DOWN MEMORY LANE TO MOOSE LAKE, MB.
By Hilary Wiebe

In September, two of my good friends from church wanted to give me an opportunity to have a mini vacation. I picked Moose Lake, MB as our destination for the day. My parents used to own a cottage at Moose Lake. It was really nice to go back to relive some of my favourite memories and foods at the Moose Lake store. Sweet tarts and sunflower seeds tasted so good.

We found the accessible dock and we all sat there and enjoyed the day and the view. Then we went across the US border and did some shopping and had supper in Rouseau, Minnesota.

What my friends did for me was totally awesome. A mini vacation promotes independence and it gave me a sense of well being. With the help of good friends and family, people with a disability can have a life beyond sitting at home or lying in bed.

Hilary is a long time member of the CP Association. She is a current Director on the Board and her viewpoint and experiences are truly helpful and valued.

A COLLAGE OF PHOTOS OF MEMBERS ENJOYING CPAM EVENTS & THE DREAMS TAKE FLIGHT TRIP TO DISNEY WORLD

Larry Leclair at the annual BBQ in September at Kildonan Park “It was a good day”		Bon Jovi Tribute Band, BED OR ROSES, lead singer serenades to Dorian Phillips. The band provided entertainment at our Annual General Meeting. “They were absolutely great”
President, Kelly Hunter, with his wife, Melva, daughter, Madelene and son Alex enjoying the Happy Holiday party in December. “HO HO HO— Oh what fun it was”
Katie Skinner (above) with her Mom, Dana, and Sean Melton with his Dad, Bob loved the rides, characters and the weather at Disney World Florida. “Thanks Dreams Take Flight”.

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS is an opportunity for our members to exchange information about their experiences in meeting the everyday events of life with their family member that has Cerebral Palsy or a disability. CPAM will publish your questions in the newsletter. We will also publish your answers. You can ask questions about equipment, services, personal concerns for your family member or you can share things like what equipment supplier is great to work with, where and how you receive good services and how you resolved some personal problems and who helped you.

Question - How do we go about getting the needed and necessary supports for our daughter who will soon turn 18? Our family has been told that our daughter will not be eligible for Supported Living and Day Services funded through the department of Family Services. She is deemed ineligible because “she is not significantly intellectually impaired.” Our family provides for all her basic needs including personal care and managing her daily activities.

If you can help answer this question or want to share your experience please phone, email or write the CP office and your comments will be forwarded to the member who has asked the question. CPAM, with your permission, will print your response/answer in the next newsletter.

CPAM Unit 105-500 Portage Ave. Wpg. MB. R3C 3X1 or office@cerebralpalsy.mb.ca

Manitoba Family Services
Adult Services - Supported Living Program Eligibility

Process - Who is eligible for support services?
Under the Vulnerable Persons Act (VPA), an individual must be “vulnerable” in order to receive support services from Supported Living and Day Services. This means the individual must be an adult with a mental disability who requires assistance to meet his or her basic needs with regard to personal care or management of his or her property. The VPA defines a mental disability as significantly impaired intellectual-functioning existing concurrently with impaired adaptive behaviour and manifested prior to the age of 18 years. This definition (and, accordingly, eligibility for support services) does not extend to individuals with a mental disability due exclusively to a mental disorder, as defined in Part 1 of The Mental Health Act.

To be eligible, the individual must also be a Canadian citizen or a person legally entitled to remain and work in Canada on a permanent basis. In addition, the individual must be a resident of Manitoba.

Determining Vulnerability - as part of the intake process in Section C44, the Community Services Worker (CSW), assigned to the person, must determine whether the individual for whom support services are requested is a vulnerable person. The worker must also ensure that intake forms and documentation on the individual’s file, verify the individual’s eligibility for support services. The steps involved in this process are outlined below:

Step One - Intellectual Functioning
Determine if the individual has significantly impaired intellectual functioning, using the following options:

1. Existing Clinical Assessment - review any existing clinical assessment by a qualified clinician (psychiatrist, psychologist) confirming that the individual has significantly impaired intellectual functioning.

2. No Assessment or Inadequate Assessment — where there is no assessment or the assessment is outdated, inconclusive or challenged:

• Obtain the unanimous consensus of those directly involved with the individual that there is significantly impaired intellectual functioning and conduct a review of written records/files concerning the individual (school or Children’s Special Services).

3. No Assessment and No Consensus — if there is no conclusive assessment and unanimous consensus cannot be reached, a current clinical assessment of the individual’s intellectual functioning is required. The clinical assessment may be obtained from a qualified clinician (psychiatrist, school psychologist or independent psychologist).

