By: Carol Goar A |
Showing posts with label YOUTHS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label YOUTHS. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Street kids' toughness only skin deep
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Atkinson Series - Alanna Mitchell - Nov 2009
Alanna Mitchell, a Toronto-based writer and journalist who specializes in global science issues, spent much of the past year investigating the controversial push to use brain science to improve education. She travelled to England, France, Australia and the U.S. as part of her 2008 Atkinson Fellowship in Public Policy
- "The message to teachers is that they need to be a bit of a scientist too," says Shanker. "What we want teachers to understand is that there's no such thing as a lazy child or a bad child. There's always a biological story. The key is to ask why, why, why?"
- As a society, we're forcing millions of teens to spend hours every day in a schooling system with methods we can't justify and ends we don't honestly comprehend for jobs we can't even conceive of, he says.
- And as others have documented, given the high rates of teen dropouts, addiction, violence, mental health issues and learning differences, the system we're forcing them to participate in is broken.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Young people's ignorance of religion worries experts
Young people's ignorance of religion worries experts
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
`Very, very frustrating' search for ADHD support
ADHD
`Very, very frustrating' search for ADHD support
May 16, 2009 04:30 AM
Andrea Gordon
Family issues reporter
Margo Brunning knew something wasn't right when her son started school. Mitchell struggled to hold a pencil. He was constantly distracted and in trouble. He couldn't decode words or grasp other stepping-stones to reading. And as learning got harder, he became more disruptive.
The boy's Toronto school said he was too young for an assessment, so the family paid for private testing. It revealed Mitchell had ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), causing inattention, impulsive behaviour and difficulty sitting still.
But the relief of finally knowing what was wrong soon turned to dismay, Brunning says. Because even though ADHD interfered with her son's ability to learn, the diagnosis didn't automatically entitle him to supports at school.
Unlike learning disabilities, autism or other conditions that qualify as "exceptionalities," an ADHD diagnosis, by itself, does not give students the legal right to accommodations though special education in Ontario.
"It's very, very frustrating and it's a constant struggle," Brunning says.
The lack of formal recognition means that when it comes to teaching children with the disorder, there is no consistency among teachers, schools and school boards, says Heidi Bernhardt, national director of the Centre for ADD/ADHD Advocacy Canada (caddac.ca).
Mitchell is now 14 and his mother has spent eight years fielding calls and complaints about his behaviour and school work, fighting for supports in the classroom, and paying for tutoring and other outside help. She explained strategies to teachers: seating him at the front of the class; if he was restless, sending him to the office on errands or out for a drink of water; breaking down instructions into bite-sized chunks he could remember.
She stressed that constant punishment only makes things worse for kids with ADHD, who struggle with self-control; that positive reinforcement is critical.
She says her son, a competitive skier, is bright, with strong verbal reasoning skills. He likes school. With the right strategies and supports, he can succeed and function in a way that doesn't disrupt the classroom. But to get those, "you have to be in their face."
ADHD kids tend to be intelligent, or often gifted. But experts say the trajectory for those who don't get school supports can be grim, leading to a cycle of frustration, acting out, punishments and being labelled as bad or lazy. Self-esteem plummets; they may be socially ostracized or bullied.
There is mounting scientific evidence about how ADHD reflects delayed brain development, says Rosemary Tannock, senior scientist of psychiatry research at the Hospital for Sick Children and a leading expert on ADHD.
"It interferes with a child's learning in school, friendships and their ability to follow the rules," says Tannock, an OISE professor and one of the founders of teachadhd.com, a website for teachers.
She cites a U.S. longitudinal study in the 1990s that found over a four-year period, kids with ADHD saw reading and math scores decline by 8 to 10 per cent. Scandinavian research yielded similar results.
Bernhardt says the school system's failure to acknowledge or accommodate the disorder reflects a widespread lack of understanding.
ADHD has been recognized for decades as a medical, neurobiological disorder and is the most prevalent mental health problem among children, affecting between 5 and 12 per cent of school-age kids, which means several students in every classroom.
"But there's still a reluctance to view ADHD as a cognitive deficit that impacts learning," Bernhardt says. "People see it as a behaviour problem."
Teachers aren't trained to recognize and cope with it, even though it can cause havoc in classes. Instead, most focus on the behaviour that erupts when students can't pay attention and learn, and treat that as the source of the problem, rather than a symptom.
Bernhardt says it's "ludicrous" that, when it comes to getting help in school, a child with ADHD is better off having another physical, behavioural or learning disability as well, "which then gives them the right to request accommodation and extra help."
This is not the case in provinces like Alberta, which supports kids with ADHD and provides training and resources for teachers and extensive online material.
Kids with ADHD need a combination of clinical treatment, classroom supports and behaviour strategies, says Dr. Umesh Jain, Toronto child psychiatrist and chair of the Canadian ADHD Resource Alliance (caddra.ca), an association of physicians and researchers.
He says medication that increases a child's ability to pay attention is often, but not always, part of treatment. It can help kids concentrate so they can learn coping skills, develop new habits and change their behaviour, he says. But it needs to be accompanied by strategies in classrooms and at home.
"The misguided belief is that medication solves the child's problems," he says. "I have parents say `I feel like I'm being held hostage by the school because they won't give my child any accommodations.'''
Jain says children with ADHD are often creative high-achievers who have the potential to be "the powerhouses of society" if they are properly taught and supported.
Bernhardt says when the teaching and school supports aren't there, parents feel pressured to resort to higher doses of medication, simply so kids can function in school. She says countries that focus more on accommodating students have lower rates of medicating.
Experts say many school accommodations don't cost money or even require a formal plan, but can be adopted for entire classrooms. Teaching tactics include: breaking down instructions into small chunks, pausing and repeating; reinforcing verbal material with visual and written versions; leaving material on the board; giving a restless child a task or allowing them to move around; taking five minutes at the end of the day to help them organize homework.
Tannock recently completed a study with teachers in Owen Sound schools who adopted the strategies for breaking down information and instructions in their classrooms. Teachers reported less stress, inattention and hyperactivity across the board.
Brunning agrees that simple strategies can make a big difference.
"When the teacher doesn't understand, it's brutal. But when they do, and especially if a core teacher communicates strategies to other teachers and people in the office, things can go pretty smoothly."
Truth vs fiction
Myth: ADHD is a childhood disorder. Fact: It is a lifespan disorder; 60 per cent of those diagnosed as children continue to be impaired in adulthood.
Myth: ADHD is a Western phenomenon. Fact: It is worldwide, with higher incidences in Southeast Asia and parts of Europe than reported in Canada.
Myth: Kids with the disorder are always hyper. Fact: ADHD is an attention disorder. Often it includes hyperactivity, but not always.
Myth: It primarily affects boys. Fact: Many girls go undiagnosed because they may be inattentive in a less noticeable way that resembles "daydreaming." By adulthood, the male-female ratio is almost equal.
Myth: It is a behaviour disorder. Fact: It is a medical disorder.
Myth: ADHD is caused by too much sugar, TV or computer time, lax parenting or lack of exercise. Fact: The cause is neurobiological; the scientific evidence is recognized by all major medical associations and government health agencies.
Myth: Kids with ADHD can't pay attention.
Fact: The nature of the disorder is they cannot regulate their attention, so it may change quickly. They are capable of focusing, particularly on stimulating activities.
