BLOOM ~ November ~ 2025

afamilylikemine

Living in

the moment

with Bree

Trisomy 13 used to be considered "incompatible with life." Our new A Family Like Mine video features parents raising Bree, a four-year-old with an extra 13th chromosome.

Child in supportive swing beside another child hanging from a bar and three adults

staffstories

In complex care, 'no two children are the same'

Dr. Priya Sayal works with inpatients who have illnesses or injuries affecting several parts of their body. "Our families have been through a trauma," she says.

In this house, homework is being celebrated

'My daughter has never had homework. That might sound strange for a teenager, but school has always been a little different for her. Until this semester.'

Hunger and disability

The Who's Hungry Report 2025 found: 31% of Toronto food bank users have a disability. 39% of those rely on ODSP. 47% of disabled survey respondents went a day without food, compared to 27% without a disability.

30% of pediatric patients with developmental disabilities at a New York urban health system reported at least one unmet need, including lack of healthy food, compared to 12.6% of non-disabled patients in this The Journal of Pediatrics study.

Food insecurity is more common in American children with seven chronic conditions, including autism, than those without, this Jama Network Open study shows.

inthenews

One in 12 secondary pupils put in isolations rooms at least once a week The Guardian

The truth of autism will continue to be found in science, not myth The Globe and Mail

Increase in restraints in students with disabilities sparks concerns NBC10

The radical life of the father of independent living Mother Jones

Deaf man wrongfully told he had HIV after hospital failed to provide an interpreter The Independent

At this restaurant, children with autism can truly be themselves Disability Scoop

Disability advocate attempts to live on a food budget of about $6.67 a day CTV News

Trump's new layoffs hurt disabled kids Mother Jones

whatyousaid

Many of these families are running little hospitals at home to keep their children well and alive, and they're being let down by continuing care (The NHS saved my daughter, then took care away, Oct. 30).

Anna Bird

Chief Executive

Contact

upcomingevents

See Holland Bloorview's Events listing and click on the month for more details.

NOVEMBER 12

PAPERWORK PARTY!

Get support filling out your application for the Ontario Autism Program from AccessOAP and a social worker.
10:30 a.m. to 12 noon on Zoom
Register here

NOVEMBER 20

PLANNING FOR MARCH BREAK AND SUMMER CAMP
10:30 a.m. to 12 noon on Zoom
Contact Steph at smoynagh@hollandbloorview.ca or 416-425-6220 ext. 6146.

intheknow

Care guideline for children with breathing tubes

The American Thoracic Society released its first clinical practice guideline for babies and children with tracheostomies.

"Clear and consistent guidance means that clinicians across different settings will have a shared understanding of what high quality, family-centred tracheostomy care looks like," said Crystal Costante, a parent who sat on the expert panel.

shoutouts

Medical residents tackle disability bias

Am I Ableist? is an interactive e-book for health trainees developed by three Canadian medical residents at Dalhousie University, with input from disabled activists and clinicians.

Woman in class holds booklet called Am I Ableist

bookshelf

In 2015, BLOOM interviewed Sara Ryan about the death of her son Connor in an NHS assessment unit. Connor, who had autism, epilepsy and intellectual disability, was left alone in a bath, where he had a seizure and drowned.

This summer she published Critical Health and Learning Disabilities: An Exploration of Erasure and Social Murder

'... Professor Ryan uses exceptionally wide research to lay bare the scandalous way we treat people with [intellectual] disabilities, as people less deserving of respect, health, wealth or even life...' Jan Walmsley, visiting professor of the History of Learning Disabilities, Open University

Available in Holland Bloorview's medical library.

Contact BLOOM and share your story:

lkinross@hollandbloorview.ca

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Content in BLOOM is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult your doctor.

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