Robotics??

I know you may be wondering why I am including an article about robotics on a FASD forum, but writing about tech is my other writing career.  I love tech for our children because it provides science and math instruction in game format which they love to play.  Video games are all about telling a social story in a visual format which is exactly what our children with FASD need.  Finally, robotics, game creation, and digital cinematology give immediate feedback to our children whether they were successful or not.  Do you need your 10 year old to learn cause and effect?  Hand him a robot and let him go to town.

In our schools or media today, you may have seen the acronym STEM or STEAM.  In Canada, there is an acknowledgement that Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics are cross-curricular or related to each other.  There is also a recent development where Art is also understood to be connected.  Canadian economists see the fastest growing industry for the next twenty years to be STEM related jobs which is why the Ontario Ministry of Education is now focusing on numeracy instruction.  However, as parents, it can be difficult to stay up with all the new developments happening in this field.  Well, don’t worry, you don’t need to know it all, because all the resources you need are readily available.

I believe you should always look for items that are well established and have good tech support.  In the world of robotics, Lego continues to lead the pack.  Every techy child knows how to build with Lego, and Lego gives you the entire schematic right on their website.  And because they are so well-known, there are Youtube videos for every question you can imagine.  Lego is phasing out the NXT model so don’t go cheap and buy from Kiiji.  You don’t get any support and good luck getting replacement parts.  The easiest thing to do is buy the EV3 basic kit for $400 which will provide you with everything you need to participate in the Robotics Competition that happens every May in Ottawa  http://www.orc.ieeeottawa.ca/en/.  And you program it from the Lego Mindstorms program which can be done right from the brick or any standard laptop.  If you don’t want to start that expensive, I would suggest the Dash robot from Wonder which sells for about $200 at Toys R Us.  Don’t get the Dash and Dot kit.  Dot doesn’t do anything.  The reason I would suggest this one is because of the related apps.  Wonder provides the Go app, Blockly app, and Wonder app free on both Android and Apple.  The Go app basically runs it like a remote-control robot and fabulous for the beginner.  Blockly allows the child to learn how to program and Wonder is essentially game creation.  The Blockly language is the most common type of beginner coding.  The best part is once your child learns Blockly, they will be able to apply this learning in a lot of different areas.  The reason I like Wonder over the other 100 robots on the market, though, is the support they provide.  There are online contests your child can participate in, loads of tutorials online, and actual people who will reply to your questions.  They are new but seem to have the lead right now on this market.  And like I said, you can always go to Lego later if necessary. 

Robotics lend themselves so well to STEM education.  With Lego, you can start with the large blocks in kindergarten, go to the smaller blocks in grades 1-3 and then start building your robot in grades 4-6.  Most robots I see are basically vehicles.  What the child doesn’t realize is they are learning about automotive engineering, using math like patterning and symmetry and figuring out what creates speed and force.  On top of it, they also learn coding and programming through universal languages.  And the best part for parents is they don’t need to know anything.  Every child I have worked with will inevitably ask me how to do something.  I always reply, “Figure it out yourself.”  If they come back a second time, I tell them, "Look it up on Google.”  I haven’t had a child yet who couldn’t figure it out eventually.  In our school system today, the emphasis is on inquiry learning or discovery learning.  The students are expected to figure these things out independently.

When you consider an 8^th grader has never lived in a world without smartphones, STEM is here to stay.  The reason our children are so much more comfortable with technology then we were is simply because it is all they have known.  As an elementary math teacher, when parents ask what should they be working on at home, I tell them “Don’t worry about the times tables, look at buying some Lego.”

Rob More is a tech writer for Canadian Family magazine, a Capital Region Educator Finalist 2016, member of the Centre of Excellence in Mathematics and Computing, and lead instructor of the Beckwith Summer Tech Camp.

Lanark Leeds Grenville FASD Working Group announcement

The following letter has been sent to the following people:

For Education

Susan Wilson CDSBEO Special Education Advisory Committee Chair who wants to talk and have us present at the next meeting

Dr. Donaleen Hawes, CDSBEO Director of Education

Bill Macpherson, Upper Canada School Board Special Education Advisory Committee Chair who will read the letter at the next meeting.

For Mental Health

Dr. Laurie Dube  Mental Health and Addition for Lanark, Leeds Grenville Board of Directors Chair who will read the letter at the next meeting

Brian Turner Mental Health and Addition for Lanark, Leeds Grenville Board of Directors member as well as Chair of Carleton Place Drug Advisory Chair

For Politics

Randy Hillier, MPP for Lanark

Sophie Kiwala, MPP

Michael Coteau, MPP

Steve Clark, MPP who wants to talk thanks to Diane

For Corrections

Larry Bagnell, MP

Yasir Navqi, MPP

Gord Boyd, Chair of local Human Services Justice Coordinating Committee

Media

EMC newspaper

Almonte Millstone

Hometown News Smiths Falls

North Grenville News

Kemptville TV

Lake 88.1

Jack-FM 93.9

May 8, 2017

To Whom May Concern,

On June 12, 2014, a small group of social service providers from the areas of Lanark, Leeds, and Grenville came together through a shared concern of how to best serve the local people who are directly impacted by FASD. This group then began reaching out and creating a network of both individuals, caregivers and service providers to begin the dialogue on what could be done. Through this network, the LLG FASD Working Group was formed and the first "FASD Community Conversation took place on December 8, 2016.