Sources: Canadian ADHD/ADD
Resource Alliance
Comments
a huge problem
I have a grade 9 art class of 26. 14 of them have special needs. I have 75 minutes a day to deliver curriculum content and if I break that down into a fair distribution of my time that's not a lot of time per student. Add in the special needs of all 14 identified students and I am swamped. Of that 14, 4 of them are ADHD, 3 have safety plans because of behaviour, 1 must be contantly monitored as his behaviour is so violent that the police are involved, 4 are unable to read handouts, 1 can't even spell his own last name and the rest have processing issues...and I have absolutely no training in how to deal with special needs students. The students who are "normal" are usually left to figure things out on their own because I end up spending my time helping students understand a project, stay on task, ask them to stop throwing paint, & transcribe answers for those who can't write. This is a fairly average classroom. How am I supposed to do meet everyone's needs every day?
Submitted by 123456abcde at 6:49 PM Monday, May 18 2009
People in general are extremely ignorant regarding ADD
As Adult with ADD in the 1970's you were place in special classes with mentally challenge kids. People said and criticized you inability to stay focus. ADD or ADHD is a disability both federal and provincial fail to recognize this. In order to function fully we need medication or minds are just going float around. Teachers today need further training on this issue and how to spot it. There is too many teachers that will just single out a student because of lack of training and understanding. Latter in life employers need also be more understanding. That is why ADHD must be recognized has a disability to prevent discrimination.
Submitted by revelations at 9:58 AM Monday, May 18 2009
Accommodations are made
It was somewhat disheartening to read the frustration felt by families of those children having ADHD. I work for the DCDSB in Durham and in my role of program support teacher, we work very hard with our families in supporting all the needs of our students. We do not have to wait for a formal identification before we are able to put accommodations in place that support the learning needs of students. Our mission is to work TOGETHER with families, Board Personnel, outside support (i.e.medical and other) in order to BEST understand and address those needs. A.M.Sacco
Submitted by amo at 6:58 PM Sunday, May 17 2009
@ jjsmith
I see where you're coming from, but you obviously don't understand what's going on here. A badly-behaved, poorly raised child is one thing, and there are a lot of them out there. But there's a big difference between a kid who won't behave, and a kid who literally *can't* behave. I have ADD; because I am a girl and not hyperactive, I wasn't diagnosed until I was 18. So I spent nearly 13 years of schooling catching $h*t from everybody because I literally could not pay attention in class, or get my assignments done even if I wanted to. High School was one long, lonely nightmare. When you don't know what's "wrong" with you, it can be really terrifying, especially when you get labeled as lazy, insolent and bizarre by everyone around you.
Submitted by hiboucornu at 11:49 AM Sunday, May 17 2009
measures beneficial for all
My son has a diagnosed ADHD. High school was a torture for him, university was a pure enjoyment and now he is a grad student in one of the most prestigious universities of US. As an university instructor I see that certain practices mandatory at university could be beneficial for all students but are crucial for those with ADHD. Unfortunately all my attempts to point this out were dismissed by the school administration: "We are not university!" *** School courses usually do not have a clear marking scheme announced before or during the first class; students have no way to see their current marks as recorded by the teacher. *** Home assignments usually are not placed on the course website (most of the courses do not have websites). Students (especially those with ADHD) tend to forget their home assignments. Sometimes they are missing the class and have no means to recover assignments except asking classmates (this is a usual advice of the teachers aka invitation to plagiarism .
Submitted by Red Herring at 3:56 AM Sunday, May 17 2009
Cost of ignoring ADHD = Some teaching resources for ADHD students
Unfortunately Adults and children with ADHD are 2nd class citizens in Canada. People with learning disabilities get accommodations, but people with ADHD don't. As an adult ADHD coach & blogger, I have people across Canada constantly complaining to me that they can't find a doctor who knows enough about ADHD to diagnose or treat them. ADHD students are more likely to repeat a grade 42% vs 13% control group, get suspended 60% vs 19%, be expelled 14% vs 6% and drop out 32% vs 0. http://bit.ly/hoiKV With these real problems, why aren't provincial governments taking ADHD seriously? For parents of students with ADHD I've got 5 pages of links to articles and ebooks on teaching students with ADHD on my website http://bit.ly/16oxmR Also important to realize ADHD is the #2 genetically inherited condition in the world, 80%. If a child has it the parents should be screened for it. Men unfortunately are usually are in denial longer than women.
Submitted by Pete Quily at 8:57 PM Saturday, May 16 2009
If you identify you must accommodate.
That was the reason one of my vice principals gave me for not running an IEP on a disruptive student. A school only has so many resources. If everyone is identified for everything, the schools will need more money. On the other hand, my administration once let me run a class with a full class size of 3 and a daily average of two students. One of the two was an in identified special student who needed individual attention. He had a great semester with me and I think it changed his high school trajectory. There are people who care in the education system, and they do what they can. It all comes down to how much they can do with what they are given. If there are people out there with a magic bullet, then fine, but abandoning a child to flounder in a system not designed for their needs would be cruel. Sure a lot of us who grew up before these things became known suffered and got by. That didn't make it right then, and it certainly doesn't make it right now.
Submitted by normhead at 8:56 PM Saturday, May 16 2009
Be Realistic
Every parent should be the primary educator for their child. Never give this responsibility over to anyone else. Fact: there may be 30 other students in the classroom and the special needs of the ADHD/ADD student are very difficult to arrange, especially for one child. Fact: The Ontario school system does have a system in place, it is called the IEP and this is based on performance. Fact: as is all life situations, the child will need and must be taught to be responsive to taking personal responsibility for adapting to their individual challenge.
Submitted by muskokaphotog at 11:27 AM Saturday, May 16 2009
final comments...
In my experience, some students also take advantage of their diagnosis of ADHD/ADD, to the detriment of the others trying to learn. They need to be willing to work within the accommodations - not just killing time in the classroom trying to avoid suspension. This can be better addressed in a classroom of 15, instead of 20 - that personal attention is absolutely vital to helping an ADHD student, especially one whose frustrations have grown until they get to you. If the disorder has slipped through the cracks and diagnosis doesn't happen until high school, they will come to class feeling that they are stupid or bad, which isn't true. But diagnosis can happen faster in elementary schools if teachers aren't overworked and don't have crowded classrooms.
Submitted by witchelemental at 10:24 AM Saturday, May 16 2009
objection
As a teacher of eight years, I received thorough training in recognition and support strategies while in teacher's college at Trent and Queens, in their Con-Ed program. Professional development in schools do frequently provide retraining and discussion on PD days; the board I work for does provide IEPs for students with ADHD, after diagnostic tests (and before, if it is suspected, a Non-Identified IEP can be prepared for the student). To say that there is a failure to acknowledge or accommodate is wrong - it would be more accurate to say that despite promises of lower class sizes, the teacher-student ratio is still too high to enable or facilitate positive interactions for teachers and ADHD / ADD students.
Submitted by witchelemental at 10:14 AM Saturday, May 16 2009
Because of the lack of training for teachers my son was not diagnosed until he was 14 yrs old. His kindergarten teacher said he didn't pay attn; he did not follow instruction; his Gr. 1 teacher had me have his hearing tested. She believed he chose to not pay attention. A special ed teacher in high school suggested we have him tested for ADHD; she believed it was a simple blood test. After extensive testing we found that he was ADHD with a slight learning disability. I wrongly assumed that the professionals in our school system might catch something like that in early years. School was a constant struggle. After 4 years of HS teachers no longer returned my calls nor did they do their part as was laid out in his education plan. Yet they expected my son to do his part. He is 23 years old - a 'late bloomer' but I know that he will come into his own. He has many talents and he makes me laugh when I need it most. He is a gentle soul with a big heart.
