CADDAC’s Meeting with the Ministry of Education and Other Politicians
Meeting with the Ontario Ministry of Education
On March 23, 2021, CADDAC met with Ontario Ministry of Education representatives, Claudine Munroe, Ontario Director, Special Education and Success for All Branches, Anne Sealey, Manager Program Policy and Coordinated Services Unit and Crawford Dedman Senior Policy Advisor. The fact that three representatives were present at the meeting was interpreted as a sign that the campaign, with the help of your e-mails, had successfully captured the Ministry’s attention.
CADDAC opened the meeting by stating that, “The Ministry of Education and school boards across Ontario have made it clear that, despite decades of research proving otherwise, they do not view ADHD as a disability that seriously impacts learning and achievement.” Then opening with the Ministry’s own quote, “The categories are designed to address a wide range of conditions that may affect a student’s ability to learn and that the inclusion of some medical conditions in the definitions is not intended to exclude students with other medical conditions” we explained how the exclusion of ADHD in the categories of exceptionalities was in reality causing great inequity and explicit discrimination of students with ADHD.
The 2011 Memorandum
To support this statement, CADDAC presented a list of benefits that an official designation as an exceptional student (IPRC) provides, that students with ADHD do not receive. We then shared examples of how the Ministry has allowed Ontario school boards to interpret the 2011 Memorandum on Categories of Exceptionalities as they see fit. CADDAC stated that this inability to ensure that school boards followed the memorandum has led to great inconsistency in supports for students with ADHD and resulted in clear human rights violations.
Inequity of Supports
CADDAC shared examples of just how inequitable our special education system in Ontario currently is:
Across most boards students with ADHD are being unfairly punished. The lack of an IPRC designation negates the necessity for principals to consider a student’s medical impairments that may have contributed to the transgression.
Lack of Educator Training
CADDAC then focused on what we see as an extremely significant issue, lack of educator training. Educators receive very minimal training on learning impairments caused by ADHD and even less on appropriate teaching strategies and classroom accommodations, yet are expected to meet the needs of these students. We reminded the Ministry how the inclusion of Autism in the Communication Category led to significant educator training.
Lack of Web site Information and a Voice for ADHD on Education Committees
CADDAC further substantiated the statement that the Ministry does not recognize ADHD as a serious learning risk by pointing out that ADHD does not have a voice on government education committees, such as MACSE and few voices on SEAC, CADDAC being barred representation until very recently. In addition, the Ministry hosts only one document on their web site on ADHD and includes only inappropriate sample IEPs for students with ADHD on their educator web site. This lack of information is especially apparent when compared to the information provided for other neurodevelopmental disorders.
CADDAC’s Ask
CADDAC closed the presentation by pointing out that Ontario is one of the only provinces that does not include ADHD in their categories of exceptionalities. Our ask is that the Ontario Ministry of Education explicitly include ADHD in the Communications Category, and/or that the Communications Category be changed to the Neurodevelopmental Disorder Category, thereby allowing for the inclusion of all neurodevelopmental disorders.
The Ministry’s Response
The Ministry representatives were attentive, acknowledged that they heard what we were saying and shared that they were aware that this request has been presented more than once in the past. They asked about CADDAC resources that we could share with them. Links to CADDAC ADHD educational information were sent to them following the meeting.
The Ministry stated that they were working on some changes, but could not share what they were at this time. CADDAC requested a time for a follow-up meeting when they could share this information. We were told that prior to the summer or early fall would be an appropriate time. We informed them that we would be reaching out for a meeting date prior to the summer. CADDAC also notified them that we would be notifying our followers about the meeting and a media release would be forthcoming.
Additional Political Meetings
CADDAC also recently met with other political representatives to inform them of the issues we presented during our meeting with the Ministry. These representatives offered their support and asked that we keep them in the loop. They also recommended that CADDAC continue to encourage our supporters to reach out to their MPPs, stating that politicians do indeed take great notice of the correspondence that they receive from their constituents.
View documents shared with the Ministry of Education
Written by 19-year-old Jordyn and shared by CADDAC in honour of National Poetry Month. Do you have a poem about your experience with ADHD? Submit it here and we’ll feature it this month!
i feel like alice in wonderland,
toyed like a mouse by the cheshire cat.
chasing a white rabbit with no care for time,
check your pocket watch,
better check it twice.
the mad hatter cackling with crazy eyes,
don't drink his tea,
you have no idea what's inside.
endlessly shuffling a deck of cards,
maybe the mad hatter isn't as crazy as you originally thought.
tweedledee and tweedledum are always telling stories,
but who tells theirs?
poor brothers alone,
but really,
who cares?
queen of hearts must be the evil stepmother,
this is a fairytale after all.
her soldiers are cards,
always played with but never wanted.
don't look into their eyes or listen to their words or you'll be trapped in this world,
trapped in this madness,
except:
"we're all mad here"
…
welcome to wonderland.
