The Canadian Health Network introduced a new look and feel to the main CHN web site. In the spring, the new blue and grey colour scheme replaced the old olive and green colours on the public web site. Various promotional campaigns using the new colours and the new look have already started and will continue through the fall and into the new year. Our Affiliate is developing a new CHN brochure that will use the new colours and target people living with disabilities. We hope you are as excited as we are about the fresh new look of the CHN site.
We have also completely redesigned the supplementary Affiliate Info Pages (you are looking at one right now). In addition to changing the colour scheme to match the new CHN design, our new design also incorporates significant improvements to our site Accessibility features, including the introduction of AccessKeys. Our site now complies with level Triple-A of the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guildeines 1.0 [w3.org], the highest level identified by the W3C.
There is a new name for the "disabilities" section of the CHN web site. This section is now called the "Living with Disabilities" section. On the CHN home page, the link to our section now appears under the "topics" listed in the left column of the page. The name change better reflects the intention of the CHN to provide information for the friends, families, and caregivers of people with disabilities as well as for people with disabilities themselves.
As part of the new look and feel to the CHN web site redesign, we have decided to phase out the use of the CHN tree logo on our materials. Many of our network contributors added the CHN tree logo to their web sites in order to show that they were part of the network of organizations who comprise the Canadian Health Network. In place of the CHN tree logo, we are asking network contributors to use one of our new CHN graphics and links for Network Contributor sites. Your ongoing assistance with the promotion of the CHN in this way is greatly appreciated.
The Living with Disabilities Affiliate is a consortium of four Easter Seals / March of Dimes agencies led by the SMD Alliance (formerly the Society for Manitobans with Disabilities). In the spring, the consortium was awarded another contract by Health Canada to continue work as the CHN's Living with Disabilities Affiliate through to the end of March 2006. The other members of the consortium are: Easter Seals / March of Dimes National Council, New Brunswick Easter Seal March of Dimes, and the Saskatchewan Abilities Council. For more info about the Affiliate, consult our main Living with Disabilities Affiliate Info page.
The Living with Disabilities Affiliate welcomed a new Information Specialist on board this summer: Roslyn Ward. Roslyn works part-time on the CHN project out of her office in Toronto, Ontario at the Easter Seals / March of Dimes National Council. Roslyn comes to the project with a strong history of information work in the disability community, including work in Information Services at the Roeher Intstitute Library. Contact information for all current staff appears in the Contact Us section of the Living with Disabilities Affiliate website.
The front page of the CHN web site highlighted a new Feature Article in September: Post-Secondary Education: Tips for adults with disabilities. The article was written by Devon Wheeler, our resident medical student and the primary CHN staff person at the Saskatchewan Abilities Council.
The Canadian Health Network now has over 800 network contributors encompassing a vast array of health topics, and over 70 of these provide information and services specificially relating to people with disabilities in Canada. To view the list of organizations who contribute to the Living with Disabilities section of the Canadian Health Network (CHN), consult our Network Contributors page. Here are details about the latest additions to our network:
Committed to defending the rights and advocating for the interests of individuals with intellectual disabilities.
Defends the rights of children and adults with learning disabilities. Represents parents and supports them in their efforts to help their children.
Works to establish peer support groups across British Columbia and to promote public education about special needs adoption. Sponsors a variety of workshops, conferences, and seminars. Web site includes electronic discussion groups, access to the Society's library catalogue, and an events calendar.
Provides fitness and lifestyle programs, instruction and research for people with disabilities.
Describes a national association whose hallmark is "amputees helping amputees". Provides information, fellowship and employment opportunities to all Canadian amputees and people with other disabilities.
To view the list of organizations who contribute to the Living with Disabilities section of the Canadian Health Network (CHN), consult our separate Network Contributors page. Below is a list of recent updates or additions to the websites of CHN Network Contributors which relate to people living with disabilities. Links which do not also appear on the French version of CHN Newslink are identified by the phrase "(English only)". If you would like us to add info about your organization to this listing, send us news about new resources or changes to your website.
The ALACD launched a newly revised ALACD website this summer. The new site has improved accessibility features, including a list of AccessKeys for keyboard users. Watch over the coming months as new sections are added for each province and territory. The new ALACD-Ontario section is already available.
The Autism Society of British Columbia launched a newly designed ASBC web site and added various new resources since the last issue of CHN Newslink. Extensive information about autism and advocacy issues in BC and beyond are now available in a new Advocacy section. A new Discussions Forum helps to link up parents and caregivers with one another.
The BCCPD have completely revamped their website and they have updated a number of documents since our last newsletter. As always, BCCPD continues to keep BC residents updated about changes to the disability supports program in BC and to provide information resources to help people navigate the system. In June, they published a series of guides by Advocacy Access on applying for disability benefits and health supplements. And they have again updated their Help Sheets on disability benefits under the Employment and Assistance Legislation in BC.