Submitted by LK at 10:02 AM Saturday, May 16 2009
ADHD is difficult for all concerned
I sympathize with the kids and parents who are dealing with the difficulties linked to ADHD. But I want them to try to imagine the chaos in a class of 37 with 4 kids with ADHD, one with Asperger's, one with hearing loss, two with receptive language disorders, and 3 traumatized kids living in foster care. Most teachers do the best we can -- honestly. There's only so much one adult can accomplish with those conditions and no support. I've read many articles to learn strategies for these disorders and conditions, attended workshops, and taken special ed courses ($1000 each) to try to succeed, but sometimes it feel overwhelming from my perspective too. Every class needs an EA.
Submitted by what the what? at 9:02 AM Saturday, May 16 2009
`Very, very frustrating' search for ADHD support
May 16, 2009 04:30 AM
Andrea Gordon
Family issues reporter
Margo Brunning knew something wasn't right when her son started school. Mitchell struggled to hold a pencil. He was constantly distracted and in trouble. He couldn't decode words or grasp other stepping-stones to reading. And as learning got harder, he became more disruptive.
The boy's Toronto school said he was too young for an assessment, so the family paid for private testing. It revealed Mitchell had ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), causing inattention, impulsive behaviour and difficulty sitting still.
But the relief of finally knowing what was wrong soon turned to dismay, Brunning says. Because even though ADHD interfered with her son's ability to learn, the diagnosis didn't automatically entitle him to supports at school.
Unlike learning disabilities, autism or other conditions that qualify as "exceptionalities," an ADHD diagnosis, by itself, does not give students the legal right to accommodations though special education in Ontario.
"It's very, very frustrating and it's a constant struggle," Brunning says.
The lack of formal recognition means that when it comes to teaching children with the disorder, there is no consistency among teachers, schools and school boards, says Heidi Bernhardt, national director of the Centre for ADD/ADHD Advocacy Canada (caddac.ca).
Mitchell is now 14 and his mother has spent eight years fielding calls and complaints about his behaviour and school work, fighting for supports in the classroom, and paying for tutoring and other outside help. She explained strategies to teachers: seating him at the front of the class; if he was restless, sending him to the office on errands or out for a drink of water; breaking down instructions into bite-sized chunks he could remember.
She stressed that constant punishment only makes things worse for kids with ADHD, who struggle with self-control; that positive reinforcement is critical.
She says her son, a competitive skier, is bright, with strong verbal reasoning skills. He likes school. With the right strategies and supports, he can succeed and function in a way that doesn't disrupt the classroom. But to get those, "you have to be in their face."
ADHD kids tend to be intelligent, or often gifted. But experts say the trajectory for those who don't get school supports can be grim, leading to a cycle of frustration, acting out, punishments and being labelled as bad or lazy. Self-esteem plummets; they may be socially ostracized or bullied.
There is mounting scientific evidence about how ADHD reflects delayed brain development, says Rosemary Tannock, senior scientist of psychiatry research at the Hospital for Sick Children and a leading expert on ADHD.
"It interferes with a child's learning in school, friendships and their ability to follow the rules," says Tannock, an OISE professor and one of the founders of teachadhd.com, a website for teachers.
She cites a U.S. longitudinal study in the 1990s that found over a four-year period, kids with ADHD saw reading and math scores decline by 8 to 10 per cent. Scandinavian research yielded similar results.
Bernhardt says the school system's failure to acknowledge or accommodate the disorder reflects a widespread lack of understanding.
ADHD has been recognized for decades as a medical, neurobiological disorder and is the most prevalent mental health problem among children, affecting between 5 and 12 per cent of school-age kids, which means several students in every classroom.
"But there's still a reluctance to view ADHD as a cognitive deficit that impacts learning," Bernhardt says. "People see it as a behaviour problem."
Teachers aren't trained to recognize and cope with it, even though it can cause havoc in classes. Instead, most focus on the behaviour that erupts when students can't pay attention and learn, and treat that as the source of the problem, rather than a symptom.
Bernhardt says it's "ludicrous" that, when it comes to getting help in school, a child with ADHD is better off having another physical, behavioural or learning disability as well, "which then gives them the right to request accommodation and extra help."
This is not the case in provinces like Alberta, which supports kids with ADHD and provides training and resources for teachers and extensive online material.
Kids with ADHD need a combination of clinical treatment, classroom supports and behaviour strategies, says Dr. Umesh Jain, Toronto child psychiatrist and chair of the Canadian ADHD Resource Alliance (caddra.ca), an association of physicians and researchers.
He says medication that increases a child's ability to pay attention is often, but not always, part of treatment. It can help kids concentrate so they can learn coping skills, develop new habits and change their behaviour, he says. But it needs to be accompanied by strategies in classrooms and at home.
"The misguided belief is that medication solves the child's problems," he says. "I have parents say `I feel like I'm being held hostage by the school because they won't give my child any accommodations.'''
Jain says children with ADHD are often creative high-achievers who have the potential to be "the powerhouses of society" if they are properly taught and supported.
Bernhardt says when the teaching and school supports aren't there, parents feel pressured to resort to higher doses of medication, simply so kids can function in school. She says countries that focus more on accommodating students have lower rates of medicating.
Experts say many school accommodations don't cost money or even require a formal plan, but can be adopted for entire classrooms. Teaching tactics include: breaking down instructions into small chunks, pausing and repeating; reinforcing verbal material with visual and written versions; leaving material on the board; giving a restless child a task or allowing them to move around; taking five minutes at the end of the day to help them organize homework.
Tannock recently completed a study with teachers in Owen Sound schools who adopted the strategies for breaking down information and instructions in their classrooms. Teachers reported less stress, inattention and hyperactivity across the board.
Brunning agrees that simple strategies can make a big difference.
"When the teacher doesn't understand, it's brutal. But when they do, and especially if a core teacher communicates strategies to other teachers and people in the office, things can go pretty smoothly."
Truth vs fiction
Myth: ADHD is a childhood disorder. Fact: It is a lifespan disorder; 60 per cent of those diagnosed as children continue to be impaired in adulthood.
Myth: ADHD is a Western phenomenon. Fact: It is worldwide, with higher incidences in Southeast Asia and parts of Europe than reported in Canada.
Myth: Kids with the disorder are always hyper. Fact: ADHD is an attention disorder. Often it includes hyperactivity, but not always.
Myth: It primarily affects boys. Fact: Many girls go undiagnosed because they may be inattentive in a less noticeable way that resembles "daydreaming." By adulthood, the male-female ratio is almost equal.
Myth: It is a behaviour disorder. Fact: It is a medical disorder.
Myth: ADHD is caused by too much sugar, TV or computer time, lax parenting or lack of exercise. Fact: The cause is neurobiological; the scientific evidence is recognized by all major medical associations and government health agencies.
Myth: Kids with ADHD can't pay attention.
Fact: The nature of the disorder is they cannot regulate their attention, so it may change quickly. They are capable of focusing, particularly on stimulating activities.
