Oakville Beaver, 8 Feb 2013, p. 7

The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

A helping hand for parents of children with special needs By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF The Halton District School Board's Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) wants people to understand they are not alone. There are other parents in the community who have children with special education needs and those parents can be a resource to others. "There are people who are going through the same thing as you and they may have answers for you, direct you to a resource or just be a friend," said SEAC chair Amy McKenzie. To this effect, SEAC, in partnership with the school board, has organized a number of coffee chats over the next few months, where people can learn about a variety of issues that relate to caring for children with special needs, and most importantly, chat among each other. And yes, the free chats include coffee and other refreshments and snacks. The chats will take place in all four corners of the region with morning and evening events planned, to ensure all parents have a chance to make it. The first coffee chat was in Georgetown on Wednesday, Jan. 16 where parents learned how they can work with teachers for the benefit of the students. Following the guest presentation at each event, parents then get a chance to talk to each other. "What we're trying to be is a parent-to-parent connection," McKenzie said. SEAC hosted expert chats before, but learned from attendees that parents really just wanted to be able to speak with each other. "Sometimes parents with children with special needs, especially if their high-needs children, they don't get out much. They are not able to do much more than they do already," McKenzie said. SEAC is also making it easier for parents to be able to attend these coffee chats. Through a government grant, SEAC can subsidize the cost of respite care for parents so that they can attend. SEAC, which is an advisory committee to the school board, decided to hold the coffee chats in an effort to be a greater resource to parents. "All the people who are on the Special Education Advisory Committee are either parents of children with special needs or they are parents who have gone through the system already and want to help other parents," McKenzie said. "One of the most important things to us was communication, not just between us and the board, but between us and parents." Following is a list of future coffee chats: · Tuesday, Feb. 12: "Ring of Safety: Teaching people with disabilities the skills to prevent abuse", presented by Dave Hingsburger at Craig Kielburger Secondary School, 1151 Ferguson Dr., Milton, from 9:30 a.m.-noon. · Monday, March 18: "Financial Planning for parents of special needs children", presented by Graeme Treeby at M.M. Robinson High School, 2425 Upper Middle Rd., Burlington from 7-9:30 p.m. · Friday, April 12: General interest at Garth Webb Secondary School, 2820 Westoak Trails Blvd., Oakville from 9:30-11 a.m. · Thursday, May 16: General interest at Robert Bateman High School, 5151 New St., Burlington from 7-9:30 p.m. For more information, or to apply for respite care subsidies, contact McKenzie at amy@mkz.com, SEAC vice-chair Jason Bartlett at bartlett.jason@gmail.com or superintendent of education-student services David Boag at boagd@hdsb.ca. 7 · Friday, February 8, 2013 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.insideHALTON.com Sore Feet, Sports Injury, Painful Ingrown Toenails? Plantar Warts? We can help! Exceptional footcare for all ages. · Routine footcare · Corns & calluses · Plantar warts · Heel/arch/foot pain · Diabetic footcare and education · Thick or ingrown nails · Nail surgery · Sports related foot problems & injuries · Custom made orthotics · Sigvaris® compression stockings · Evenings and saturday appointments available · New patients welcome! J. Richard Werkman CHIROPODIST Campaign to promote safety while driving near snow plows A public awareness campaign has been officially launched in Oakville to coincide with the most recent winter storm to hit the area. Headed by the Ontario Road Builders' Association (ORBA), the Let Us Lead the Way ­ Snow Plow Safety campaign is meant to help prevent collisions involving snow plows. The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says driving too fast for winter conditions and reckless passing of snow plows are major causes of winter collisions, which can be prevented if drivers use more caution when approaching the plows. Some safety tips include: · be patient and keep a safe distance behind working snow plows · slow down, never pass or drive beside a plow · when approaching a snow plow from the opposite direction, stay right, allowing enough space for the plow to operate safely Visit www.snowplowsafety.ca for more safe winter driving tips and road condition updates. Visit our website, subscribe to our Blog or call for an appointment. Ample Free parking. located on the north/west corner of maple grove dr. and cornwall rd. 1495 Cornwall Rd., Suite 33, Oakville T: 905-845-4817 www.werkman.ca Privileged to help. We're honoured to celebrate our 20th anniversary. My staff and I look forward to many more with you. Thank you for your continued support and business. ® Get to a better StateTM. Get State Farm. CALL ME TODAY. 50 SHOP LOCAL SPECIALS! OFF % SELECT SHOES AND BOOTS. All German made Semler and Clarks boots 50% off. All Fall stock of Orthaheel 50% off All Women's MBT's shoes and sandals 50% off (upto size 42). Select Lowa and Tenica Shoes 50% off. Certain terms & conditions may apply. Offer valid until March 15/13 or until quantities last. Mention this ad to get discounts. In stock items only Michelle Cooper Ins and Fin Sv Michelle Cooper, Agent 43-1545 Cornwall Road Oakville 905-826-4900 www.michellecooper.ca 1304159CN State Farm, Canadian Head Office, Aurora, Ontario Open Tuesday - Sunday, Closed Monday

Powered by / Alimenté par VITA Toolkit
Privacy Policy