Community Knowledge Centre - Toronto Community Foundation

About this organization

Mission

To create a society inclusive of people with physical disabilities.

History of Organization

What began as a march to stamp out polio has grown into a multi-service charity that provides programs and services for children and adults with disabilities. In the 1940s and 50s women, known as “Marching Mothers” went door-to-door to collect money to end the scourge of polio.  With the discovery of the polio vaccine in 1955, March of Dimes shifted its mandate to helping people with had disabilities due to polio, and then anyone with a disability.

For close to sixty years, March of Dimes has been on the forefront of the disability movement in Canada. Today, March of Dimes provides a variety of important services to over 50,000 people each year. Programs like Conductive
Education®, recreation, independent living services, employment services, assistive devices and accessibility services, advocacy and more.  March of Dimes is dedicated to creating a society inclusive of children and adults with physical disabilities.

For more information on March of Dimes Canada, please visit the website at www.marchofdimes.ca or call toll-free 1-800-263-3463.

Accolades and Accomplishments

March of Dimes has grown from a small service agency into an organization that helps serve the needs of thousands of people with disabilities annually. March of Dimes is one of the only charities that accomplished its initial goal—the eradication of polio. As a result of both research and distribution efforts, Canada was one of the first countries in the world to be declared free from the threat of polio. Since then, we were one of the first organizations to be both a service provider and an advocate. We continue to expand our services, first from assisting adult polio survivors to adults with any physical disability. More recently we have expanded services to children, and to consumers in other provinces. We are a world leader in support to polio survivors experiencing post-polio syndrome and more recently to assisting stroke survivors across Canada with recovery and community reintegration.

Programs

>DesignAbility®
>Conductive Education®
>Peer Support – Polio Canada® and Stroke Recovery Canada®

March of Dimes is the largest community-based rehabilitation and advocacy organization for people with physical disabilities in the province.

Our goal is to enhance the independence and community participation of people with disabilities every day through a wide range of programs and services across the province.

Our programs include:

AccessAbility® Services:

• The program includes our Assistive Devices program which provides partial funding towards the cost of mobility equipment like wheelchairs, scooters and bath aids, the Home & Vehicle Modification® program which provides up to $15,000 towards the modification of a home or vehicle and DesignAbility®, a volunteer-program which provides unique solutions to everyday mobility challenges.  We also provide consultation to organizations, public and private, on compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.

Conductive Education^®:

• Conductive Education (CE) merges elements of education and rehabilitation to help people with motor disabilities increase their independence and mobility. The program is especially beneficial to children with cerebral palsy, and adults with multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, acquired brain injuries or stroke survivrs.

Recreation and Integration Services:

• Recreation and Integration services enhance the quality of life for people with physical disabilities through recreation, activities, friendship opportunities and social integration.

Independent Living Services:

• We provide assistance with activities of daily living that allow people with physical disabilities and acquired brain injuries to live in their own homes and access community activities.

Polio Canada^® and Stroke Recovery Canada^®:

• Polio Canada and Stroke Recovery Canada^® offer services across the country to polio and stroke survivors.  These programs provide information and awareness, supports caregivers and healthcare professionals and support vital peer support networks throughout Canada.

Employment Services:

• Through assessments, skills training and job placement, this program offers professional Employment Services covers the job search of people with disabilities from beginning to end.

DesignAbility®

DesignAbility® matches skilled volunteers with consumers facing unique barriers in order to create or modify devices to increase independence.
A person living with a physical disability, who needs a solution or modification to a device that cannot be found on the market, can make a request to our talented DesignAbility volunteers. There is no charge for the work they do except the expense of the materials involved. These creative solutions can help people overcome a barrier to work, play, personal care or performing daily activities.

Funding and Program Partners

• Toronto Community Foundation
• Volunteers

Program Impact

With two chapters based in the GTA, this program helps people with disabilities acquire customised devices they could not access otherwise.  Just some of the unique products created by DesignAbility® volunteers include an indoor playground for a small child with cerebral palsy, numerous bath aids, tailored furniture and more.

These products help the recipient, but also helps offset some of the stress of caregivers, by increasing the independence of their loved ones.

Toronto's Vital Signs® indicator(s) addressed by Program

“One quarter (of Torontonians) (25.5%) are sometimes or often limited from participation in activities by disability or illness.” (Toronto’s Vital Signs®, 2009)

Participant Vignette

Tracy’s Story: “Marg and Art have been the ray of hope during a very dark time.”

A congenital amputee affected on all four of her limbs, Tracy has always been fiercely independent and extremely active, living on her own, working full-time, including stints running March of Dimes’ summer holiday program – even climbing mountains. But after a surgery threatened her cherished independence, she turned to the DesignAbility^® program.

John Hodge, Chair of the Toronto DesignAbility chapter, had previously built Tracy a hairdryer holder and a device for turning on the elements of her stove. He introduced fellow volunteers Art and Marg Schmidt to Tracy, to address some of her new requests. Between the two of them - Marg is a retired occupational therapist, and Art a whiz with engineering and construction, they designed an intricately constructed bathroom bench that enables Tracy to get in and out of the tub and it can also be used as a transfer device.  In addition to the bench, they created a flexible shaver and deodorant holder and installed a folding bathroom door to allow Tracy more room to maneuver. Arthur made many adjustments and readjustments to get things just right for Tracy. His extra attention to detail, listening and addressing her needs, produced solutions that really worked.

“This has been one of the hardest times of my life,” says Tracy.  “Advocating for my care to ensure I have the greatest independence has been a huge challenge. Marg and Art have been the ray of hope during a very dark time and I cannot express how much I appreciate them and March of Dimes.”