Sources: Canadian ADHD/ADD
Resource Alliance
Comments
a huge problem
I have a grade 9 art class of 26. 14 of them have special needs. I have 75 minutes a day to deliver curriculum content and if I break that down into a fair distribution of my time that's not a lot of time per student. Add in the special needs of all 14 identified students and I am swamped. Of that 14, 4 of them are ADHD, 3 have safety plans because of behaviour, 1 must be contantly monitored as his behaviour is so violent that the police are involved, 4 are unable to read handouts, 1 can't even spell his own last name and the rest have processing issues...and I have absolutely no training in how to deal with special needs students. The students who are "normal" are usually left to figure things out on their own because I end up spending my time helping students understand a project, stay on task, ask them to stop throwing paint, & transcribe answers for those who can't write. This is a fairly average classroom. How am I supposed to do meet everyone's needs every day?
Submitted by 123456abcde at 6:49 PM Monday, May 18 2009
People in general are extremely ignorant regarding ADD
As Adult with ADD in the 1970's you were place in special classes with mentally challenge kids. People said and criticized you inability to stay focus. ADD or ADHD is a disability both federal and provincial fail to recognize this. In order to function fully we need medication or minds are just going float around. Teachers today need further training on this issue and how to spot it. There is too many teachers that will just single out a student because of lack of training and understanding. Latter in life employers need also be more understanding. That is why ADHD must be recognized has a disability to prevent discrimination.
Submitted by revelations at 9:58 AM Monday, May 18 2009
Accommodations are made
It was somewhat disheartening to read the frustration felt by families of those children having ADHD. I work for the DCDSB in Durham and in my role of program support teacher, we work very hard with our families in supporting all the needs of our students. We do not have to wait for a formal identification before we are able to put accommodations in place that support the learning needs of students. Our mission is to work TOGETHER with families, Board Personnel, outside support (i.e.medical and other) in order to BEST understand and address those needs. A.M.Sacco
Submitted by amo at 6:58 PM Sunday, May 17 2009
@ jjsmith
I see where you're coming from, but you obviously don't understand what's going on here. A badly-behaved, poorly raised child is one thing, and there are a lot of them out there. But there's a big difference between a kid who won't behave, and a kid who literally *can't* behave. I have ADD; because I am a girl and not hyperactive, I wasn't diagnosed until I was 18. So I spent nearly 13 years of schooling catching $h*t from everybody because I literally could not pay attention in class, or get my assignments done even if I wanted to. High School was one long, lonely nightmare. When you don't know what's "wrong" with you, it can be really terrifying, especially when you get labeled as lazy, insolent and bizarre by everyone around you.
Submitted by hiboucornu at 11:49 AM Sunday, May 17 2009
measures beneficial for all
My son has a diagnosed ADHD. High school was a torture for him, university was a pure enjoyment and now he is a grad student in one of the most prestigious universities of US. As an university instructor I see that certain practices mandatory at university could be beneficial for all students but are crucial for those with ADHD. Unfortunately all my attempts to point this out were dismissed by the school administration: "We are not university!" *** School courses usually do not have a clear marking scheme announced before or during the first class; students have no way to see their current marks as recorded by the teacher. *** Home assignments usually are not placed on the course website (most of the courses do not have websites). Students (especially those with ADHD) tend to forget their home assignments. Sometimes they are missing the class and have no means to recover assignments except asking classmates (this is a usual advice of the teachers aka invitation to plagiarism .
Submitted by Red Herring at 3:56 AM Sunday, May 17 2009
Cost of ignoring ADHD = Some teaching resources for ADHD students
Unfortunately Adults and children with ADHD are 2nd class citizens in Canada. People with learning disabilities get accommodations, but people with ADHD don't. As an adult ADHD coach & blogger, I have people across Canada constantly complaining to me that they can't find a doctor who knows enough about ADHD to diagnose or treat them. ADHD students are more likely to repeat a grade 42% vs 13% control group, get suspended 60% vs 19%, be expelled 14% vs 6% and drop out 32% vs 0. http://bit.ly/hoiKV With these real problems, why aren't provincial governments taking ADHD seriously? For parents of students with ADHD I've got 5 pages of links to articles and ebooks on teaching students with ADHD on my website http://bit.ly/16oxmR Also important to realize ADHD is the #2 genetically inherited condition in the world, 80%. If a child has it the parents should be screened for it. Men unfortunately are usually are in denial longer than women.
Submitted by Pete Quily at 8:57 PM Saturday, May 16 2009
If you identify you must accommodate.
That was the reason one of my vice principals gave me for not running an IEP on a disruptive student. A school only has so many resources. If everyone is identified for everything, the schools will need more money. On the other hand, my administration once let me run a class with a full class size of 3 and a daily average of two students. One of the two was an in identified special student who needed individual attention. He had a great semester with me and I think it changed his high school trajectory. There are people who care in the education system, and they do what they can. It all comes down to how much they can do with what they are given. If there are people out there with a magic bullet, then fine, but abandoning a child to flounder in a system not designed for their needs would be cruel. Sure a lot of us who grew up before these things became known suffered and got by. That didn't make it right then, and it certainly doesn't make it right now.
Submitted by normhead at 8:56 PM Saturday, May 16 2009
Be Realistic
Every parent should be the primary educator for their child. Never give this responsibility over to anyone else. Fact: there may be 30 other students in the classroom and the special needs of the ADHD/ADD student are very difficult to arrange, especially for one child. Fact: The Ontario school system does have a system in place, it is called the IEP and this is based on performance. Fact: as is all life situations, the child will need and must be taught to be responsive to taking personal responsibility for adapting to their individual challenge.
Submitted by muskokaphotog at 11:27 AM Saturday, May 16 2009
final comments...
In my experience, some students also take advantage of their diagnosis of ADHD/ADD, to the detriment of the others trying to learn. They need to be willing to work within the accommodations - not just killing time in the classroom trying to avoid suspension. This can be better addressed in a classroom of 15, instead of 20 - that personal attention is absolutely vital to helping an ADHD student, especially one whose frustrations have grown until they get to you. If the disorder has slipped through the cracks and diagnosis doesn't happen until high school, they will come to class feeling that they are stupid or bad, which isn't true. But diagnosis can happen faster in elementary schools if teachers aren't overworked and don't have crowded classrooms.
Submitted by witchelemental at 10:24 AM Saturday, May 16 2009
objection
As a teacher of eight years, I received thorough training in recognition and support strategies while in teacher's college at Trent and Queens, in their Con-Ed program. Professional development in schools do frequently provide retraining and discussion on PD days; the board I work for does provide IEPs for students with ADHD, after diagnostic tests (and before, if it is suspected, a Non-Identified IEP can be prepared for the student). To say that there is a failure to acknowledge or accommodate is wrong - it would be more accurate to say that despite promises of lower class sizes, the teacher-student ratio is still too high to enable or facilitate positive interactions for teachers and ADHD / ADD students.
