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Home My WebLink AboutTimes-Advocate, 1987-09-02, Page 33LIFT-OFF —. Soren Petersen demonstrates a versatile lift used to move a person from a wheelchair to a car. Life made easier for the disabled Imports assistive Soren Peleisen is the local agent for a catalogue (f, devices imported from Denmark to make life easier for the physically disabled. One useful and versatile item is It lift that can be operated in a car, a- bathroom. it bedroom o1' %w'herever needed. i1 per- manent post is installed where desired, and the portable lift, run on a 1 -_2 -volt battery. does its job and then folds into a compact three-inch width for easy storage. Petersen has sold three lilts in this area through the provincial ministry of community and social services. A walker has given mobility to a child attending .1.A-1). McCurdy School - Petersen said one reason Denmark can supply such advanced equipment is because municipalities there are required by law to pay 100 percent of the costs of all devices officially ordered by Occupational therapists. The provincial government in Ontario pays up to 75 percent of the costs of wheel chairs, walkets and specializ- ed seating. Lifting devices are not covered. Workmen's Compensation picks up the bill for some items. - Articles available I_roln Denmark are kitchen cupboards and counters that raise and lower to accom roods! c wheel chairs, adjustable work and dining room tables.raised toilet seats s Adoptees allowed more information r►ntario's new adoption legislation. those who were searching actually which makes it easier for adoptees wanted to establish a relationship- and birth relatives to gel information - with theirparents. More than half the about -each other, is a major step for- ward, says University of Guelph psychologist Michael Sobol. "Socie(y is beginning to recognize that adop- lion is a lifetime experience, not simp- ly a legal -contract between adoptive parents and the state," says Sobol. who has done extensive research on the adoption experience. Previous legislation did not recognize. the psychological needs of the adult who was adopted as a child, nor those of the biological and adoptive parents. he says. Amendments passed July 6 allow for the release of non -identifying in- formation, such as family background and medical history. to adoptive persons over 18. Birth relatives can receive similar informa- tion about an adoptive family's background. Consent of the adoptive parents is no longer required. An adoptee -can learn the identity al birth parents if both parties have entered their names with the Adop- tion Disclosure Register, or can re - gust that the Ministry of Community and Social Services conduct a search and let birth relatives know a reunion is desired. The expectation that all adoptees will want to embark on suchlr search is unrealistic, says Soho!. In a survey of adoptees. he found that many had no desire to meet their natural parents, and that only 25 percent•ol :4406.5awmggakplooM/MMOMORAS. searchers simply wanted factual in- for•ination such as their identify and place of origin. • Of course. some people were sear- ching because they felt there was a .gap in their lives. he says. Others wanted to locate lost siblings and Some were seeking a greater sense of identity. And a few simply wanted to . assure their birth parents that their adoption was successful Of the adoptees who said they would not search for their biological parents. one-third said they were afraid (iI hurling their . adoptive parents. says Soho!. Others feared re- jection. weren't prepared to face the emotional consequences of a search or didn't want to disrupt the lives of birth relatives. Many said they simply had no in- terest in learning the identity of their natural parents. "Some people have very successful adoptions. feel total- ly rooted with their adopted parents, and for them it isnot a concern," he says. Whether they were searchers or non -searchers. the adoptees in Sobol's survey always made a distinction bet- ween "biological" parents and "real" parents. The people who did the psychological nurturing. tock them to the bathroom as toddlers. wailed up for them as teenagers and gave them love and support are the people they relate to as "parents" he says. 4"' HONOUR BIG BROTHER Huron Big Brothers and Big Sisters presi- dent Connie Illman presents on award to Big Brother Casey ZePhrisen. At the right is Alec lebedew. T -A photo CHAPARAL FENCING aO2Onrio NMJ0 ALL TYPES FREE ESTIMATES industrial F•nc•s Chain Link a Patio Perm Fences Phone Bob Hardy 227-4160 McBRIDE