Bring on the consequences!

 I am not a particularly Pollyann-ish kind of person (does that expression date me? of course it does!) but I confess I do find one tiny sliver of positivity in the current mess we are all living in. With so much less of my son's life being scheduled, with programs accessed by booting up a computer at the last minute rather than the usual routine: packing for the day, finding a jacket and hat, waiting for WheelTrans, travelling to and fro, dealing with weather-related and other delays, and so on, there is time  for stuff to just happen. Or, more importantly, not happen, but in a more natural way, without interventions. 

Despite my best intentions, and my attempt to polish my "mean mom" reputation, the reality is that I never really did let my son just miss a day's activities because he wasn't ready in time, or go hungry all day because he failed to make or take his lunch: the consequences for me were more than I was willing to put up with. But now  the world has delivered a whole new world of natural consequences. Didn't get dressed? Be (perhaps) embarrassed on your zoom meeting when you friends see you in your pyjamas. Didn't plan your outing for the day? Guess you'll waste valuable time figuring that out when your helper arrives rather than doing what you actually want to do. Didn't think ahead about lunch or supper for tomorrow? Forage in the kitchen like the rest of us. Admittedly, I have to pretty much tackle my husband, The Great Enabler, in order to execute on this, but I'm giving this a good old try.

A list of COVID-19 related resources

ARCH Disability Law Centre maintains a page summarizing all COVID-related information relevant to people with developmental disabilities.

Vaccination Appointments

• apparently you can text your postal code to 1=833-356-1683 to get a list of vaccination sites near you
• Vaccine Hunters Canada is a very successful grassroots group that helps people find vaccination clinics near them (my daughter got her vaccine that way), follow them on Twitter for real-time notifications

Emotional Wellbeing/Mental Health

• BounceBack Ontario is "is a free, guided self-help program that’s effective in helping people aged 15 and up who are experiencing mild-to-moderate anxiety or depression, or may be feeling low, stressed, worried, irritable or angry." The intro says you need a primary physician referral for some services or may need to self-refer. It offers coaching via phone but also has a series of videos. The site lets you look at resources on a one-time basis to see if they are of use to you.
• Integrated Autism Consulting has pointers to an Emotional Toolbox, an article about Self Regulation during COVID-19, and is offering their programming online: contact them for details
• the Planning Network has a set of tip sheets for "managing the next wave"

Financial

• walk-through of process for applying for CERB
• Financial Relief Navigator provides centralized access to financial aids available during COVID-19
• May 5 there was an announcement of a planned one-time payment of up to $600 for people with a Disability Tax Credit certificate
• submitting COVID-related expenses to My Direct Plan: use the "Other" category and enter "COVID-19 Purchase" in the Service Providers field
• DSO has produced a video that purports to explain the temporary wage increase for support workers

Please consider signing this petition - many parents are concerned that if their disabled child (of any age) becomes ill with COVID-19, they many not receive appropriate supports.

Wellness and Health

• Developmental Services Ontario can help with accessing vaccine clinics - contact covid@surreyplace.ca or call 416.925.5141 x 4444 and leave a detailed message
• for information on vaccine availability and clinics, see this resource
• for current (as of May 2021) information about cloth masks, see this resource
• to access the "Getting Ready for My Shot" resources, see these resources from Surrey Place
• here's a useful social story for use when preparing to receive the vaccine
• here's a Facebook video about preparing to receive the vaccine
• this article addresses mask wearing research 
• this site includes a Family Matters Toolkit for caregivers to use to support their loved one's health and wellbeing
• Surrey Place's About My Health site has a variety of text and video resources to support adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities
• Surrey Place also has some specific COVID-19 resources and tools
• HCAARD has a video on YouTube about virtual doctor's visits
• the provincial government's Health Care Options website offers information about health care services available near you
• the federal government's Wellness Together website says it provides immediate access to phone support for those struggling with stress during COVID; including resources like a "five minute assessment", self-guided courses and apps, and more - you can also create an account to keep track of the resources you have accessed

Other Resources

• HCARDD has a set of booklets, including "easy read" versions, on a variety of COVID-related topics 
• the Planning Network has developed a regularly updated COVID-19 resource kit and resources to help people stay connected
• Sick Kids has put together a good article about supporting children with developmental disabilities during COVID 19
• CAMH has produced a list of COVID-19 self-help booklets 
• The Growing Space (an Australian disability organization) has a variety of resources for individuals - although some of these are specific to Australian funding and services, others are more generally applicable
• Partners for Planning has a list of self-care resources for "managing the next wave"
• some guidance (circa Feb 2021) about masks
• Families for a Secure Future publishes a helpful newsletter with lots of good resources in it - to subscribe, see their website
  
  

Hotlines for caregivers

• Family Services Toronto is offering virtual counselling sessions, between 9 and 6 on weekdays: call 416-595-9618 to book a one-time session of up to 50 minutes with a counsellor
• JVS is hosting a "Parent Talk" hotline for caregivers of people with disabilities of all ages, call 416-649-1808

Resources for caregivers

• Geneva Centre is offering free remote parent groups for parents who are registered with Geneva Centre (contact intake@autism.net  to see if you can register)
• here's a blog posting about accommodations for people with disabilities during a pandemic
• Extend-a-Family's parent support group has moved online,  contact  kc@extendafamily.ca for details
• the Income Security Advocacy Group has use resources about potential income supports on their website
• strategies for supporting individuals with ASD through uncertain times resources 
• here's a useful summary of financial resources that you may be eligible for
• this article deals specifically with supporting children with ASD and has links to other resources 
• Partners for Planning is offering free check-in calls with a facilitator who may be able to offer support and suggestions for resources
• Advocacy Toolkit for Supports During Hospitalization, from ARCH Disability Law Centre
• Autism Ontario has its own list of resources
• Although much of their information is, quite appropriately, related to Australia, this site has some useful resources

Other lists of resources

Several organizations have compiled their own list of resources, which may or may not be covered in the lists above. 

• from Community Living Ontario
• from Autism Ontario 
• from Connectability 
• from Holland Bloorview
• from Reena 
• and here's another list of resources: caregiver tools, mental health, mindfullness and meditation, education, things to do, exercise, live and virtual events, financial assistance, food resources and tools
• and one more list-of-potentially-useful-links for people stuck at home

last updated May 9, 2021

End of Year Passport Submissions

Just a tip when making your end-of-the-fiscal-year Passport submissions (the fiscal year ends March 31): if you have a remaining balance that's less than the amount of the invoice you want to submit, the invoice will be rejected. My Direct Plan support said told me to manually adjust the invoice so that it was a figure equal to or lower than the remainder and submit that version. The system apparently cannot handle partial reimbursements (or do the math that would calculate them). This wasn't a problem for me because I could adjust the invoice received from my support worker to reflect fewer hours and therefore a lower bill. How this would work for people who just have invoices from agencies and the like that cannot be adjusted is uncertain: please let me know if you find a solution to this!