Submitted by witchelemental at 10:14 AM Saturday, May 16 2009
Because of the lack of training for teachers my son was not diagnosed until he was 14 yrs old. His kindergarten teacher said he didn't pay attn; he did not follow instruction; his Gr. 1 teacher had me have his hearing tested. She believed he chose to not pay attention. A special ed teacher in high school suggested we have him tested for ADHD; she believed it was a simple blood test. After extensive testing we found that he was ADHD with a slight learning disability. I wrongly assumed that the professionals in our school system might catch something like that in early years. School was a constant struggle. After 4 years of HS teachers no longer returned my calls nor did they do their part as was laid out in his education plan. Yet they expected my son to do his part. He is 23 years old - a 'late bloomer' but I know that he will come into his own. He has many talents and he makes me laugh when I need it most. He is a gentle soul with a big heart.
Submitted by LK at 10:02 AM Saturday, May 16 2009
ADHD is difficult for all concerned
I sympathize with the kids and parents who are dealing with the difficulties linked to ADHD. But I want them to try to imagine the chaos in a class of 37 with 4 kids with ADHD, one with Asperger's, one with hearing loss, two with receptive language disorders, and 3 traumatized kids living in foster care. Most teachers do the best we can -- honestly. There's only so much one adult can accomplish with those conditions and no support. I've read many articles to learn strategies for these disorders and conditions, attended workshops, and taken special ed courses ($1000 each) to try to succeed, but sometimes it feel overwhelming from my perspective too. Every class needs an EA.
Submitted by what the what? at 9:02 AM Saturday, May 16 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Why did Matthew miss 39 days of school?
SUSPENSIONS
Why did Matthew miss 39 days of school?
Apr 25, 2009 04:32 AM
Apr 25, 2009 04:32 AM
Comments on this story (22)
Andrea Gordon
Family issues reporter
Grade 7 has been a banner year for 12-year-old Matthew Leaton. His project on earthquakes was a winner of the science fair at his Brampton middle school. In February, he was chosen to make a presentation at the assembly honouring Black History Month.
And eight months into the school year, he has been suspended only once.
It's a big turnaround in a tumultuous school life. Matthew has been suspended "too many times for me to remember off the top of my head," says his mother, Nancy.
Matthew, a redhead with an infectious chuckle who loves to talk about maps and aeronautics, has Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism. He also has a learning disability and anxiety.
But over the four years it took to get a complete diagnosis, Matthew floundered in the public school system without appropriate supports. He has been in five schools with an array of teachers, in both regular classrooms and those for kids with behaviour problems. Frustrated and without tools, he sometimes exploded, talked back and got in fights; he was frequently disciplined.
During Grade 5, the family counted 39 missed days of school. Sometimes it was suspensions; other times, Nancy was called and asked to pick up her son or to keep him home. Matthew has been excluded from field trips and isolated from other kids in "time-out rooms."
His self-esteem plummeted. He told his mother, a retired teacher, that he was so bad, he wished he were dead.
Even when things were at their worst, "I still wanted to go to school," Matthew says. But he was constantly afraid he would do something wrong.
On a recent April evening, his blue eyes are bright as he shows a visitor his science fair display on structures built to withstand earthquakes. He chatters about the presentation he made during an assembly at Greenbriar Senior Public School about baseball legend Jackie Robinson and black hockey player Willie O'Ree, his twice-weekly evenings at Air Cadets and how he is learning to play drums.
Educators, advocates and many parents say Matthew's years of being bounced from one class to another, and punished, are not uncommon. Children with learning disabilities, mental health issues or neurological disorders like autism wait months, sometimes years, for assessments to identify their learning needs. Then they wait again to get supports they're legally entitled to.
In the meantime, they can't cope and may run away from classrooms, swear, hit or act out in other ways. They get disciplined or suspended, gain a rep as a "bad kid," feel marginalized, then the cycle repeats.
"There is significant frustration," says Martha Mackinnon, a former teacher and now lawyer and executive director of the non-profit legal aid clinic Justice for Children and Youth.
"School boards say they don't have the resources (to support special ed students) but their reaction is too often a disciplinary response, and too many kids end up getting suspended."
The deck is stacked against parents, who often feel too overwhelmed and stonewalled to fight back against the rules and bureaucracies of school boards, says Mackinnon, who trains and advises lawyers working on behalf of students and families.
School boards, meanwhile, are faced with balancing the rights of frustrated children in need of support – who may act out by hitting or threatening – "with rights of staff and other students to be in a safe learning and working environment," says Debra Krutila, superintendent of special education support services at Peel District School Board. Matthew has attended schools in the Peel board.
Tony Pontes, the board's superintendent of staff development and school support services, says practices have improved since safe schools legislation was amended a year ago, giving principals and teachers more discretion in handling student behaviour.
"We've seen a significant shift away from suspensions as automatic or mandated," Pontes says. Principals have discretion to consider alternatives, options for preventing and de-escalating situations, and mitigating circumstances such as whether a child is capable of self-control or of understanding his or her actions.
The previous legislation was based on a zero-tolerance approach to discipline. The Ontario Human Rights Commission found it was disproportionately punishing special needs students.
And, in fact, under zero tolerance, students at the Toronto District School Board who had been formally identified as needing special ed services – representing 10 per cent of all students – accounted for 23 per cent of suspensions in 2007/08.
Across Ontario, in 2006-07, students formally identified with special ed needs represented 9 per cent of the student population but accounted for 21 per cent of tudents who were suspended and 22 per cent of those expelled
And the problem is likely much worse than these numbers suggest. Students with unidentified learning problems and mental health issues account for many suspensions not formally linked to special needs. And advocates note suspension statistics don't include "off-the-books" disciplinary measures, when parents are requested to take children home or to agree to "voluntary suspensions" that don't go on the student record.
"I've never been so discouraged as by what I'm seeing now," says Georgina Rayner of Toronto, a volunteer who has spent 25 years advocating for families of special needs kids.
Rayner says discipline by punishment doesn't work for kids in crisis and particularly those with neurological disorders who don't easily grasp the connection between action and consequence.
"Behaviour is a form of communication. Something is wrong if a kid is acting out and we have to find out what it is. Instead, we have a system that says, `Until the kids behave, we don't want to (deal with) them.'"
Jeff Kugler, a former teacher and principal who is now executive director of the Centre for Urban Schooling at OISE/U of T, says lack of resources means the situation "couldn't be more dire" for many students.
He says the province needs to invest in more teachers with special ed training, educational assistants and aides, and child and youth workers. Without that, "teachers are put in the awful situation of having to support these kids, and they can't, and that's how the cycle unfolds."
Toronto psychologist and OISE professor Judith Weiner agrees.
"I work with parents of kids with ADHD. At the last workshop, we had a pile of parents in tears describing this type of situation."
One father works from home because he gets called every second day to pick up his child. In another case, a child needing support could only stay until recess each morning.
"I firmly believe we can't afford not to provide the supports," Weiner says. "It's not just in the interests of the child, but of society. Otherwise, these kids will grow up illiterate, they'll grow up with mental health issues or they'll end up in the criminal justice system."
Margot Nelles, founder of the Asperger's Society of Ontario, estimates she spends 85 per cent of her time helping parents whose kids are in crisis at school. "We're talking about kids who are emotionally traumatized," she says. "Our education system is failing these children."
Parents like Nancy Leaton – who also has two daughters in university – say they are viewed as "problem parents" because they fight hard for their kids' rights. Relationships can quickly turn antagonistic.
Kugler says that's when principals need to set a constructive tone – by conceding that resources are inadequate but vowing to do what they can anyway to help a struggling child, in partnership with parents.
He says Matthew's story is headed toward a happier ending than most. This year, the boy is one of 10 students in a class for kids with autism spectrum disorder. He also attends a social skills group through a local health centre.