Firstly, I would like to thank everyone who has sent an e-mail or tweet to their elected official through CADDAC’s online advocacy campaign. To-date, 178 e-mails have been sent through our Ontario campaign and 289 through our national campaign as well as countless tweets. More are being added every day. A special thanks to those of you who have taken the extra time to share your personal thoughts and stories in the e-mails to your elected officials. It is these personalized e-mails that touch politicians the most.
I would also like to encourage those of you who have not yet contacted your elected official and Minister of Education through this quick and easy tool, to please do so. Since CADDAC has a newsletter following of over six thousand, we sincerely hope to see many more e-mails sent.
I would also like to encourage all of you to share this information with your contact lists. Please access E-mail text to share, which will provide you with an e-mail to send to your friends, family and colleagues. Until those in a decision-making position, understand that their constituents actually do care about students with ADHD, things will remain the same.
At the launch of this campaign CADDAC reached out to every Ministry of Education across Canada except for Quebec. CADDAC is in the process of hiring a bilingual employee and is searching for Quebec partners to assist us in advocacy efforts in that province.
To-date six of the twelve ministries contacted have replied to our e-mail, Nova Scotia, Manitoba, North West Territories, Yukon, Saskatchewan, and Ontario. Of these all six have agreed to meet. We have already met with representatives of the Ministry of Nova Scotia and have meetings booked with the Ministries of North West Territories, Manitoba, Saskatchewan. We are waiting for the meeting times to be set for Ontario and Yukon.
During our calls we expect to discuss ways in which Ministries can improve teacher training in ADHD, ensure that students with ADHD are receiving the resources they require and increase ADHD information on ministry web sites and other platforms to ensure that ADHD is recognized as a serious learning risk. In addition, during these calls we are gathering information on the unique process each province uses to flag students with special needs, when and how they develop individual learning plans for these students and how students with ADHD fare in their process. We are also asking about the role of parents in developing individual education plans.
Due to a media release sent out on January the 21st four media interviews occurred. Interviews with Global News Radio 900 CHML Hamilton, CBC Vancouver, CHEK News Victoria, and a free lance journalist in Alberta resulted in news stories and a live news radio interview.
When our Ministry meetings are completed CADDAC will send out another media release summarizing the meetings and comparing provincial supports for students with ADHD.
CADDAC has also sent out a request to ADHD medical professionals and ADHD support groups across Canada asking that they share the ADHD Right to Learn campaign information far and wide.
Please take a few minutes to help us advocate for students with ADHD across Canada by sending an e-mail or tweet to your elected official and passing on the ADHD Right to Learn campaign information.
Warm regards,
Heidi Bernhardt
CADDAC Founder and Director or Education and Advocacy
Have you heard about CADDAC’s ADHD Education campaign, ADHD Right to Learn?
Are you wondering why you should take a few minutes to contact your elected official and your Minister of Education?
Here’s Why
Elected officials believe that you, their constituents, do not care about ADHD and therefore question why they should care. We need to prove them wrong!
An e-mail or tweet from you will let them know that you do care that children with ADHD receive the special education support they need.
Your elected officials and your Ministry of Education need to be informed that:
During CADDAC’s recent online conference I presented on school advocacy. At the end of the presentation many of the questions were let unanswered or briefly answered. Since many of these questions are common questions that CADDAC receives, I will be sharing the answers to these questions in several blog posts over the next few months.
Written by Heidi Bernhardt R.N.
Question 2
Will my Child with ADHD Receive an Individual Education Plan?
Please note that IEPs or Individual Education Plans are known as SEPs, IPPs, SSPs, and ISSPs in some provinces.
These are a sample of questions I received during my recent online CADDAC presentation on school advocacy.
Questions
“We had a child psychologist do an assessment on her and she was diagnosed with ADHD. The school has the report. The principal said that ADHD doesn't get an IEP!?!?!?”
"The identification system can block a student with ADHD from receiving services if ADHD does not fit into a designated category - what are the possible designated categories for ADHD in ON?”
“I was told by my daughter's principal (in the Thames Valley District School Board) that she didn't qualify to get an IEP because ADHD doesn't get an IEP. Is this accurate?”
“I have same issue - does not qualify for IEP - West Vancouver School District (BC).”
The short and very confusing answer is that it depends on which province you are in, the board and school your child is in and the good will and ADHD knowledge level of the principal and teachers in your child’s school.
