SCS EXPRESS - 💕 February 2025 💕

This month, join Community Living Ontario in championing inclusive education—because every student deserves the opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive together.

Inclusive classrooms don’t just support students with intellectual disabilities—they create richer learning experiences for everyone. When schools, parents, teachers, and students embrace inclusion, the entire community benefits. Let’s spread the word and make inclusive education the standard!

To learn more, check out their revamped Inclusive Education Resources page here.

The OCDSB’s Transition Team in Learning Support Services (LSS), in partnership with the Ottawa Catholic School Board (OCSB), invites youth with intellectual disabilities and their parents/caregivers to learn more about how to navigate life after high school.

- Date: Thursday, February 13, 2025
- Time: 5:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
- Location: Confederation Education Centre (1645 Woodroffe Ave, Nepean)

At this resource fair, you will have the opportunity to meet a variety of service providers in the Ottawa region and learn about programs available for youth with an intellectual disability, including:

Service Coordination Support (SCS)
Developmental Services Ontario (DSO)
Community day programs
Recreational programs
Sports
Housing
Family networks

This is a drop-in event; advance registration is not required.

OCDSB has updated their website

We should also mention that OCDSB has updated their website, and would like to draw your attention to the following sections:

Special Education – Elementary:
https://www.ocdsb.ca/programs-learning/elementary/special-education
Special Education – Secondary:
https://www.ocdsb.ca/programs-learning/secondary/special-education
Transition Planning:
https://www.ocdsb.ca/programs-learning/secondary/special-education/transition-planning

Learn about Service Canada Programs and Benefits

Join DSO Housing Navigators as they welcome representatives from Service Canada for a free virtual presentation.

Topics covered will include:

The Canadian Dental Care Plan
Employment Insurance Benefits
Canada Pension Plan/Old Age Security Benefits
Apprenticeship Grants
Loans Services for Persons with a Disability

- Location: Virtual
- Date: Monday, February 10, 2025 at 10:00am - 11:00am
- Duration: 1h

Register here

Learn About the Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) and Canada Disability Savings Grant and Bond

Join DSO Housing Navigators as they welcome representatives from Employment and Social Development Canada for a free virtual presentation.

Location: Virtual
Date: Wednesday, February 12, 2025 at 2:00pm - 3:30pm
Duration: 1h 30m

Register here

Understanding Microboards

Join DSO Housing Navigators as they welcome guest speakers Karen Bell Executive Director for Microboards Ontario and Board member Kathleen Gifford.

There are many benefits to creating a Microboard. Learn what those benefits are and how a Microboard can help a person realize their vision of their future.

Location: Virtual
Date: Monday, February 24, 2025 at 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Duration: 1h

What are your child's favorite pastimes, interests and strengths? Some prefer to play sports, others want to do art, or maybe they just want to try new things?

Camps are also about developing new relations and making new friends. Participating in camp opportunities may help find affinity and facilitate friendships:

Find affinity with fellow campers who share similarities
Facilitate friendships with and learning from others with the same daily challenges

March Break 2025 is coming, and many organizations are offering camps on that week. Some are already fully booked, but if you haven’t booked a camp yet, you can contact our Children's Services Team to find out more about it.

Note that some organizations have already opened their registrations for the summer camps. When it comes to camps, it is better to start looking early before they get fully booked.

With Valentine's Day on the way, it's a good time to think about love! But is Valentine's Day just for romance?

Valentine's Day is a day for celebrating love, and not just romantic love between couples. It's a day to celebrate the love we have for our friends, family members, and even ourselves.

For most of us, relationships keep our lives together and we have a whole range of relationships.
But for others, these relationships are just as important, but can sometimes be difficult to form. Regardless of how easy it is to make friends, we all have a real need to build relationships.

When it doesn't come as naturally, we need to be more aware of our choices and decisions to develop our network of friends. Going to places where other people share common interests is a good place to start.

Don’t be afraid to ask. Friendships often form because we ask others to participate in a shared activity. There are a lot of theories about what make good friendships, but sometimes you have to keep it simple. If you are participating in an activity and you feel you are having a good time with other participants, it may be a good idea to invite them to something.

The Upsides of Friendship for Caregivers

Making friendships a priority and keeping them strong is key to creating a supportive community that benefits both caregivers and people with developmental disabilities. Friendships make for a more stable and fulfilling life for caregivers, which has a great impact on their ability to provide good care.

Your loved one is less at risk for abuse, neglect, and exploitation when surrounded by people who have a direct interest in their well-being.

The Circle of Friendship

Have you heard about Safe and Secure: Seven Steps on the Path to a Good Life for People with a Disability? This resource from P4P is designed specifically with and for your loved one with a disability – so that together you can begin building your loved one's very own "everyday life" and safeguard their future.

This resource offers a number of tools, including the Circle of Friendship. It helps you examine the people who are already part of your life, or the life of your loved one, and gain some understanding of the people around you.

According to this tool, relationships can be grouped in four categories:

1. Circle of intimacy
Loving relationships and the anchors in your relative’s life (mom, dad, …)

2. Circle of friendship
Friends and allies of your relative

3. Circle of participation
Shared interests and a neighbourhood connection (people your relative knows from clubs, committees, work, and so on)

4.Circle of exchange
Paid relationships (doctor, dentist, window cleaner, hairdresser, taxi driver, …)

What will emerge when your relative’s diagram is complete is a picture of how your relative’s network is or isn’t in balance. For example:

Many people with disabilities have the same number as other citizens in Circle 1, but few in Circles 2 and 3, and more in Circle 4
Some people with disabilities spend most of their lives with people who are paid to spend time with them, that is, those in the outer circle, the circle of exchange

The main strategy for strengthening the inner circles is to bring people in to Circle 3, the circle of participation. These are people who spend time sharing an activity of mutual interest—anything from working together, playing a sport, sharing an art or craft activity, to going out for a meal together or going to the theatre. Through participation, people become friends over time.

Don't miss P4P upcoming webinar Strengthening Your Family Network on February 26 at 7pm

When we are truly loved and valued, we gain a sense of belonging. When we feel like we belong, we change for the better. Our confidence improves as does our self-esteem, our sense of wellbeing, and our quality of life. Life takes on new meaning.

Happy Valentine's Day in advance from SCS