On March the 15th CADDAC met with the Office of the Ombudsman of Ontario to discuss the office’s role. This meeting was a follow-up to our e-mail outlining issues that parents in Ontario were having accessing support for their children with ADHD in schools.
While the Ombudsman’s Office wished to make sure that we clearly understood their role (see below), they did state that if a parent had followed the school hierarchy, from principal to superintendent, when voicing their concerns and felt that unresolved issues remained around policy and procedure a complaint could registered with the Ombudsman. Some examples of things that would be under the jurisdiction of the Ombudsman’s office:
If you feel that these administrative procedures have not been followed then it would make sense to contact the Ombudsman’s office. CADDDAC presented our understanding of the issues and complaints have been filed in the past, so the office is well aware that issues do exist. They are prepared to follow-up if complaints fall within their jurisdiction.
CADDAC has been advised that if we are aware of individuals who continue to have administrative concerns with any organization that falls under the Ombusman’s authority, we are to encourage them to contact the Office of the Ontario Ombudsman by calling their intake line at 1-800-263-1830, or filing an online complaint form at https://www.ombudsman.on.ca/have-a-complaint/make-a-complaint.
For further information on how the Office can help with these situations: https://www.ombudsman.on.ca/Media/ombudsman/ombudsman/Documents/Complaints-about-SCHOOL-BOARDS-EN-accessible_1.pdf
Information on the Office of the Ombudsman of Ontario
The office is appointed under the Ombudsman Act as an independent and an impartial Officer of the Ontario Legislature. The Ombudsman reviews and investigates the administrative conduct of provincial public sector bodies, including school boards and the Ministry of Education. The Ombudsman’s focus is on administrative issues and not matters of broader public policy. The Ombudsman does not act on behalf of or as an advocate for individual complainants, and does not provide legal advice and they do not advocate for a change in policy or procedure.
With respect to school boards, once a complaint is filed the office would review the board’s administration, including their adherence to, and application of policies and procedures. The Ombudsman may make recommendations to resolve problems we identify with the administrative conduct of a school board or to enhance governance and improve processes. The Ombudsman’s office cannot overrule or reverse the decisions of school boards and does not have the authority to direct school boards on what decisions to make, or substitute his opinion for that of the elected board of trustees.
The office is intended to be an office of last resort. This means the Office will not intervene in a matter if the individual has not first addressed the issue with the organization and exhausted its internal complaint, appeal or resolution processes. Generally, the Office will refer the individual to any such process before we review the matter to determine the nature and extent of our role, if any. The individual is able to return to the Office if he/she remains dissatisfied after exhausting the organization’s internal processes.
As reported in a previous blog, on December the 4th 2017 CADDAC met with Minister Fleming and his staff to discuss ADHD in BC schools, our recent policy paper and the highly anticipated new BC Special Education guidelines, placing ADHD in a standalone category.
Here is a summary of what the Minister and his staff shared with CADDAC.
The guidelines in special education have been delayed due the change in government and a full review going forward on Kindergarten to grade 12 funding. CADDAC was assured by the Minister that they intend to move forward with ADHD as a standalone category which would allow students with ADHD to receive IEPs. During the process of reviewing funding the Ministry will be reaching out to stakeholder groups after they complete their financial consultation. They will be informing CADDAC on a timeline for submissions. Deputy Minister Laura Sampson will be staying in touch to up-date CADDAC on these issues.
If you are interested in ensuring that changes to the BC Special Education Guidelines adding ADHD as a category move forward, you need to:
The Ontario election is quickly approaching so this is the opportune time to make your voice heard. You MPPs think that their constituents do not care about ADHD because they do not hear from families with ADHD, but they do hear from parents of children with Autism.
Is this true? Are you uninterested in ADHD?
Are your MPP and those running in your constituency aware of government policies that impact families with ADHD? For instance, are they aware that students with ADHD in Ontario do not qualify for recognition as exceptional learners? This identification would give them the same rights to special education resources as students with other neurodevelopmental disorders such as learning disabilities and Autism. Are they aware of the extensive wait lists and additional costs of receiving an ADHD diagnosis and treatment? Are they aware of costs to the health, child and youth, social service and justice systems in Ontario when we do not diagnose and treat ADHD?
For more information on ADHD advocacy in Canada access our past Blog.