His teacher, Carole Ann MacDonald, says he is thriving and joins regular classes for some of his subjects.
MacDonald, who understands her students because she also has autism, teaches them strategies for coping with frustration and conflict. They talk about triggers and learn through role-playing and drama.
Matthew says that sometimes, when he's been really mad, he has hit a classmate. "Usually what happens is, 20 minutes later, we're friends again."
But he lists off new coping skills: deep breaths; removing himself to the relaxation room just off his classroom; seeking out his special ed teacher to talk.
Learning is less stressful, too, now that Matthew has assistive technology such as an FM system so he can hear the teacher through headphones over the background noise, and a laptop for typing to accommodate his weak fine motor skills.
"It's really sad" when kids with special needs aren't given enough support and then get punished, MacDonald says. Especially because, with the right strategies and accommodations, many can succeed.
"I can't think of one of my students who doesn't have the ability to go to university one day," she says.
"We, as a society, need to be able to see that having a disability doesn't mean people can't do things. It just means doing them differently."
http://www.thestar.com/article/622139
Why did Matthew miss 39 days of school?
Apr 25, 2009 04:32 AM
Apr 25, 2009 04:32 AM
Comments on this story (22)
Andrea Gordon
Family issues reporter
Grade 7 has been a banner year for 12-year-old Matthew Leaton. His project on earthquakes was a winner of the science fair at his Brampton middle school. In February, he was chosen to make a presentation at the assembly honouring Black History Month.
And eight months into the school year, he has been suspended only once.
It's a big turnaround in a tumultuous school life. Matthew has been suspended "too many times for me to remember off the top of my head," says his mother, Nancy.
Matthew, a redhead with an infectious chuckle who loves to talk about maps and aeronautics, has Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism. He also has a learning disability and anxiety.
But over the four years it took to get a complete diagnosis, Matthew floundered in the public school system without appropriate supports. He has been in five schools with an array of teachers, in both regular classrooms and those for kids with behaviour problems. Frustrated and without tools, he sometimes exploded, talked back and got in fights; he was frequently disciplined.
During Grade 5, the family counted 39 missed days of school. Sometimes it was suspensions; other times, Nancy was called and asked to pick up her son or to keep him home. Matthew has been excluded from field trips and isolated from other kids in "time-out rooms."
His self-esteem plummeted. He told his mother, a retired teacher, that he was so bad, he wished he were dead.
Even when things were at their worst, "I still wanted to go to school," Matthew says. But he was constantly afraid he would do something wrong.
On a recent April evening, his blue eyes are bright as he shows a visitor his science fair display on structures built to withstand earthquakes. He chatters about the presentation he made during an assembly at Greenbriar Senior Public School about baseball legend Jackie Robinson and black hockey player Willie O'Ree, his twice-weekly evenings at Air Cadets and how he is learning to play drums.
Educators, advocates and many parents say Matthew's years of being bounced from one class to another, and punished, are not uncommon. Children with learning disabilities, mental health issues or neurological disorders like autism wait months, sometimes years, for assessments to identify their learning needs. Then they wait again to get supports they're legally entitled to.
In the meantime, they can't cope and may run away from classrooms, swear, hit or act out in other ways. They get disciplined or suspended, gain a rep as a "bad kid," feel marginalized, then the cycle repeats.
"There is significant frustration," says Martha Mackinnon, a former teacher and now lawyer and executive director of the non-profit legal aid clinic Justice for Children and Youth.
"School boards say they don't have the resources (to support special ed students) but their reaction is too often a disciplinary response, and too many kids end up getting suspended."
The deck is stacked against parents, who often feel too overwhelmed and stonewalled to fight back against the rules and bureaucracies of school boards, says Mackinnon, who trains and advises lawyers working on behalf of students and families.
School boards, meanwhile, are faced with balancing the rights of frustrated children in need of support – who may act out by hitting or threatening – "with rights of staff and other students to be in a safe learning and working environment," says Debra Krutila, superintendent of special education support services at Peel District School Board. Matthew has attended schools in the Peel board.
Tony Pontes, the board's superintendent of staff development and school support services, says practices have improved since safe schools legislation was amended a year ago, giving principals and teachers more discretion in handling student behaviour.
"We've seen a significant shift away from suspensions as automatic or mandated," Pontes says. Principals have discretion to consider alternatives, options for preventing and de-escalating situations, and mitigating circumstances such as whether a child is capable of self-control or of understanding his or her actions.
The previous legislation was based on a zero-tolerance approach to discipline. The Ontario Human Rights Commission found it was disproportionately punishing special needs students.
And, in fact, under zero tolerance, students at the Toronto District School Board who had been formally identified as needing special ed services – representing 10 per cent of all students – accounted for 23 per cent of suspensions in 2007/08.
Across Ontario, in 2006-07, students formally identified with special ed needs represented 9 per cent of the student population but accounted for 21 per cent of tudents who were suspended and 22 per cent of those expelled
And the problem is likely much worse than these numbers suggest. Students with unidentified learning problems and mental health issues account for many suspensions not formally linked to special needs. And advocates note suspension statistics don't include "off-the-books" disciplinary measures, when parents are requested to take children home or to agree to "voluntary suspensions" that don't go on the student record.
"I've never been so discouraged as by what I'm seeing now," says Georgina Rayner of Toronto, a volunteer who has spent 25 years advocating for families of special needs kids.
Rayner says discipline by punishment doesn't work for kids in crisis and particularly those with neurological disorders who don't easily grasp the connection between action and consequence.
"Behaviour is a form of communication. Something is wrong if a kid is acting out and we have to find out what it is. Instead, we have a system that says, `Until the kids behave, we don't want to (deal with) them.'"
Jeff Kugler, a former teacher and principal who is now executive director of the Centre for Urban Schooling at OISE/U of T, says lack of resources means the situation "couldn't be more dire" for many students.
He says the province needs to invest in more teachers with special ed training, educational assistants and aides, and child and youth workers. Without that, "teachers are put in the awful situation of having to support these kids, and they can't, and that's how the cycle unfolds."
Toronto psychologist and OISE professor Judith Weiner agrees.
"I work with parents of kids with ADHD. At the last workshop, we had a pile of parents in tears describing this type of situation."
One father works from home because he gets called every second day to pick up his child. In another case, a child needing support could only stay until recess each morning.
"I firmly believe we can't afford not to provide the supports," Weiner says. "It's not just in the interests of the child, but of society. Otherwise, these kids will grow up illiterate, they'll grow up with mental health issues or they'll end up in the criminal justice system."
Margot Nelles, founder of the Asperger's Society of Ontario, estimates she spends 85 per cent of her time helping parents whose kids are in crisis at school. "We're talking about kids who are emotionally traumatized," she says. "Our education system is failing these children."
Parents like Nancy Leaton – who also has two daughters in university – say they are viewed as "problem parents" because they fight hard for their kids' rights. Relationships can quickly turn antagonistic.
Kugler says that's when principals need to set a constructive tone – by conceding that resources are inadequate but vowing to do what they can anyway to help a struggling child, in partnership with parents.
He says Matthew's story is headed toward a happier ending than most. This year, the boy is one of 10 students in a class for kids with autism spectrum disorder. He also attends a social skills group through a local health centre.