Conductive Education®

Developed in Hungary over 60 years ago, Conductive Education (CE) is based on the theory of neuroplasticity – or the brain’s ability to repair itself.

CE is an innovative program that blends elements of education and rehabilitation to improve the independence, mobility and confidence of children and adults with neuro-motor disabilities, and is beneficial to those with cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, stroke survivors and developmental apraxia.

Conductive Education® is an innovative learning system. The system deals not only with the physical needs, but also with the social and psychological issues facing people of all ages with neurological conditions.

Conductors, or specially trained instructors, work with program participants to help them gain, or regain, physical mobility and self-sufficiency one small step at a time.

Unlike most medical or therapeutic models of treatment, Conductive Education® attempts to change the way people see their own abilities, and to raise their awareness of the way their body works.

Tasks are designed to focus on co-ordinating the physical, mental and emotional factors by making the body and the mind work together.

Conductive Education operates on the premise that anybody, no matter how severe the disability, can improve if they are motivated.

Funding and Program Partner

• Proctor and Gamble
• Toronto Star Fresh Air Fund
• Scotiabank
• McFeeters Family Fund
• Paloma Foundation
• CIBC
• Kodak
• Telus
• Thomas J. Johnston Foundation

Program Impact

Conductive Education improves the mobility and self-confidence of children and adults with neuro-motor disabilities in a supportive learning environment where the participant’s own motivation is the driving force behind their success.

Toronto's Vital Signs® indicator(s) addressed by Program

“One quarter (of Torontonians) (25.5%) are sometimes or often limited from participation in activities by disability or illness. " (Toronto’s Vital Signs®, 2009)

Participant Vignette

Ian Kee is a Conductive Education® participant who is making great strides towards improved mobility and independence.

Ian has mild cerebral palsy and his parents were told that he could be five years old before he learned to walk independently. Since beginning CE, Ian has made remarkable progress. 

Progress in action: a timeline

October 2006
Ian is born seven weeks early.

March 2008
Ian is diagnosed with cerebral palsy at age 17 months.

January 2009
Ian attends a Conductive Education program for the first time. He was unable to walk.

May 2009
Ian attends Conductive Education for the second time; takes 50 steps unaided in the classroom.

July 2009 to Present
Ian attends another three sessions of Conductive Education. Progresses to independent walking both inside and outside the classroom.  Ian runs around – you cannot hold him back!

What's next for Ian?

Now almost four years old (2010), Ian has made astonishing progress.

His mobility and confidence has blossomed. His future looks bright.  Thanks to his hard work and the support of March of Dimes Canada, Ian continues to learn his way to independence.

"I believe strongly that so many people with a neuro-motor physical disability have the potential to make tremendous strides in overcoming the challenges of their disability through Conductive Education®," says Mhairi Watson, Senior Conductor of the program. "Our long-term goal is to expand the CE program and make it available to everyone who can benefit from it."

Peer Support – Polio Canada® and Stroke Recovery Canada®

Polio Canada and Stroke Recovery Canada^® offer services to polio and stroke survivors.  These programs provide information and awareness, supports caregivers and healthcare professionals and support vital peer support networks throughout the Greater Toronto Area.  Stroke support groups help fellow survivors as they journey through stroke recovery and polio support groups help survivors now living with the late effects of polio in the form of post-polio syndrome.

These programs offer a variety of services that empower stroke and polio survivors and their families to participate in their communities and to find support during the often challenging period of recovery. Some of these services include:

• Assistance to start a peer support group in their community (including coaching, manuals, business cards, website promotion, phone line, email, event insurance and much more)
• Monthly newsletters with suggestions for group activities
• Monthly conference calls to connect with survivors across Canada
• Annual leadership conference for survivors and caregivers
• Awareness Month Activities
• Bi-annual newsletter
• Warmline (toll free number 1-888-540-6666 for information about stroke recovery and post-polio syndrome)
• Stroke recovery research and advocacy
• Special programs/events

Funding and Program Partners

• Green Shield Canada
• Bristol-Myers Squibb
• sanofi aventis
• Shoppers Drug Mart

Program Impact

Peer support has been proven to have a positive impact on a stroke or polio survivor’s state of mind. Having a safe and comfortable forum to share feelings helps people feel less isolated or alone in dealing with the effects of a stroke or post-polio syndrome.

Toronto's Vital Signs® indicator(s) addressed by Program

“One quarter (of Torontonians) (25.5%) are sometimes or often limited from participation in activities by disability or illness.” (Toronto’s Vital Signs®, 2009)

Participant Vignette

I am alive because of March of Dimes!

Tom Rideout fell into a deep depression after his stroke seven years ago.  Feeling adrift, he became suicidal, almost jumping in front of a subway.

 Depression after a stroke is common, and Tom could have been another statistic were it not for Stroke Recovery Canada®, a program of March of Dimes Canada. 

 Today, Tom is thriving, having joined a Stroke Recovery Canada peer support group.  His fellow members provided a warm, welcoming home for Tom where he could speak freely about his depression and begin to conquer it.

 “The group has helped me realize that I am not alone,” says Tom.  “Being part of my peer support group has shown me that there is life after a stroke.”

 Now Tom is an active member of his community, volunteering for a number of groups, including being a past Chair of the Toronto Pathfinders Stroke Recovery Chapter for stroke survivors under the age of 50.

 “The group is almost like my family.  After my stroke I lost friends that I had for years. They dropped out of sight…which is common I’ve learned. I guess they don’t understand. Now I’ve got a new family of friends that make me happy,” says Tom.

 “If it wasn’t for Stroke Recovery Canada®, I might not even be alive today. I feed off it. It helps me keep going.”