CADDAC is asking parents, extended families, adults, health care providers and anyone interested in children and adults with ADHD to contact their MPP and those running in their riding.
Your MPP is required to meet with any constituent that requests a meeting.
We need you to do at least one of these things before the June election:
CADDAC has developed Election Documents for you to use, points for you to make and questions to be asked when meeting with your MPP or attending a town hall meeting. Template letters are also available to assist in your letter writing.
For more than a decade now CADDAC has been advocating with the Ministries of Education, Health, Child and Youth, Justice and Social Services. Our policy papers have been sent to all ministries across Canada impacted by ADHD, and we have personally met with many of these ministries.
When CADDAC meets with government officials to advocate for needed changes to improve the lives of families with ADHD we are told that change will only happen through the interest of our elected officials. In other words, the bureaucratic arm of the government will rarely effect change unless told to do so by the political arm of the government.
However, when CADDAC meets with the politicians we are told that they have no reason to be interested in ADHD since their constituents have shown no interest. They report that their constituents do not speak with them about ADHD, but they do hear from families of children and adults with other neurodevelopmental disorders, such as Autism.
Since CADDAC receives countless calls from parents extremely concerned about the current situation we know that you are indeed very interested, but this is not being shared with your elected officials. You are interested in government policies that impact your children with ADHD in our schools. You are interested in the lack of accessibility to ADHD assessment and treatment options. You are interested in the fact that youth as well as adults with ADHD are highly represented in the prison population yet we lack screening and treatment of ADHD in most correction facilities across Canada.
Unless educated by their constituents, our MPPS fall prey to the same misinformation and misconceptions as the general public. They view ADHD it as an insignificant issue rather than the most common neurodevelopmental disorder impacting the academic success and mental well being of our Canadian children today.
This year we have a unique opportunity with the upcoming Ontario election. We can use this platform as a pilot to see if parents, grandparents, extended family, educators and medical professionals working in the field of ADHD are interested enough to let their voices be heard.
Let’s make ADHD an Ontario election issue for families impacted by ADHD!
For those of you outside of Ontario, there is no reason for you not to use the same information to assist you in letting your elected official know that you are indeed interested in ADHD.
What Can You Do To Help?
Did you know that your MPP is required to meet with any constituent that request a meeting?
Did you know that governments estimate that every letter they receive on a topic represents an additional 50 to 60 people also concerned about that topic who have not written a letter?
If you have an interest in ADHD, CADDAC and other Canadian ADHD support organizations need your help!
Advocacy efforts cannot succeed unless the voices of those like you are heard – we need all those with an interest in ADHD: parents, grandparents, adults with ADHD, extended family members, educators and medical professionals to do at least one thing to add their voice to the effort.
Please access information on or web site Campaign Page to find information that CADDAC has developed to help you in this effort.
You will find talking points and questions to share with your sitting MPP and those who will be running for election in your riding. You can use the same information to ask questions at town hall meetings.
CADDAC will be asking Ontario parties to answer a list of questions on ADHD. We will be posting their answers later in February for everyone to see. CADDAC will also be asking to meet with the party leaders to present this information and ask for their commitment to families impacted by ADHD.
Warm regards,
Heidi Bernhardt
On December the 4th 2017 CADDAC met with Minister Fleming and his staff to discuss ADHD in BC schools, our recent policy paper, and rumours that the highly anticipated new BC Special Education guidelines, placing ADHD in a standalone category, would not be released.
Here is a summary of what the Minister and his staff shared with CADDAC.
The guidelines in special education have been delayed due the change in government and a full review going forward in K to 12 funding. CADDAC was assured many times that changes to the new Special Education Guidelines, incorporating the changes in DSM 5 resulting in the inclusion of ADHD as a standalone category, are not being considered for removable. They are not looking at preventing this due to the restoration of old language of class composition in the teachers’ contract. There has been no conversation on their part regarding limiting designations of special needs students. They have been focusing on hiring more educators to meet these students’ needs.
During the process of reviewing funding they will be reaching out to stakeholder groups after they complete their financial consultation. They will be informing CADDAC on a timeline for submissions.
Deputy Minister Laura Sampson will be staying in touch to up-date CADDAC on these issues.
The Ministry is aware that their web site information on ADHD for educators is out-dated. They are in the process of developing up-dated information.
