I am delighted to host this guest post by Dr. Yona Lonsky. Dr. Yunsky is a Clinician-Scientist in Adult Neurodevelopmental Services and Director of the Health Care Access Research and Developmental Disabilities (H-CARDD) Program at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. She’s also a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry
Continue readingTag: disability parenting
THE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: An Unimaginable Choice: Trading Parental Rights for Care
A CBC freedom of information request to the Nova Scotia government has revealed a terrible reality for children with mental illness and their families. Children too ill for the province’s 15 group homes are housed in residential facilities. But between January 2011 and December 2016, 2,655 of those children were
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: Lessons I Learned About Happiness as a Disability Parent
My husband and I were alone with the doctor in the hospital playroom when she gave us the news about our six month-old baby son. “Never be normal” are the words I recall. I also remember “generalized cerebral atrophy.” I felt a strange, out of body sensation as time and
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: The ABCs of Making a Will Online
Today, I’m pleased to host this guest post by Sarah Smith, not least because I know how important it is to have a will if you are a disability parent, but also if you care for an elder. Everyone needs a will. Sarah is a small business owner, and is currently
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: On Embracing Change
We’re moving. Today. Four strong men pulled up in an enormous truck this morning and right now I can hear them talking quietly and gasping as they haul sofas and tables down the hall.We bought this house in 1991 just before Natalie was born. Nicholas’ …
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: BREAKING THE BOUNDARIES OF COMPLEX CARE FOR CHILDREN
Breaking the Boundaries of Complex Care for ChildrenComplex care is a real interest of mine. We gave complex care at home to our son for 23 years and now his care is delivered by one to one nurses at a nearby care home. My Mom’s care is becoming increa…
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: BREAKING THE BOUNDARIES OF COMPLEX CARE FOR CHILDREN
THE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: When a Couple at McDonald’s Said I Shouldn’t Feed My Son in Public
I am fortunate to write for the marvellous site, The Mighty. Here’s my latest post for the good folks there – and if you feel like a daily dose of good news, subscribe to the feed. You won’t regret it! In 1993, we were living in London. My husband’s diplomatic
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: A Caregiving Story: The Fonseca Family
Q: Tell us about yourself and your family. We are the Fonseca family – Dad is Joe, Mom is Christine, and our son is Ethan. We are high school teachers and Ethan is 12 years old, in grade 7. Our family
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: I Bloom Where I am Planted: A Story of Family Caregiving
November is National Family Caregiver Month. Here in the Caregivers’ Living Room, we are celebrating by publishing your stories. If you have a story to share, please send it to me at donna4walls@gmail.com. Let’s celebrate our lived experience by storytelling! My name is Susan Buro Hamm. Included in my
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: Setting Roles, Boundaries and Limits in Mothering a Complex Child
One day a few months ago, fellow disability Mom and writer Jennifer Johannesen sat down with me for a chat. (I highly recommend Jennifer’s book and her blog– they are at the top of my favourites list.) In a previously published portion of our chat, I introduced Nicholas and our
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: Am I a Therapist or a Mom? Can I Be Good at Both?
Am I a therapist or am I a Mom? How can I rate myself well in one role without failing at the other? In my continuing conversation with Jennifer Johannesen, author of “No Ordinary Boy”, I talk about trying to balance therapy and parenting roles. I muse about how
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: Regrets and Triumphs in Mothering a Complex Son: A Video Conversation
Recently, I had the privilege of sitting down for a chat with my friend and colleague in disability activism, Jennifer Johannesen. Jennifer is a blogger and the author of “No Ordinary Boy: The Life and Death of Owen Turney”, a riveting memoir of life with her son Owen whose medical
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM - A Blog by Donna Thomson: Fathers, Dads, Papas, Grandfathers
Today is Father’s Day. In the realm of disability and family, we talk most often about mothers. But today, I would like to say a few words about what it means to appreciate the Dads in our lives. My own father, James Edward Thomson, was a gentle, kind and funny
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