The Tamir Family Picnic

 Tamir is the agency that supports Adrian in his residence and in his day program. Tamir has a number of residences scattered around Ottawa. It brings the residents, families and staff together at its annual picnic held at Andrew Haydon Park. The food is prepared mainly by parent volunteers: chicken on a bun, veggie burgers and pasta salad. It is held in the gazebo and is well attended.

 Kalpur is one of Adrian's weekend staff members. He is a caring individual who loves his work and interactions with the clients.

 Festus is another weekend staffer who we see occasionally working at Adrian's residence.

Here Anne and Adrian are relaxing while waiting for the chicken to be ready to eat.

We enjoy going to the picnic to meet other parents, old and new, to meet some of Adrian's friends, and to meet staff we have got to know over the years. The caring attitude from all gives us joy.

Wills for adults with autism.

As I recuperate from my heart attack, I have time to think about wills and estates. Both Anne and I have had a will drafted for many years. Those wills contain a number of provisions to look after the interests of our adult son with autism. And, the Canadian government's introduction of a Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) a couple of years back has enabled us to start making serious savings for him.

Yet there is one area we have not yet acted on: creating a will for that son with autism. If we are able to invest for several more years in his RDSP, he will have a large amount of capital to draw on when he reaches 60 years of age. He will also be a beneficiary, along with his brothers, of our estate too when that time comes. He will need a will to determine how the residue from his estate is to be handled.

Tamir, the service agency that looks after Adrian in his group home and day programs, has a policy that requires its clients to have wills. Now is the time for us to follow-up on their recommendation.

WOW!!! Joseph and the amazing technicolor dream coat.

We have just returned from one of two performances of "Joseph and the amazing technicolor dream coat" put on by Tamir. This was a full-scale musical featuring an inclusive cast made up of people with developmental disabilities and people without developmental disabilities. The 60 member cast was equally split into these two groups.

In the directing, there were, for example, two Josephs on the stage together. One, Joshua McLaughlin, was a graduate of a college music program while the other, Jason Edward Kershman, a participant in Tamir's Supported Independent Living program. They both shared the limelight and both sang, sometimes together, and at other times, in turns. In another example, Pharoah, was a dual role played by Cantor Daniel Benlolo and 16 year-old Jamie Greenburg, singing his heart out from his wheelchair. In all instances, the shared roles were wonderful.

In an interview on CBC Radio following the show, C0-producer , Maurice Neuman, stated that for this inclusive show there were ten months of rehearsal rather than the normal three.

A documentary about this production was made in those ten months. We cannot wait to see it.

Many years ago we saw Donny Osmond in the role of Joseph. This show was equally as good as that show, and much more rewarding to see.