This question is being asked and answered in our recent policy paper, Inequitable Access to Education for Canadian Students with ADHD.
Also access our Media Release and a Summary of our key messages.
During the morning of October the 3rd, CBC's "The Current" hosted the call in show "Is the public school system working for kids with special needs. They asked for people to continue contacting them about this topic.
I'd like to encourage everyone to contact CBC and share your thoughts and the experiences of your children with ADHD in Canadian school systems. There was very little said about ADHD during the 90 minute show.
You can listen to the full episode here, http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-october-2-2017-a-national-call-in-special-1.4317150
You can share your thoughts here, http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/contact via e-mail, Facebook or twitter.
We need to get our voices out there!
To better advocate for students with ADHD we need to hear from you!
Download, share and post our Education Campaign Flyer Access our Education Survey Share your Canadian Education Experiences advocacy@caddac.ca
This October, during ADHD Awareness Month, CADDAC is launching our “ADHD in Education Awareness/Advocacy Campaign” to draw greater attention to the inequities students with ADHD face when accessing education across Canada.
Over the years CADDAC has spent a great deal of time with parents across Canada discussing their frustrations and concerns about this issue. Many parents complain that educators lack an understanding of ADHD, that many school systems and ministries of education do not recognize ADHD as a significant impairment to learning and that their children are not receiving equitable access to education. At the same time we have also heard stories about the positive difference a teacher or principal can make in a child’s life when they truly understand the impact ADHD has on a child’s learning and behaviour.
This campaign will include:
In the past, advocacy efforts have been hampered by parents being too intimidated to publicly speak out about their concerns. This is due to the continued stigma around ADHD, the unwarranted negative feedback parents receive, the fear of possible retaliation from schools and boards should they voice their frustrations and negative attention their child may experience.
Since CADDAC fully understands these concerns we have developed two ways for to allow your voices to be heard anonymously.
We would greatly appreciate your participation in the survey above!
It should only take 10 to 20 minutes of your time.
And, if you feel comfortable, please also share your views and past experiences with education systems around ADHD. Please send your stories to advocacy@caddac.ca either in the body of the e-mail or as an attachment.
If you are interested in becoming involved in advocacy efforts nationally or in your province please contact advocacy@caddac.ca
If this topic is near and dear to your heart we need to hear your story!
CADDAC continues to receive calls on a fairly consistent basis from parents across the country expressing concern about their child’s education. Many have tried for years to work with their child’s school to put strategies and accommodations in place. They are extremely frustrated about the lack of recognition that ADHD can significantly impact a child’s learning and the void in training for educators.
If these issues are of interest to you, you need to add your voice to our 2017 ADHD Awareness Month Campaign and advocacy efforts. While Awareness Month will be the launch, we anticipate this campaign to extend throughout the next year. We are aware that most often we are contacted about the worst situations and rarely hear about the successes. So, we also want to hear your positive comments.
Although our knowledge on how ADHD impacts learning has expanded significantly in the past twenty-five years, little has changed in how schools, school boards and Ministries of Education address student’s learning needs. While some educators have great insight into why and how students with ADHD are impaired and strive to support them, others still label students with ADHD as lazy, unmotivated and defiant. School boards and teacher education programs continue to spend very little time training educators and administrators on ADHD even when on average there are at least 2 to 3 children with ADHD in every classroom.
For the past twenty years CADDAC and its representatives has been meeting with Ministries of Education attempting to bring change to the way students with ADHD are recognized, understood and serviced. Ministries of Education that identify students with disabilities as exceptional learners continue to systemically exclude ADHD in their categories of exceptionality. However, whichever provincial special education system is in place, the continued lack of training for educators is a commonality across all provinces.
So, during this year’s ADHD Awareness Month, in October, CADDAC will be launching a campaign to bring more awareness to the impact of ADHD on learning, the lack of educator training, the lack of school services for students with ADHD, and the continued stigmatization of students with ADHD is some schools. At the same time we would like to highlight schools that do a great job of supporting our kids with ADHD, because we know that it can be done.
After meeting with Ministries, boards and government officials for years only to be told that the continual concern we hear from parents about their child’s learning and their frustration at the schools’ lack of understanding, knowledge and services is just hearsay, we think it is about time they hear it from you.