Through this conversation involving multiple agencies and impacted families, we have created this summary of the key themes and points raised by the "FASO Community Conversation" as a means of communicating the strengths, needs, desires and challenges faced by those impacted by FASD in Lanark, Leeds and Grenville Counties.

It was quickly obvious that all parties were aware of what FASD is, the impact it is having on our communities, that education is happening in all aspects of our society, and that our highly collaborative and transparent service providers are wanting to support these individuals.

However, it was also equally obvious that education is still necessary for families and service providers, there is a complete lack of available services and supports for FASD impacted individuals, and that those individuals have very little understanding on how to find those services. Frustration was also seen related to an inability to find someone who can provide a diagnosis for FASD. Interestingly, it was pointed out that our findings correspond with the prominent themes of Granville Anderson's 2015 roundtable report.

Further research was done on current Canadian FASO programs and the British Columbia model is seen as an excellent example. Their model focuses on navigation, diagnostics, outreach, and networking. In particular, their "Key Worker Program" which is being copied by Citizen Advocacy in Ottawa is the starting point for accessing all necessary resources. This model is so important because when an individual impacted by FASD is in crisis, they can't navigate or even problem solve. This third-party individual becomes the person who can lead them to their solutions and break down their barriers.

Based on these findings, the LLG FASO Working Group recommends the following Ministry­ funded initiatives to support these individuals and families.

A "Key Worker Program" that would serve our communities

FASO specialized respite, community support and life-skill development Eligibility to access current services

Increased availability and access to diagnostic resources

The LLG FASO Working Group is also currently creating the following resources. 

Development of a local Lanark, Leeds and Grenville FASO resource list 

Development of a local LLG FASO caregiver and individual support group

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder is a preventable, lifelong disability with no current cure, resulting from prenatal exposure to alcohol. Individuals with FASO have significant risk for disrupted education, incarceration, homelessness, mental health challenges, addiction and shortened life spans. These individuals tend to have learning and memory difficulties, impaired decision-making, social difficulties, health challenges, high anxiety and impulsivity and communication challenges. With supportive modeling and guidance, though, these individuals have demonstrated over and over again, they have the capability of being productive and valued members of our society. Approximately, 6,000+ people in Lanark and Leeds and Grenville Counties are directly impacted by FASO and do not currently meet the eligibility requirements to access any current developmental services.

As Ontario gets set to reveal the details of its first FASO strategy, the LLG FASO Working Group waits with great anticipation that we may finally have the necessary tools to make a real difference in our rural counties and invite the Ontario government and key stakeholders to collaborate with us in providing these supports and resources.

Sincerely,

Erin Bertrand, Chair FASO Working Group Lanark, Leeds & Grenville (613)345-1290  ebertrand@developmentalservices.com

Managing FASD - http://www.adopt4life.com/blog/ article

When I think about my three adopted children who have been diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, I think about how they absolutely amaze me.  Life is hard for all of us, but for them, the level of work they have to put in to achieve any success is mind-boggling.  And yet, they persevere and keep going forward because they truly believe they can do it.

FASD has become a talking point particularly in the adoption world as research continues to pour in about it.  The province of Ontario has just announced they are giving 26 million dollars over the next four years to support those individuals who live with this permanent brain injury and the people who serve as their external brains.  When our children first came to us, we had real questions as to whether they would be able to trust or love anyone.  We had questions about their ability to speak.  And we had questions as to whether they would ever be healthy.  My younger daughter was eight years old before she showed the ability to read anything.  My oldest daughter was nine before she understood that adults should take care of babies, not eight year olds.  We have seen urologist, pediatricians, psychiatrists, psychologists, ultrasound doctors, audiologists, allergists, and therapists.  And frankly, there are probably more but we have lost count at this point.

But we have found when you ask for help, people will line up.  Our immediate family see and appreciate our children as much as we do.  We know either grandma will be just fine babysitting the children.  Our medical team consists of open minded individuals willing to explore possibilities.  Our educational team are constantly asking us for advice and maintain exactly the same expectations as we do.  Our church friends have been the true friends who have stuck by us even when things get off the rails.  And our FASD network have been huge in providing answers, encouragement and love.  But ultimately, it comes down to us.  The amount of talking my wife and I do with each other is immense.  A typical night for us will include an hour of talking about everything that happened that day and spending time together.  Both my wife and I jealously guard our home and evenings.  We don’t have social media, we only have one phone we answer, and there was only four nights last year where one of us wasn’t home.  Our home is the safe zone where our children and my wife and I decompress on a nightly basis and the reason we can laugh and have fun on a regular basis.

And so we persevere.  My seventeen year old now still needs reminders on how much a loonie is, but can tell you exactly how much a horse weighs by just looking at it.  My sixteen year old needs a digital watch and a reminder the first number is the hour, but can bake a pie the local bakery will sell on its shelf.  My eleven year old is the loudest in the house, but needs everyone else to talk quietly.  And yet, he will spend hours cutting down trees and create firewood for the family.

Managing FASD isn't easy.  We say having FASD isn't a life sentence, it just life.  We have to constantly monitor our children's anxiety levels.  We need routine in every aspects of our life.  We need to surround ourselves with people who get them and appreciate their strengths.  We recognize at some point they will need to live independently and that scares us deeply.  But that is why establishing that solid foundation now is so important.  When you consider that CAS had worked with the last three generations of our children's birth family, we know they have the capacity to finally break the cycle. 

It is fascinating to us how well we complement each other.  Each one of us need the other four for love and support, and we all have unique strengths the family depends on.  That is why we can say with confidence and God’s help that we truly are a forever family.