Summary of Special Education Systems in Canada and ADHD
This is a brief summary of the current situation across our provinces to help you understand your province’s system in context of all Canadian special education systems.
Access post-secondary for information on the right to accommodations in this environment.
If you currently reside in British Columbia, your child will most likely not have access to an IEP unless they have another disability that fits into one of BCs special needs categories. While BC’s Special Education Guidelines state that “ Individual Education Plan Order M638/95: sets out the requirements for school boards to design and implement individual education plans for students with special needs,” they define a student with special needs as: "A student who has a disability of an intellectual, physical, sensory, emotional or behavioural nature, has a learning disability or has special gifts or talents, as defined in the Manual of Policies, Procedures, and Guidelines, Section E.” The fact that ADHD does not fit into one of the defined categories is used to disqualify a student with ADHD from receiving an IEP. BC has indicated their intent to move to an inclusion system of identification but have not done so at this time.
Ontario has a similar system of identification using five defined categories, behaviour, intellect, communication, physical and multiple. ADHD does not fit into the criteria, or definition, of any of these categories. Therefore, schools and boards have been able to use this fact to refuse officially identifying students with ADHD as special needs students through an IPRC, or identification, placement, review committee. In December of 2011 a Ministry Memorandum explained that a student with ADHD could be identified under any category if they have a “demonstrable learning needs”. Unfortunately, this term left room for interpretation because shortly thereafter the Ministry agreed that schools and boards have the right to set the level of impairment that would qualify a student for the designation where they see fit.
So, does a student in Ontario have the right to an IEP if they have an ADHD disability related need? The Ontario Human Rights Commission certainly believes that they have a right to accommodations and states that the Ministry leaves itself open to litigation if a student with ADHD is denied accommodations and support due to the categories of exceptionality. Access this blog for more details.
What is currently occurring in Ontario around this issue is total inconsistency across boards and even within the same board. The TDSB has stated that a student with ADHD may receive an IEP, if they are impaired, but will not allow an IPRC. This leaves the implementation of an IEP at the school’s discretion and also allows it to be pulled at the school’s discretion. Other boards seem to be accepting the Memorandum’s guidance and being more open to formally identifying students with ADHD. And other boards continue to refuse IEPs for students with ADHD. In our experience, one of the greatest indicators as to whether a student with ADHD will receive an IEP and/or special education services and accommodations in Ontario is the principal and teacher’s knowledge level of ADHD.
For the other provinces who do recognize ADHD in a category or use a system of inclusion that does not require recognition under a category the implementation of an IEP is also hit and miss. As indicated previously, a great deal depends on how the educators working with your child interpret what they see as impairments caused by a disability. This is what will trigger more investigation and medical documentation to substantiate an exceptional learning need.
My advice to all parents across the country seeking support for their children with ADHD in our schools is to document your child’s impairments and struggles in as many ways possible. Gather medical documentation as well as examples of: academic marks and comments, work product, excess time or assistance required to complete assignments and tasks, and behaviour and social issues that are impairing your child. Do this even if your child is doing “alright” academically. Just because a child is bright and not failing does not mean they do not have a disability that required support and accommodations. It will then be up to you to use this documentation to convince your child’s principal that he/she is impaired to a level that warrants support. If your child is still being denied an IEP, I suggest that you move up the chain of command and speak with your board’s superintendent, preferably one for special education, but not all boards have this position. If you are in Ontario, I also suggest that you take advantage of the language on page 13 of Policy on accessible education for students with disabilities when speaking with your boards if they are continuing to deny access to an IEP.
Once your child has received an IEP please know that you, as a parent, have the right to assist in the development of the IEP. Use CADDAC Accommodations Charts to assist you in this process.
Please feel free to reach out to me (heidi.bernhardt@caddac.ca) to report on your progress. I am very interested in being informed about the ongoing struggles to access support for students with ADHD.
Once you receive an IEP for your child, holding schools accountable for the implementation of an IEP is a whole other issue, but that will require another blog post, stay tuned.
If these issues are of concern to you, please stay tuned for our education advocacy campaign “ADHD Right to Learn” being launched soon.
We need all of your voices to help us effect change!
Written by Heidi Bernhardt R.N.
During this year’s ADHD Awareness Month’s Campaign CADDAC shared ADHD facts from peer reviewed research. Our media release and bus shelter posters stated that ADHD is a serious mental health disorder that can significantly impact one’s mental health as well as physical health. Consequently, a few followers shared that they found the messages too negative. They would have preferred more positive messaging, fun facts about ADHD and more comments on individuality and neurodiversity. As a mother, grandmother and spouse of someone with ADHD I can certainly understand these feelings. We want others to recognize the individuality, strengths and other wonderful traits of our kids and family members with ADHD and not just the down side.