His teacher, Carole Ann MacDonald, says he is thriving and joins regular classes for some of his subjects.
MacDonald, who understands her students because she also has autism, teaches them strategies for coping with frustration and conflict. They talk about triggers and learn through role-playing and drama.
Matthew says that sometimes, when he's been really mad, he has hit a classmate. "Usually what happens is, 20 minutes later, we're friends again."
But he lists off new coping skills: deep breaths; removing himself to the relaxation room just off his classroom; seeking out his special ed teacher to talk.
Learning is less stressful, too, now that Matthew has assistive technology such as an FM system so he can hear the teacher through headphones over the background noise, and a laptop for typing to accommodate his weak fine motor skills.
"It's really sad" when kids with special needs aren't given enough support and then get punished, MacDonald says. Especially because, with the right strategies and accommodations, many can succeed.
"I can't think of one of my students who doesn't have the ability to go to university one day," she says.
"We, as a society, need to be able to see that having a disability doesn't mean people can't do things. It just means doing them differently."
http://www.thestar.com/article/622139
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
At-risk youth 'living the dream'
At-risk youth 'living the dream'
Regent Park student gets help from scholarship program to continue studies
Oct 29, 2008 04:31 AM
Comments on this story (1)
Kristin Rushowy
Education Reporter
Of his group of friends growing up in Regent Park, four have died. Two are "into street life." Two went from high school straight to the workforce.
Ismail Aboobakker is the only one to go to university.
"We had dreams of doing great things together, and only one of us is doing it," said the 22-year-old in a recent interview. "I am living the dream for all of us."
Aboobakker is in his fourth year at the University of Toronto's Scarborough campus, studying math with plans to be a high school teacher. This is also the fourth year he has received a scholarship for teens who grew up at-risk.
The scholarship, from the Yonge Street Mission, will benefit 30 youths this year who either attend the Yonge Street Mission's Evergreen Centre for Street Youth or the community centre in Regent Park.
It provides them with a yearly stipend to help offset the cost of their studies and matches them with a volunteer mentor. The mission is holding a gala fundraiser for the scholarship at the Royal Ontario Museum on Thursday.
"University is a total change from high school," said Aboobakker, who volunteers at the mission and has himself been asked to be a mentor. "It either makes you or breaks you."
Strong family support helped get him through elementary and high school. But he had trouble adjusting to post-secondary life. He was skipping classes and in the first semester of his first year failed two courses. He was subsequently suspended from the campus's junior varsity basketball team.
When he appealed to one professor to bump his calculus mark from the high 40s to a 50 so he could pass, the professor told him that "just passing" wasn't good enough, that he should strive to be better.
That got his attention. "I pulled up my socks – to my waist," he said, adding he repeated the calculus course and earned an A-plus.
Domanique Grant is another scholarship recipient. She just started her first year at York University, studying theatre and psychology.
"The scholarship helps me put a lot more time into studying rather than worrying about work" and how to pay for school, says the singer and actress, who performed at the Luminato Festival last summer.
Barbara Walkden, the mission's director of development, says the scholarship program began back in 2003, with a group of supporters raising $150,000 and matching funds from the government. Then, in 2005, a donor gave $1 million to set up an endowment fund for teens from Regent Park or those who had lived on the streets, and since then the mission has given out 20 to 30 scholarships a year, ranging from $1,500 to $3,000. Students also receive a reconditioned laptop from Dell.
"The (students) are from struggling families in the Regent Park area, some are raised by their grandparents," she said. "For the street youth, so many have suffered abuse of one form or another that's led them to the street. I think we are able to take youth that might not otherwise have an interest in furthering their education."
Students can use the money to attend the post-secondary institution of their choice. George Brown is a popular option but students are spread out across the province and beyond: one is studying nursing at the University of Windsor, another international relations at Concordia, and another political science at the University of Toronto.
Walkden said, "The only way out of poverty is education."
http://www.thestar.com/article/526449
Regent Park student gets help from scholarship program to continue studies
Oct 29, 2008 04:31 AM
Comments on this story (1)
Kristin Rushowy
Education Reporter
Of his group of friends growing up in Regent Park, four have died. Two are "into street life." Two went from high school straight to the workforce.
Ismail Aboobakker is the only one to go to university.
"We had dreams of doing great things together, and only one of us is doing it," said the 22-year-old in a recent interview. "I am living the dream for all of us."
Aboobakker is in his fourth year at the University of Toronto's Scarborough campus, studying math with plans to be a high school teacher. This is also the fourth year he has received a scholarship for teens who grew up at-risk.
The scholarship, from the Yonge Street Mission, will benefit 30 youths this year who either attend the Yonge Street Mission's Evergreen Centre for Street Youth or the community centre in Regent Park.
It provides them with a yearly stipend to help offset the cost of their studies and matches them with a volunteer mentor. The mission is holding a gala fundraiser for the scholarship at the Royal Ontario Museum on Thursday.
"University is a total change from high school," said Aboobakker, who volunteers at the mission and has himself been asked to be a mentor. "It either makes you or breaks you."
Strong family support helped get him through elementary and high school. But he had trouble adjusting to post-secondary life. He was skipping classes and in the first semester of his first year failed two courses. He was subsequently suspended from the campus's junior varsity basketball team.
When he appealed to one professor to bump his calculus mark from the high 40s to a 50 so he could pass, the professor told him that "just passing" wasn't good enough, that he should strive to be better.
That got his attention. "I pulled up my socks – to my waist," he said, adding he repeated the calculus course and earned an A-plus.
Domanique Grant is another scholarship recipient. She just started her first year at York University, studying theatre and psychology.
"The scholarship helps me put a lot more time into studying rather than worrying about work" and how to pay for school, says the singer and actress, who performed at the Luminato Festival last summer.
Barbara Walkden, the mission's director of development, says the scholarship program began back in 2003, with a group of supporters raising $150,000 and matching funds from the government. Then, in 2005, a donor gave $1 million to set up an endowment fund for teens from Regent Park or those who had lived on the streets, and since then the mission has given out 20 to 30 scholarships a year, ranging from $1,500 to $3,000. Students also receive a reconditioned laptop from Dell.
"The (students) are from struggling families in the Regent Park area, some are raised by their grandparents," she said. "For the street youth, so many have suffered abuse of one form or another that's led them to the street. I think we are able to take youth that might not otherwise have an interest in furthering their education."
Students can use the money to attend the post-secondary institution of their choice. George Brown is a popular option but students are spread out across the province and beyond: one is studying nursing at the University of Windsor, another international relations at Concordia, and another political science at the University of Toronto.
Walkden said, "The only way out of poverty is education."
http://www.thestar.com/article/526449
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Where is Aju Iroaga
This story caught my eye because of this
"Iroaga, on his second day on the job, had been ordered by his crew boss to replant a section of trees he had improperly planted the first day out and the block he'd planted that morning. Iroaga refused.
He threw down his shovel, his tree-planting bag, his high-visibility vest, hard hat and work boots, laced up his leather running shoes and walked away. "
http://www.ajuiroaga.com/
Family seeks probe of son's disappearance
Apr 24, 2008 04:30 AM
dale anne freed, staff reporter Toronto Star
Iroaga, on his second day on the job, had been ordered by his crew boss to replant a section of trees he had improperly planted the first day out and the block he'd planted that morning. Iroaga refused.
