Culture
The Discipline of Respect
Language, Documentation, and Daily Practice This article is the fourth in our March series, From Awareness to Belonging, exploring how society continues to examine implicit bias, expectations, and dignity in developmental disability services. In the first article, we reflected on how awareness has evolved and why awareness alone is not enough. In the second article, […]
The Weight of Expectations
How Low Expectations Quietly Limit Opportunity This article is the third in our March series, From Awareness to Belonging, exploring how society continues to examine implicit bias, expectations, and dignity in developmental disability services. In the first article, we reflected on how awareness has evolved over time and why awareness alone is not enough. In […]
When Care Becomes Control
This article is the second in our March series, From Awareness to Belonging, exploring how society continues to examine implicit bias, expectations, and dignity in developmental disability services. In the first article, we reflected on how awareness has evolved over time and why awareness alone is not enough. This week, we look more closely at […]
Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month
How Far Have We Really Come? Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month began in 1987 when President Ronald Reagan called for greater public understanding and opportunity for people with developmental disabilities. Since then, awareness has expanded. Rights have strengthened. Community inclusion has advanced — including in Canada through legislation such as the Accessible Canada Act, which focuses […]
Safe/Unsafe vs Good/Bad
How we see defines what we see. If we see “behaviour” through the lens of good and bad, we create two categories of people and two value systems for their treatment. People judged to be good deserve to be treated with respect, deserve to be a part of the group, and deserve to feel worthy […]