In May, the Canadian Abilities Foundation published the results of their extensive employment and disabilities study: Neglected or Hidden: Connecting Employers and People with Disabilities in Canada. The study is based on a survey of 1,245 people with disabilities and interviews with over 100 employers and disability service organizations from across Canada. The Canadian Abilities Foundation have also been continuing work on Access Guide Canada, a site that provides information on accessible destinations and which allows users to input their own reviews. To improve the accessibility of the Access Guide Canada site, they have added a link to turn high contrast on. Clicking this link transforms the look of the page and displays light text on a black background.
The Canadian Association for People Who Stutter have moved the base URL for their website from www.webcon.net/~caps/ (which still works) to www.stutter.ca. In addition, they have added various archival resources to their site over the past year, including access to past issues of newsletters from CAPS and other international organizations. Information about the 8th Bi-Annual Canadian Conference for People Who Stutter to be held on August 18-21, 2005 in Edmonton, AB.
The CCSD continues to provide invaluable statistical reports related to disabilities in Canada. Since our last issue, CCSD has released four new issues of their Disability Research Information Pages.
The CMHA recently released a new guide to college and university for students with psychiatric disabilities: Your Education - Your Future.
On December 3rd, the Motion Picture Theatre Associations of Canada and the National Advisory Council of Disability Organizations launched a program that provides discounted movie prices to attendants or other support persons accompanying a person with a disability. The new program is called Access 2 Entertainment. It is administered by the Easter Seals / March of Dimes National Council on behalf of the Motion Picture Associations of Canada.
This fall, the Geneva Centre for Autism launched a completely redesigned Geneva Centre website.
In the spring of 2004, the North American Chronic Pain Association of Canada (NACPAC) merged with the Chronic Pain Association of Canada (CPAC) to create a single organization. Traditionally, CPAC has concentrated on lobbying the government and other organizations, while NACPAC concentrated on assisting people who live with chronic pain through local support groups. CPAC will now work towards both goals.
In December, the Office for Disability Issues (ODI) released a number of significant documents. First, they produced a major new federal report on disability in Canada: Advancing the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities (2004). This is a follow up to the 2002 Report: Advancing the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities. The 2004 report uses the "accountability framework" from the first report. Second, the ODI also released the results of a national study of public awareness and attitudes towards disabilities in Canada: Canadian Attitudes Towards Disability Issues. Third, the ODI added a large set of Frequently Asked Questions about programs and services for Canadians with disabilities to their website. Finally, the ODI site provides a link to the newly released report on Supports and Services for Adults and Children Aged 5 - 14 with Disabilities in Canada. This report is the result of the Social Union Framework and comes from a collaboration between federal, provincial, and territorial levels of government.
Every month, the Society for Manitobans with Disabilities (SMD) posts a new edition of Disability Research Digest (DRD), a monthly electronic resource for consumers, professionals and the public interested in remaining current in disability related issues. The December 2004 issue is the most recent addition.
Links which do not also appear on the French version of CHN Newslink are identified by the phrase "(English only)".
The Adaptech Research Network, based at Dawson College in Montreal, posted an updated and expanded (and bilingual) listing of inexpensive adaptive software resource info. Adaptech is a team of academics, students and consumers conducting research on the use of computer, information and adaptive technologies by Canadian college and university students with disabilities.
In August, the Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission published an "Interpretive Bulletin" addressing the Duty to accommodate students with disabilities in post-secondary educational institutions.
The Disability and Information Technologies (Dis-IT) Research Alliance is a Canadian-based group of over thirty researchers and partner organizations. They are studying how to ensure that Canadians with disabilities can be part of the innovations and emerging information technologies of the knowledge-driven new economy. The new Dis-IT website was launched this summer.
The Illinois Center for Instructional Technology Accessibility (iCITA) developed a set of Accessibility Extensions for Mozilla. Mozilla is an open-source alternative web browser to Microsoft Internet Explorer. The Accessibility Extensions add features to Mozilla to make it easier for people to view and navigate web content based on the structural markup used to create the web page.
The have produced a detailed Disability Portfolio for museums and libraries. The Disability Portfolio is a collection of 12 guides on how best to meet the needs of disabled people as users and staff in museums, archives and libraries. Although developed overseas, the resource contains advice and examples of best practices that may be of value to Canadian sites as well.
National Organization on Disability (NOD) in the United States released the results of a survey of Americans with a disability finding that people with disabilities are at a critical disadvantage compared to other Americans in ten key areas of life.
A new study by the Neil Squire Foundation reveals that Attitude still the major barrier to improving literacy levels of people with disabilities. The full report is available as a PDF file.
The Technical Advisory Committee submitted its final report to the Ministers of Finance and National Revenue on December 15, 2004. The full report Disability Tax Fairness is available in a range of formats.