One of our Facebook contributors suggested that it would be beneficial for CADDAC to let people know why we think people should know these facts and what CADDAC’s next steps are after this campaign and bus shelter advertisement. I though these were very insightful questions that should have been addressed earlier, so here goes.
Unfortunately, medical research data by its very nature always removes individuality. It looks for commonality, raw data and percentages that can be used to draw conclusions. I remember when I first found out that ADHD was a part of our family, about thirty years ago, I read medical texts written for clinicians because little else was available. Even with a background in psychiatric nursing I found these extremely depressing. Most of the research data made it sound like my child was heading for a life of failure, unfortunately that has not changed much. After working closely with ADHD experts through CADDRA while building CADDAC I quickly realized that ADHD information, even if basically the same, should most often be nuanced according to the audience.
But here’s the rub. If we don’t share the negative facts about ADHD openly and bluntly, ADHD will never be recognized as something that requires society’s attention. We still lack resources for assessment and treatment nation wide. Access to multimodal treatments, even when strongly backed by research, are costly and difficult to access. Many students with ADHD across Canada are still unable to access the supports they deserve in order to reach their potential. Employers still do not understand that ADHD is actually a medical disability and similar to depression should allow the right to accommodations.
We at CADDAC also find it hugely concerning that: large mental health organizations still offer very little information about ADHD; many mental health centres still do not treat ADHD; many medical professionals still know little about ADHD and those that do often charge over provincial coverage to diagnose it; and large mental health awareness campaigns still do not include ADHD in their messaging.
Almost on a daily basis CADDAC is reminded that our decision makers and elected officials do not understand the serious consequences of ignoring ADHD. They really don’t think about ADHD at all because they believe that ADHD is of no interest to their constituents. You see, their constituents do not speak to them about ADHD unlike parents of children with Autism.
So, this year CADDAC chose to put out some hard facts about ADHD. Through our ADHD Speaks campaign this October, ADHD Awareness Month, we are asking that people share those hard facts with their elected officials or others that needed to be educated on ADHD.
We ask you, our followers, to stay tuned as we further expand our online advocacy campaigns this fall and into 2021. We plan to highlight specific advocacy asks in each campaign and will be requesting those personally or professionally impacted by ADHD to help us inform our elected officials that their constituents actually do care about ADHD.
Warm Regards,
Heidi Bernhardt
Written by Heidi Bernhardt R.N.
Click here to download the blog in PDF format.
All students returning to school this fall will be forced to navigate a new reality, but students struggling with ADHD and other neurodevelopmental disabilities will be exceptionally challenged. The skills that ADHD impairs such as the regulation of attention, activity, impulse, behaviour and emotion, as well as executive function are the very skills that will be challenged in this new environment.
Schools will be expecting children with self regulation and impulsivity issues, as well as impaired skills in remembering routines, planning, organization, and social interaction to follow complex instructions on what they should and should not do. Those in higher grades will also be expected to understand and follow new and varied schedules and conquer online learning with what looks like few additional resources. This new and confusing environment along with the added load on these students’ impaired skills will cause them increased stress resulting in more behavioural and academic issues.
Anticipating this, parents are concerned. In some provinces they are being asked to make a decision about their child’s return to school with limited information. Parents want to know if their child will be provided additional support to ensure their safety. They wonder if their child will be offered additional understanding for their impairments, or be reprimanded, consequenced and ultimately excluded from their classrooms when their impairments prove too great? Of course, they hope for the latter, but some parents who have already experienced their school’s lack of understanding of ADHD impairments along with insufficient supports are rightly concerned. Their concern is so great that some parents are choosing to keep their children home. Some without the resources to do so, or others knowing that their child requires the routine and social interaction only school can provide, are opting to send their children and adolescents into the unknown.
What can parents do to help mitigate this unknown?
What you can do to assist your child transitioning into this challenging environment?
Once you have obtained the information about the environment and situation your child will be entering, take steps to prepare them as much as possible.
Prepare the school
Meet with the school to:
The decisions made during any meeting should be followed up with a written summary. If this does not come from the school follow up with an e-mail to the principal listing the things that were agreed to in the meeting and when you expect them to be implemented. In this e-mail propose a date for a follow-up meeting to review how the strategies are working and if they need to be revised.
British Columbia has expanded its Pharmcare coverage to include most extended release medications under their limited coverage benefits for those over the age of 19. They will also partially cover the cost of Concerta up to the cost of the generic version.