He threw down his shovel, his tree-planting bag, his high-visibility vest, hard hat and work boots, laced up his leather running shoes and walked away.
He was an experienced tree planter. It was his second summer planting black spruce and jack pine seedlings in the northern bush.
According to witnesses, Iroaga had been told to wait on a corner of a dirt logging road for pickup at the day's end. He agreed. He was about 70 kilometres from the town of White River on Highway 17.
But by 4:05 p.m., when the crew arrived, Iroaga was not there.
"No sign, vanished," wrote Iroaga's supervisor, John Ritter, in notes made at the time.
Iroaga was last seen at 3:45 p.m. on May 15, 2006, walking alone up a dusty logging road.
Nearly two years later, his family, frustrated by a seemingly stalled investigation, is suggesting foul play in the young man's disappearance.
"I'm calling on the Ministry of Labour to get involved. All these young people they recruit from universities to go tree planting, it's under their responsibility if they go missing. I also want the coroner's office to do an inquest following their investigation," said Iroaga's father Nwab Iroaga, 71, who teaches organizational behaviour at Seneca College.
Nwab, of Scarborough, and his older son Echere, 37, an electrical engineer from California, flew to the area the day after Aju's disappearance. They found his driver's licence, Nigerian and Canadian passports, phone card, social insurance card and phone calling card with his camp belongings.
Five hours later the police were called in, said OPP Det. Sgt. Jeff Bangma, who worked on the case. Two officers drove the roads honking their horns; one stayed all night calling Aju's name.
"If the canine units didn't find him, then somehow he must have been transported out of that place," said Aju's father. He believes the search was made in the wrong area.
Two weeks later, the Iroagas hired a private investigator who also turned up nothing. Nwab offered a $50,000 reward for anyone with clues to finding his son.
Now he wants the search restarted and its area widened.
Aju's family is cranking up the pressure on authorities. They held a news conference at Queen's Park on Monday, the same day 30 friends and relatives sat in on the Legislature to urge the minister of community safety to re-open the case.
Progressive Conservative MPP Frank Klees rose in the Legislature to demand a probe on behalf of the family, saying that the OPP investigation was inconclusive. He also called for the Ministry of Labour to investigate. "Parents want to be assured, that (students are) being recruited to job sites that are safe."
NDP justice critic Peter Kormos blamed the OPP for what he termed "a botched investigation" and for not notifying the coroner's office. Minister of Community Safety Rick Bartolucci agreed to meet with the family at Queen's Park for half an hour and his deputy minister assured the Iroagas he'd report back in a month's time with updates.
"I'm very much encouraged. ... This is the first time somebody is really caring," said Nwab.
Last week, the office of the chief coroner launched an investigation into Aju's death and met with the OPP in Sudbury to get their assistance.
Aju was seen waiting by the logging road at least 10 times over the four hours after he quit. He gave a thumbs-up or wave to his supervisor as he drove by. A long-distance runner, Aju often sprinted close to 30 kilometres along the logging roads in the mornings before he left the Crocker Lake base camp at 7 a.m. for tree planting,
"I don't know how he got out (of the area). My impression is that he made it out. I assume the police investigation was that he got out since they called off the search," said Paul Thususka, a co-owner and general manager of A&M Reforestation, the company that hired Iroaga.
His parents say they need to know what happened. "I know for sure that my son is not alive," said his mother Nkechi, 59. But, "I need that closure so that my mind will rest."
http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/417768
"Iroaga, on his second day on the job, had been ordered by his crew boss to replant a section of trees he had improperly planted the first day out and the block he'd planted that morning. Iroaga refused.
He threw down his shovel, his tree-planting bag, his high-visibility vest, hard hat and work boots, laced up his leather running shoes and walked away. "
http://www.ajuiroaga.com/
Family seeks probe of son's disappearance
Apr 24, 2008 04:30 AM
dale anne freed, staff reporter Toronto Star
Iroaga, on his second day on the job, had been ordered by his crew boss to replant a section of trees he had improperly planted the first day out and the block he'd planted that morning. Iroaga refused.
He threw down his shovel, his tree-planting bag, his high-visibility vest, hard hat and work boots, laced up his leather running shoes and walked away.
He was an experienced tree planter. It was his second summer planting black spruce and jack pine seedlings in the northern bush.
According to witnesses, Iroaga had been told to wait on a corner of a dirt logging road for pickup at the day's end. He agreed. He was about 70 kilometres from the town of White River on Highway 17.
But by 4:05 p.m., when the crew arrived, Iroaga was not there.
"No sign, vanished," wrote Iroaga's supervisor, John Ritter, in notes made at the time.
Iroaga was last seen at 3:45 p.m. on May 15, 2006, walking alone up a dusty logging road.
Nearly two years later, his family, frustrated by a seemingly stalled investigation, is suggesting foul play in the young man's disappearance.
"I'm calling on the Ministry of Labour to get involved. All these young people they recruit from universities to go tree planting, it's under their responsibility if they go missing. I also want the coroner's office to do an inquest following their investigation," said Iroaga's father Nwab Iroaga, 71, who teaches organizational behaviour at Seneca College.
Nwab, of Scarborough, and his older son Echere, 37, an electrical engineer from California, flew to the area the day after Aju's disappearance. They found his driver's licence, Nigerian and Canadian passports, phone card, social insurance card and phone calling card with his camp belongings.
Five hours later the police were called in, said OPP Det. Sgt. Jeff Bangma, who worked on the case. Two officers drove the roads honking their horns; one stayed all night calling Aju's name.
"If the canine units didn't find him, then somehow he must have been transported out of that place," said Aju's father. He believes the search was made in the wrong area.
Two weeks later, the Iroagas hired a private investigator who also turned up nothing. Nwab offered a $50,000 reward for anyone with clues to finding his son.
Now he wants the search restarted and its area widened.
Aju's family is cranking up the pressure on authorities. They held a news conference at Queen's Park on Monday, the same day 30 friends and relatives sat in on the Legislature to urge the minister of community safety to re-open the case.
Progressive Conservative MPP Frank Klees rose in the Legislature to demand a probe on behalf of the family, saying that the OPP investigation was inconclusive. He also called for the Ministry of Labour to investigate. "Parents want to be assured, that (students are) being recruited to job sites that are safe."
NDP justice critic Peter Kormos blamed the OPP for what he termed "a botched investigation" and for not notifying the coroner's office. Minister of Community Safety Rick Bartolucci agreed to meet with the family at Queen's Park for half an hour and his deputy minister assured the Iroagas he'd report back in a month's time with updates.
"I'm very much encouraged. ... This is the first time somebody is really caring," said Nwab.
Last week, the office of the chief coroner launched an investigation into Aju's death and met with the OPP in Sudbury to get their assistance.
Aju was seen waiting by the logging road at least 10 times over the four hours after he quit. He gave a thumbs-up or wave to his supervisor as he drove by. A long-distance runner, Aju often sprinted close to 30 kilometres along the logging roads in the mornings before he left the Crocker Lake base camp at 7 a.m. for tree planting,
"I don't know how he got out (of the area). My impression is that he made it out. I assume the police investigation was that he got out since they called off the search," said Paul Thususka, a co-owner and general manager of A&M Reforestation, the company that hired Iroaga.
His parents say they need to know what happened. "I know for sure that my son is not alive," said his mother Nkechi, 59. But, "I need that closure so that my mind will rest."
http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/417768
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