McGivern Kids and The Olympic Torch

Took the kids to go see the torch in the 'Burg this morning. Too bad Mommy had to work....(we missed her) 'cause the experience was really cool. Go Canada! and Merry Christmas all.

It's beginning to look (and taste) a lot like Christmas!

The lights are on the house, the tree is up and Ju is baking Christmas treats. The energy of the children is at a fevered pitch....which of course coincides with cold weather and the inability (desire) to go outside and run around. We indeed have a crazy house....

Colm intently measures proper dosage for the drop cookies!

Owen tries to accomplish the task without the bald cookie monster making off with the goods.

Kiara's "bff"....Santa Claus.

Owen clings to his "buddy".

The lights are on the house, the tree is up and Ju is baking Christmas treats. The energy of the children is at a fevered pitch....which of course coincides with cold weather and the inability (desire) to go outside and run around. We indeed have a crazy house....

Kiara On the CTV News

Foundation Launches $50,000 Campaign to Help CK Kids Communicate

CHATHAM-KENT, ONTARIO (July 6, 2009) — We all take communicating for granted. If we need something, like a glass of water, we simply ask. If we meet a friend on the street, we say hello. If the phone rings, we answer it.

But imagine if you couldn’t verbalize your needs or wants. If you couldn’t say please or thank you, good bye or I love you. Imagine if you couldn’t speak up in school or at a restaurant or at family gatherings.

That is the reality faced by many children in our community who are not able to communicate verbally. For them, it’s a noisy world where they can’t be heard. They require caring therapists and specialized equipment to assist them with communication. Often, to access the communication tools they require, their families find themselves traveling out-of-town and enduring long wait times to satisfy their needs. They deserve better, they deserve a voice.

To support these children and teens with face-to-face and written communication needs, and to ease the burden on their families, the Children’s Treatment Centre of Chatham-Kent (CTC-CK) has embarked on an 18-month journey to become a General Level Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Clinic. Once accredited by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care’s Assistive Devices Program (ADP), the clinic’s trained staff will work with children, along with their families and other caregivers, to enable them to participate in functional and meaningful communication on a daily basis as independently as possible.

Mentoring the CTC-CK’s team of speech language pathologists, communicative disorders assistants and occupational therapists through this accreditation process are the professional staff of the AAC Clinic at Thames Valley Children’s Centre in London. From now until April 2010, the London team will allow CTC-CK staff to observe and job shadow them, consult on clients’ needs, and assist with prescribing solutions.

Why go through all of this? Once the CTC-CK has met all the criteria set out by the ADP Peer Review Team for a General Level Clinic, children and their families in Chatham-Kent will have greater access locally to the services they require. More than 50 preschool and school age children with complex needs can initially access the caseload while numerous additional children with mild needs will benefit from the specialized resources available. Staff at the CTC-CK will be able to assess the unique needs of each child and prescribe communication or writing devices that meet them.

Augmentative communication devices assist non-verbal children in expressing themselves. They can be quite simple or quite sophisticated. Using gestures or pictures to express thoughts is augmentative communication at its most basic. Some devices allow users to hit switches or buttons to trigger pre-recorded statements or digitized speech.

Thanks to evolving electronic technology, new highly portable advanced tools are now available. These devices offer a broad array of communication options, such as software that intuitively tries to figure out what the child is communicating, clever new icons, and easy-to-access pop-ups that support more efficient, more precise communication.

As part of their clinic accreditation, the CTC-CK will need to acquire these devices for assessment purposes. However, these devices are costly. The CTC-CK has limited resources to invest in such advanced tools. That’s why the Children’s Treatment Centre Foundation of Chatham-Kent is launching “Every Child Should Be Heard”, the communications campaign, to raise $50,000 to support the establishment of the clinic and acquire the necessary equipment.

Being heard is being included. Supporting this appeal will give all children in Chatham-Kent a voice. Please help.

Lazy Weekend!

What is typical.....this is!

A trip to the Fair

Good lord! Conklin shows rolled into town with a splash.....and the children noticed. Giant strawberries we being unpacked and Owen was not going to be detered from up close and personal review of same. On a very nice and sunny Sunday afternoon I loaded up the boys for the fair while Mommy and Kiara went to spend some "girl time" together.


Out of the gate Colm and Owen were ready to go. This particular ride "The Dragon" made three circuits.

Round #1 - All is well Colm is having the time of his life. Owen is .....well stunned.

Round #2 Colm is having a blast. Owen (can't see, damn iPhone response time) is visibly scared.

Round #3 Colm has the biggest smile. Owen is wailing for his mother! Poor lad.

Kiara the BALLERINA!

Thanks to the wonderful folks at the Children's Treatment Centre Kiara is in a Ballet Class. That is correct, do not adjust your screen. With the help of a patient and generous instructor and like volunteers Kiara has this great opportunity. She is enjoying the heck out of this and so am I, as this is a Daddy and Daughter project. Thaks to all involved in setting the opportunity up for all these beautiful ballerina's!

Happy Easter

We had a great Easter. Colm was sick for most of the week leading up to the main even. In one of "THOSE" moments that you remember always, Colm vomited on the table and himself during Easter Dinner at Rick and Marj's House. C'est la Vie! We made it through without causing any horrific chain reaction but WOW!

Dad of course is continuing to assist with Candy Disposition.

Old Man take at look at you life.....

No, not an old man.....but Owen being silly.

Punishment and Pants

Owen was up to some of his old tricks tonight and ended up in a little "time-out" (see picture). While in said time out he continued to whine about being turned loose and exactly when that might happen. I suggested that he need be quiet lest he remain longer in time-out or finish his sentence sequestered in his room. After seeing his face lighten at the prospect of spending time in his room for time out instead of in a corner I figured I'd better clarify that he would not be there to spend time playing with toys or trinkets. So.... I said in a very authoritative sounding voice that I would "take every source of possible pleasure from his room" before he went in. A very meek and sad sounding Owen replied "even my pants".

Julie and I tried unsuccessfully to hold ourselves together but succeeded only in giggling like idiots in front of a confused Owen.

Colm makes a Pinata

All the kids decided today that it was there respective baby's birthday. In their honour of these very special stuffed animals it was suggested that cupcakes should be constructed to make the occasion festive. I smelled a sham but it is still the middle of winter and we needed something to do to avoid driving each other around the bend. Well, birthdays it was. In celebration after dinner Colm fashioned his own Pinata from tissue paper and this is the video of the boys holding the pinata for Kiara to hit.

Ice Jammage in Wallaceburg

 

 

 

 

Ready for Valentine's Day?

Somebody is......

Chilly?

Sometimes it can get a little cold in the basement after a bath......watch out for that breeze!