More information on the recommendation and reasons, as well as CADDRA and CADDAC’s contributions, can be found online at: www.gov.bc.ca/pharmacare/ADHDtherapeuticreview.
For further details access https://www.caddra.ca/british-columbia-pharmacare-update/
Live webinar June 15, 16 | 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and June 26, 2020 | 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Mary Bell, MSW., RSW., and Sheri Turrell PhD.
This webinar aims to provide an introduction to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for clinicians working with adolescents.
Learn more at http://www.cvent.com/d/yhqx8s
Live webinar June 18, 2020
Liana Lowenstein, MSW., RSW., CPT-S.
Anxiety disorders represent one of the most prevalent forms of psychopathology among children and this is dramatically on the rise given the current pandemic. Gain an overview of CBT along with innovative techniques to assess and treat children with anxiety.
Learn more at http://www.cvent.com/d/mnqtfr
An approach to promoting adaptive anxiety in children and teenagers
Live webinar June 19, 2020
Alex Russell, PhD., C.Psych.
This webinar provides an approach to treating children and teenagers with anxiety issues within the current cultural context.
Learn more at http://www.cvent.com/d/fhqzdt
Live webinar June 22, 2020
Noah Lazar, PhD., C.Psych.
Acquire CBT models and conceptualizations of OCD and GAD, along with adaptations, cognitive and behavioural techniques specific to these populations.
Learn more at http://www.cvent.com/d/rnqtjp
Live webinar June 29, 2020
Ian Robertson, MSW., RSW.
Gain an overview for assessment, practical applications and clinical tools and strategies when working with concurrent disorders in clients.
Learn more at http://www.cvent.com/d/2nqr1d
Live 3-hour webinar June 30, 2020 | 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon
Noah Lazar, Ph.D., C.Psych.
Learn the effective use of CBT in treating depression, and addressing negative thoughts, behavioural activation and modifying core beliefs.
Learn more at http://www.cvent.com/d/2nqgx2
Scroll down for English.
Le CADDAC recherche des enfants et un homme adulte pour prêter leur voix dans une vidéo animée en français, et un adulte pour agir à titre de répétiteur d’élocution.
L’an dernier, le CADDAC a lancé une série de trois vidéos animées expliquant le TDAH aux enfants. Cette année nous referons ces vidéos en français. Nous recherchons des enfants bilingues pour faire la voix de Sam, le personnage principal, celle de son meilleur ami Tommy (âgés de 8 ou 9 ans) et de sa sœur Sally, une jeune adolescente.
Nous sollicitons par conséquent la collectivité du TDAH du Québec et du sud de l’Ontario afin de trouver des enfants francophones qui aimeraient faire la voix de ces personnages.
Ces enfants peuvent être des acteurs, avoir fait du théâtre à l’école ou avoir une expérience d’allocution en public, ou simplement être extravertis et expressifs. Ils doivent être capables de lire le texte, au moins une fois, en suivant les directives du répétiteur, et surtout en faisant ressortir l’émotion dans leur voix. Ils peuvent être plus âgés que 8 ou 9 ans si leur voix peut paraître plus jeune.
Si votre enfant possède le profil recherché et désire remplir un des rôles, écrivez-nous à l’adresse courriel ci-dessus. Si vous connaissez une personne dont l’enfant pourrait être intéressé, transférez-lui ce courriel afin qu’elle communique avec nous. Nous ferons parvenir une brève partie du scénario aux candidats afin qu’ils nous fassent parvenir un enregistrement de leur voix.
Communiquez avec nous si vous êtes un adulte bilingue qui possède l’expérience demandée soit pour jouer le rôle du père de Sam ou agir à titre de répétiteur d’élocution francophone.
Intéressé? Contactez-nous à communications@caddac.ca
Last year CADDAC launched a series of three animated videos explaining ADHD to children. This year we will be redoing the videos in French. We are looking for children who are french speaking or bilingual to do the voices of the main character Sam, his best friend Tommy (ages 8 to 9) and and his sister Sally who is in her early teens.
We are therefore reaching out to the ADHD community in the southern Ontario who might know of a child who is French speaking and interested in voicing any of these parts.
The children may be in acting, have done school plays or public speaking, or just be outgoing and expressive. They would need to be able to read lines, at least one at a time, follow direction from a voice coach, but the most essential thing is that they be able to show emotion in their voice. They can be older than 8 or 9 as long as their voice could be seen as the voice of a younger child.
If you have a child who might be interested and have these characteristics, please contact the above e-mail address. If you know of someone who may be interested send this e-mail to the interested parent and have them contact us. We will then send them a portion of the script which they can use to to submit a brief recorded audition.
Interested? Get in touch with us at communications@caddac.ca