Step Two - Adaptive Behaviour
Determine the areas of impaired adaptive behaviour (health care and physical needs) identified by the referring source and seek unanimous consensus from those directly involved with the individual that his or her adaptive behaviour is impaired.

Generally deficits in adaptive functioning may be identified from the following areas:

• Communication: expressive and receptive language
• Self-care: feeding, dressing, toileting, grooming
• Home living: household cleaning, clothing care, kitchen skills, household safety
• Community use: travel skills, community safely, telephone use, utilization of community resources, shopping, banking
• Health and safety: treatment of injuries, care of health problems, personal safety
• Functional academics: reading, writing, numeric functions, time, money management
• Leisure: play skills, interpersonal skills, group participation, self-direction
• Work: work habits and attitudes, work performance, work safety, interpersonal behaviour

Consensus must be based on direct observations, not unsubstantiated opinions. In the absence of consensus, a validation of the individual’s adaptive behaviour is required using a recognized adaptive skills assessment conducted by a CSW or behaviour specialist in conjunction with those directly involved with the individual.

Step Three - Need for Supports
Seek unanimous consensus from those directly involved with the individual that, given the environment in which the individual lives and his or her specific adaptive behaviour impairments, the individual requires assistance to meet his or her basic needs with regard to personal care of the management of his or her property. In other words, the individual would be adversely affected without assistance. The existence of a mental disability does not denote need for support (the individual may live in a situation where his or her mental disability does not pose difficulties).

Psychological Testing Services — may be done through the Community Support Program (CSP) at St. Amant. The CSP provides testing for the purpose of assisting the Supported Living Program (SLP) to establish eligibility supports and to assist Children’s Special Services (CSS) in transition planning for Adult Services. A CSW with the SLP. or in some situations, a Family Service Worker (FSW) with CSS, may apply for psychological testing. The CSP application form is available online at www.stamant.mb.ca/main/files/frmCommSuppProgApp.pdf.

*It is important to note that the CSP consultant does not make the decision about eligibility but only completes the assessment.

Board News - ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (AGM)

CPAM’s AGM was held on November 16, 2010 at the Viscount Gort Hotel in Winnipeg. There were 75 people in attendance. Rebecca Ehnes began the business part of the meeting and gave her final President’s report outlining key activities of the association over the last year. Her report marked the end of four years as President. We thanked her at the meeting for her service and thank her again for both her hard work and for doing a great job.

The following reports were also presented at the meeting: Treasurer’s Report (Doug Tumber), Research Committee Report (Doug Tumber), Program and Membership Report (Laura Schnellert), Stationary Bike Race Report (Marnie Loewen) and the Grant and Scholarship Report (Alexandra Michaels). Details on these reports is provided in the Minutes of the AGM available through the office.

The last two years we have conducted an exercise to obtain feedback from the membership. The first question asked was “With unlimited resources what could we do that would be of real assistance? Let your imagination run wild”. The second question was “How would you priorize the answers to the first question—from 1-5?”

There was a range of answers to the first two questions. The most common response was providing more funding for equipment grants. Another popular response was for improved transportation. More resources for programs like therapy, respite, scholarships, recreational facilities and opportunities, employment assistance for adults and support groups. The Board will review this information to help to set our priorities as we go forward.

The third question was “What would you like CPAM to advocate for on behalf of members?” Responses— accessibility to public places, transportation, to getting support services like respite, adult health services, communication services, recreational facilities and activities, and housing. Another area for advocacy was for improved disability allowances like social services, employment assistance and a more effective disability tax credit.

The fourth question was “Can you pass on a piece of advice that has helped you in your life as a person who lives with a disability or a family member of a person with CP?”

Some of the advice received included: accept help with a smile, never give up, focus on the good memories, celebrate success, talk and get support, advocate frequently and loudly, never underestimate someone with a disability. For those with children with CP, many supports disappear at age 18 and you need to be prepared.

The final business was to elect the board members— Cal Lambeth, Kelly Hunter, Tim Beyette who are parents of individuals with CP, Hilary Wiebe, Stephen Ward, and Mindy Tucker, who are adult members, Doug Tumber and Bev Carswell, who are good friends of an adult with CP, and Kim Legal, Matt Solvason and Jonathan Goldenberg who are supportive community members committed to making a difference in the lives of people affected by Cerebral Palsy.

A high light of the evening was the entertainment. This year we had a short musical set from a band known as Bed of Roses. This band is North America’s number one Bon Jovi Tribute Band. They were fabulous and much enjoyed.

President, Kelly Hunter

BED OF ROSES WILL BE AT MCPHILLIPS STREET CASINO FEB. 12/11