In preparation to the launch of this campaign CADDAC is requesting that you send us your stories. They can be brief or as lengthy as you like. Tell us about your experiences, good and bad. Tell us about your efforts to be heard, your frustrations and your successes. Let us know about the teacher who really “got your child” and made your child’s year. Essentially we want to hear whatever you would like say on this issue.
We completely understand that this can be a very emotional issue for some, but we do ask that you not name individual schools or boards. Since these stories will be collected, collated and eventually shared with policy makers you may wish to send your letter anonymously. If this is the case, please do not place your name at the bottom of your document. However, also remember that a signed document holds more weight. Also, it is about time that we openly address these issues and refuse to accept the stigma that many feel is still attached to ADHD.
Please send your stories to advocacy@caddac.ca either in the body of the e-mail or as an attachment.
Stay tuned for additional up-dates on this campaign through or blog post, web site or through our e-mails.
Please also join the discussion on this topic though our Facebook page.
Warm regards,
Heidi Bernhardt
It was with great interest that I reviewed an Australian study looking at academic achievement in students with ADHD during the period from childhood to adolescence. Having spent the last twenty years speaking with researchers, parents, educators, school boards and Ministries of Education across Canada I firmly believe that this study highlights the same situation that we have here in Canada.
The study published in the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics showed that 40% of students with ADHD were not reaching minimum standards for literacy and numeracy in at least one academic area such as writing or math. Based on test results in year seven, which is equivalent to our grade seven, 73% of students with ADHD had a problem with writing and almost a quarter scored below the minimum standard. By year nine things had become worse; 54% of students still had difficulties, however now 37.5% did not reach the minimum standard. What was also interesting was the fact that boys had far greater difficulty with writing than girls. The lead researcher, Nardia Zendarski said that they had expected to see a gap in academic success for students with ADHD, but not such a large gap.
Professor Harriet Hiscock, a consulting paediatrician with the Murdoch Children's Research Institute that ran the study, said problems arose for students with ADHD particularly in English subjects, due to issues with writing, spelling and grammar. "They're quite sophisticated things that we learn how to do," she said. The frontal lobe of the brain, which we know is not as developed in children with ADHD, is used in this type of task.
Remarkably, 75% of children looked at in the study were on medication to increase their attention. This fact led Ms. Zendarski to state, "ADHD medication has its place but it doesn't seem to improve long-term academic outcomes … it doesn't address the core academic skills." She went on to say, "We should stop focusing on the argument around whether these kids should be medicated or not and start focusing on providing services and support that they need to reach their full potential. These programs could be used to support all kids with learning difficulties.”
"We need to look further back and see when the problems start — do these problems start for kids as early as grade one?" said Professor Hiscock. "And if they're not picked up and addressed, particularly in primary school, then these kids get into high school where it becomes harder, the work becomes more complex. So we're seeing the problems become worse."
Professor Hiscock went on the say, “The solution is not clear cut, but better support and training of teachers would be a good start. More support around literacy and numeracy teaching, probably it's got to be small groups, more individualised teaching."
Tracy-Ann Pettigrew a mother with two sons with ADHD went back to university to study special education in order to assist her sons with school. There's not a lot of understanding by mainstream teachers about how to teach kids with additional learning needs and it's a tough gig," she said. "I am hoping that this will facilitate some meaningful change, so that teachers can learn the skills that they need to learn to be able to support these kids."
Ms Zendarski closed by says, “As education is a key determinant of overall quality of life and health, I can't think of a better area to concentrate our efforts,"
Access the Institute’s REPORT
Access articles on the study:
Spinner toys, the newest craze, are being marketed as appropriate fidget toys that increase the focus of children with ADHD. They actually have the opposite effect. These claims are simply a marketing stunt to encourage parents to purchase the toy for their children with ADHD. If you are wondering if these toys might be useful for your child please read Dr. Doron Almagor’s article in the Huffington Post before running out to purchase a spinner. Dr. Almagor, a Canadian child and adolescent psychiatrist specializing in ADHD, points out that movement of a manipulative, or fidget toy, should stimulate the child’s brain just enough to keep their focus engaged on something other than the toy, like their teacher. Repetitive or unintentional movement is what helps the ADHD brain focus. These spinners actually draw a child’s focus to the toy and away from where their focus needs to be.
Hopefully false claims such as these, designed to market products to children with disabilities and their parents, will be called out and the companies fined.
Access Dr. Almagor’s article Here.
