud or bankruptcy in the future. Tel: 905-829-0600 Credit scoring appeared on the lender landscape 40 years ago when Visit us at http://teamtrian.dundeewealth.com the notion of using computer technology for operational research was just starting to roll. In the mid-1950s, Bill Fair and Earl Isaac, an engineer and a mathematician, were working on military projects at the Stanford Research Institute when they grew intrigued with "Traditionally, mortgage lenders have not provided us with that data but as the idea of applying operations research to the private sector. They first a result of some initiatives in the industry, we are now close to being able to developed a computer model to evaluate a client's assembly line process, download that information," says Rick Cleary, president of Equifax Canada. then followed that success with helping to pioneer the creation of risk "We have a number of customers who are testing the data with us now scoring models for business. and have some protocols in place with the mortgage credit granters, so I expect that we'll see mortgage data appearing in the credit file sometime Developing custom models was labour intensive, and in the mid-1980s Fair next year. and Isaac decided to develop a general-purpose product that was dubbed "FICOTM scores." By the mid-1990s, the mortgage industry brought the "Both national credit reporting agencies are pleased at the prospect of scores to the public's attention when it started using them in loan decision including mortgage information in their credit reports, but will that data analysis. Mortgage professionals began using the scores to qualify be incorporated into the FICOTM score? In the U.S., where mortgage applicants, but details on how the score was calculated were still largely an information has historically been available, it already is; but in Canada, insider secret. As the importance of the scores grew, consumer advocates, lenders have developed credit procedures and policies around scores legislators and regulators began to clamour for more information. without it, so for the time being, mortgage information will be bypassed when calculating the score. "It's particularly important in the mortgage industry to have benchmarks, in part because it's so well regulated," says Watts. "Regulators like While Equifax and TransUnion use Fair, Isaac models to produce and market to see continuity over time and the Beacon and Empirica scores have scores to their clients, they also compete directly with Fair, Isaac and others been identified by a number of governing bodies to be fair and objective with their own complete product lines, including a full range of scoring measures of credit risk. Fair, Isaac improves the models on a regular basis, models. Equifax provides both consumer and commercial decision-scoring which gives lenders the comfort of knowing that the scores are going to tools, as well as sophisticated Internet authentication products. TransUnion continue to improve in performance over time." is noted for its fraud scoring products and also offers Trans Risk Account Management, which allows institutions to prioritize collections and re-issue Lenders can improve their profit and reduce their risk by making sure that their credit cards in an automated environment. they're using the scores appropriately for the business strategy they've defined. For example, they might want to move into a higher risk population "Most lenders look at more than one score when making a decision on while identifying the lowest risk prospects within that population, or examine a piece of credit, and I strongly recommend that they do," says Mark their existing portfolio to identify highest risk customers, recognizing the Merritt, director of TransUnion Canada. "You have to remember that the higher default rates that are likely to accompany this strategy. Beacon and Empirica scores look specifically at risk. A client could have a mid-range Empirica score but a very low bankruptcy score. If you have In March of 2001, Equifax and Fair, Isaac began providing these scores to write off higher-ticket items like a mortgage, it's a substantial loss to to consumers on their U.S. web sites. In June, 2002, Equifax Canada your organization. Where lenders and their analysts spend a tremendous packaged the same score with the consumer credit report, along with a amount of time is on the group of accounts in the middle. Bringing in other personalized explanation of the score, how lenders are likely to view that scores that look at it from a different perspective will help analysts make score and how the score compares to others in the population. Mortgage better decisions." consultants armed with comprehensive information on credit scores can advise their clients on how to improve their score to increase the likelihood Nancy Jakubic is a freelance writer based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. of mortgage approval. Call Me for the Best Mortgage Rates! all 5 year 5.19 % 7 year 5.38% Peace of Mind ... Offer expires November 16, 2006. Both national credit reporting agencies are pleased at... including mortgage information in their credit reports... A FICOTM score's predictive power is dependent on the information in the credit file and data such as income, job history, assets, age, gender or race are not included in the FICOTM calculation. In Canada, mortgage history isn't included in the credit file either, but that's about to change. Column Provided by Assured mortgage services Anthony Spadafora yp Mortgage Specialist © 2006 Lennox Industries Inc. Lennox dealers include independently owned and operated businesses. *See your participating Lennox dealer for details. One offer available per qualifying purchase. Instant Discount offer is valid with the purchase of qualifying Lennox product(s). **Service offer applies to new customers only. The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of this newspaper.