Photo and story by Louise Kinross Michelle Luis (above) loves to write and sing her own songs. It was during recess when she was “coming up with beats to write” in her head, that a girl from another class began bullying her. “My friends would be playing sports, and since...
By Louise Kinross Erin Dowds helps parents connect with babies who show signs of autism. The early childhood educator and researcher at Holland Bloorview is adapting the Social ABCs—a program where parents are coached to read their toddler’s social cues and engage them through play—for babies aged six to 15...
By Louise Kinross Irene Simpson (photo right) recalls tiptoeing into rooms at Bloorview Children’s Hospital to place stockings at the foot of children’s beds on Christmas Eve in the 1990s. “There was one patient who believed in Santa and every time I went in, he was wide awake,” she says....
By Louise Kinross In Canada, children with cerebral palsy are usually diagnosed before they’re 18 months old. In Ethiopia, the average age is five-and-a-half years—missing a critical window for therapy that can improve a child’s life. Dr. Selamenesh Tsige (above), a former pediatrician at Addis Ababa University hospital, knew this...
By Louise Kinross Shiny Misfits is a children’s book about standing out. It’s written by American comedian Maysoon Zayid (above) and illustrated by Colombian Shadia Amin. The protagonist is 10-year-old Bay Ann, a Muslim girl with a disability who is passionate about tap dancing. She craves the spotlight and dreams of going...
By Louise Kinross During COVID, Gunjan Seth (photo right) became very sick and realized she had to find some respite from caring for her son Ajay (left), now 16, who has autism. Respite care gives parents a short break from the emotional and physical demands of caring for a child...
By Louise Kinross Samuel Habib is a 24-year-old New Hampshire college student who wants to date. He drives a 350-pound wheelchair and has laboured speech, so dictating what he wants to say to someone who types it into his voice device is painstaking. “I want to figure out how to...
By Louise Kinross Switching schools is tough. In All About Me, a girl with a disability navigates her first day at an elementary school. The book is written by Desiree Da Costa, a former client at Holland Bloorview who is now a staff member registering children and families and scheduling clinics....
By Louise Kinross John Cooper lives with his wife Celia and children James, 11, and Claire, 9, on the edge of their organic farm in Winterville, Georgia. Celia runs the farm and John is a partner in a family investment company, working from an office at the farm. James has...
By Louise Kinross Last year a groundbreaking study found that Black people in American counties with more Black primary-care doctors live longer. Yet research shows that Black medical students have higher rates of burnout and attrition than white students. Now a new study explores why so few Black medical students in Canada become surgeons....
By Louise Kinross For children with cerebral palsy and limited movement, walking in a walker can be exhausting, often painful, work. The Trexo is a robotic frame that attaches to a walker and powers leg movements so children can experience comfortable, pain-free walking while using their body in new ways....
By Louise Kinross Every year CoorDown, an Italian group of associations for people with Down syndrome, releases a thought-provoking ad for World Down Syndrome Day. This year it’s ‘Assume that I can,’ featuring Toronto actor Madison Tevlin. Madison questions the assumptions many hold about people with Down syndrome: That they...
By Louise Kinross In many ways, Sadie Trant (above) is a typical 13-year-old. She loves listening to Taylor Swift albums and learning to play her songs on the piano. ‘I wish!” she says, when asked if she’s seen Taylor in concert. Sadie has low vision, so when she started to...
By Louise Kinross Ontario adults with disabilities like autism and Down syndrome are 1.5 to 2.7 times more likely to die of breast, colon and lung cancer after receiving a diagnosis than those without, according to a population-based study published in The Canadian Journal of Public Health last month. “We...
By Louise Kinross (above, on Max) Capes for Kids is Holland Bloorview’s annual fundraiser. For a week, we don capes to raise dollars to support numerous hospital programs that wouldn’t exist otherwise. They include research on technology and inclusion; Spiral Garden, our summer arts camp in the lush ravine; the...
By Louise Kinross Di Huang (above left) was intrigued by an art group at Holland Bloorview that connects parents of children with disabilities with nature. “We made our own paint, and the ingredients we used were spirulina powder for green, beet root powder for pink, and cocoa powder for brown,” Di...
By Louise Kinross Numerous studies show racial bias in health care. For example, Black children receive autism diagnoses much later than white peers, and Black children are less likely than white children to be given pain medicine when they visit an ER for a broken bone or appendicitis. Nerissa Hutchinson...
By Louise Kinross The Country of the Blind is a fascinating book about journalist Andrew Leland’s gradual loss of sight over decades due to a genetic eye disease. It was named one of The New Yorker’s best books of 2023. In it Andrew shares how his experience of blindness generated...
By Louise Kinross Every person has inherent value. Patients look to doctors to affirm their wholeness in the face of chronic and terminal conditions. When doctors see a patient as a problem checklist—rather than a unique person—they do real harm to patients. These are ideas Dr. Harvey Max Chochinov hopes...