Fetal
Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
Equality of Access: Rights and
the Right Thing To Do
Contact: Interprofessional Continuing Education,
University of British Columbia
#105 - 2194 Health Sciences Mall
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3
Fax: (604) 822-4835
Email: ipdocs@interchange.ubc.ca
Youth Health and Wellness Conference
Youth Engagement: It's
Happening
Contact: Saskatchewan Institute on the Prevention of
Handicaps
1319 Colony Street
Saskatoon, SK S7N 2Z1
Phone: (306) 655-2512
Email: info@preventioninstitute.sk.ca
Ontario Injury Prevention Conference
2005
Putting the Pieces
Together
Contact: Julie Johnston, Conference Co-Chair,
SMARTRISK
Phone: (416) 596-2704
Email: oipc@smartrisk.ca
30th
Learning Disabilities Association of Quebec International
Conference
30 years of making a
Difference...and continuing on!
Contact: Learning Disabilities Association of
Quebec
300 - 284 rue Notre Dame Ouest
Montreal, QC H2Y 1T7
Phone: (514) 847-1324 ext. 21
Email: congres@aqeta.qc.ca
AT the EDGE
2005 Conference
Contact: Alberta Consortium for Rehabilitative and
Assistive Technology
Email: acrat2005@shaw.ca
National Safety Symposium: Crime Prevention and
Independent Living
Contact: Canadian Association of Independent Living
Centres
1104 - 170 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, ON K1P 5V5
Phone: (613) 563-2581
Fax: (613) 563-3861
TTY: (613) 563-4215
Email: info@cailc.ca
Destination
Success 2005 - Exploring Best Practices
Contact: Destination Success
Room B110 Georgian College
1 Georgian Drive
Barrie, ON L4M 3X9
Phone: (705) 728-1968 ext. 6234
Toll-Free: 1-877-722-1523
Fax: (705) 722-5179
Email: destinationsuccess@georgianc.on.ca
Canadian Down
Syndrome Society 2005 Conference
Common Threads
Contact: Waterloo Regional Down Syndrome Society
4A-385 Fairway Road South #206
Kitchener, ON N2C 2N9
Phone: (519) 896-4488
Email: info_conference@wrdss.ca
Canadian
Association of Occupational Therapists 2005
Conference
Celebrating Diversity in
Occupation
Contact: Canadian Association of Occupational
Therapists
CTTC Building, Suite 3400
1125 Colonel By Drive
Ottawa, ON K1S 5R1
Phone: (613) 523-2268
Toll-Free: 1-800-434-2268
Fax: (613) 523-2552
Canadian Hard of Hearing Association 2005
Conference
Natural Sounds
Contact: Canadian Hard of Hearing Association
205 - 2435 Holly Lane
Ottawa, ON K1V 7P2
Toll-Free: 1-800-263-8068
Phone: (613) 526-1584
TTY: (613) 526-2692
Fax: (613) 526-4718
Email: conference@chha.ca
CARP 2005 National Conference
Contact: Canadian Association of Rehabilitation
Professionals Atlantic
Dennis Almost
Email: almost@nbnet.nb.ca
Or Anne Connor Sheppard
Email: anne@assessmentandtherapy.com
8th Bi-Annual
Canadian Conference for People Who
Stutter
Contact: Canadian Association for People who
Stutter
PO Box 444
Succ. N.D.G.
Montreal, QC H4A 3P8
Phone: (416) 252-8255
Toll-Free: 1-888-788-8837
Email: caps-info@stutter.ca
CHN provides general information and is not intended as a substitute for professional advice. If you feel you need medical advice, please see your health professional. CHN makes every effort to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information that appears on its website. CHN network contributors are responsible for the content that appears on their own sites.
We send out an email notice to our mailing list whenever a new issue of CHN Newslink is published. To receive a notice whenever a new issue is published, send the Editor (Philip Kiff) a brief email request to receive CHN Newslink [chnnb@nbnet.nb.ca]. The mailing list is maintained manually and will not be shared or used for any purpose other than communications from the Canadian Health Network Living with Disabilities Affiliate.
Canadian Health Network (CHN) Living
with Disabilities Affiliate
http://www.canadian-health-network.ca/1people_with_disabilities.html
Philip Kiff
Networking & Information Consultant
New Brunswick Easter Seal March of Dimes
65 Brunswick Street
Fredericton, NB E3B 1G5
Phone: (416) 760-7343
Fax: (416) 760-8324
Email: chnnb@nbnet.nb.ca
All previous issues of CHN Newslink are available in the Back Issues section of the main CHN Newslink page. Some hyperlinks in past issues may no longer be valid.
Copyright © 2002-2004
CHN Living with Disabilities
Affiliate
This page is hosted by the Easter Seals New Brunswick
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