BROS. Machine and Repair • Precision Machining and Milling • Custdm Built Trailer and Truck Boxes • Combine and Tractor Repairs • Machinery • Sandblasting 8 Repainting 262-3020 Dennis 262.2616 Brad 262.3227 devices and an array of brackets and supports. Petersen can also use his engineer- ing skills to adapt and invent for in- dividual needs. Times -Advocate, September 2, 1987 Pa ae 19A Reassessment of education Bernard Shapiro, the new deputy minister of education, has re- organized the ministry's massive bureaucracy and is directing it efforts on improving the literacy rate of elementary students. Ilot on the heels of this major reassessment - of education at the primary level, the University of Toronto has announced that it may re- quire new students to pass an advanc- ed English course to qualify for entry into all faculties in 1988. The plan, ex- pected to be approved later this year._ means that Grade 13 students must focus their efforts on writing and com- prehension skills. - . On the high school front, the ministry,has introduced &new stan- dard for testing students in advanc- ed English that parents should welcome as it makes education more accountable. Although teachers may compose their own questions, they must now refer to a ministry handbook. This resurgence of leaching land - Iearning)- basic math and reading skills may get a boost in the primary grades from a computer-assisted learning system. - - Education Systems Technology Canada Inc. j ESTC) is currently con, ducting in -class tests for grades one through six at a number of Ontario schools, using its Curriculum Plus software program. "We must do something to avoid a parent backlash;" said Glenn Myers, ESTC's president "Parents want to know what is being done to help their children in spelling and arithmetic." The Curriculum Plus program aims to help teachers ensure all children learn the basic skills. It con- tains 1,500 lessons, 759 each in math and reading. Concepts such as numeration. addition and subtraction. multiplication and division. geometry. word analysis. vocabulary. comprehension and study skills are emphasized: Two, '10-15 -minute lessons per week are taught in each subject. The 30 -minute study periods are geared to the attention spans of young children. For a generation raised on Sesame - Street, the arrangement is ideal. Each student has a private work sta- tion equipped with a keyboard, poin- ting device (trackball/mouse ), color monitor and headset. this allows pupils to work in privacy at their own pace. Color graphics .and music il- lustrate concepts, reinforce learning and enhance understanding. Students can move pictures, words and sentences, respond to the system (-which talks back!) and interact with the program by pointing or keyboar- ding. If a student makes a mistake, the system goes back to: repeat material or to a new lesson to repro -- sent the . material in a different -manner. The system, designed to complex ment and reinforce a classroom teacher's lessons, iollows_Canadian - textbook curriculum and courses of study. 11 serves as a teaching tool, not • teacher substitute; Pilot projects conducted last year-- • gathered positive feedback freta teachers. The mos( relevant observa- tions of the ESTC program were that students learned to follow written in- struction, they were highly motivated by this learning process and that the • system is geared 10 the needs of in- dividual students. - - As an added bonus, h:ST(' provides an optional full-time: on-site assistant to run the system. which frees teachers to concentrate their efforts on their students, rather than the computer. School administrators will look to new legislation as indicated by the Ontario Government's Speech from the.Throne inApril.lt emphasized im- proving basic skills in the early grades. including computer literacy . and better ways ofevaluating students' programs DOWN IT COMES -- A second house on Main Street is demolished to make way for the new mall. Scan, a Winnipeg -based company, is developing the property to provide new retail space, including a department store. DEAL WITH CONFIDENCE Wh9n you deliver your White Bean Crop to lag tl O 0 Milo 61• N, C. R• r ti t ,t 0 P••••••., i C 5 t 1 D; s t e t t I t t• 1 Ken R. Campbell & Sons Ltd., Seaforth Howson & Howson Ltd., Blyth, Ontario Palmerston Elevators Ltd. Bar' B - Dee Farms, RR 1 Bornholm are also white bean receiving satellites for Thompson's We want and appreciate your business Hyland Brand Augusta Seed Wheat Nyland Brand Houser Seed Wheat Fredrick Seed Wheat Cert. 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