Dr. Brian Goldman, the Power of Kindness and the use of validation to help those with dementia

Last night Dr. Brian Goldman was at the Rady Centre in Winnipeg to talk about his new book The Power of Kindness. The book explores the nature of empathy - the ability to sense, feel and understand the emotions of others and to respond to them. The book devotes one chapter to exploring an approach to individuals with dementia called validation. Dr. Goldman visits Country Meadows in Leader Heights in south-central Pennsylvania. The centre uses the "validation" approach to communicating with those with dementia. It was developed by Naomi Feil and has been shown to be a way to communicate with those with dementia - to help them - and to enable them to be calm instead of agitated. To better understand how it works you will need to read the book. As Dr. Goldman says "Kindness does not cost anything, but it means everything."

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Manitoba School Boards have contributed much innovation and advancement of education in Manitoba

On Thursday March 25, in Question Period, I asked the Premier why he is getitng rid of school boards when they have contributed to much to the improvement of education in Manitoba. My question and the Premier's response are below (from Hansard). Manitoba Education System Elimination of Boards and Divisions Hon. Jon Gerrard (River Heights): Madam Speaker, Manitoba school boards have been an incredible source of new ideas and innovation. The White Horse Plains school board brought in audio and video links to Hutterite schools. The Seine River School Division piloted Roots of Empathy, to help kids learn empathy, and also Kids at Play: half-day kindergarten, half-day early-childhood education. The Seven Oaks School Division brought in Met schools. And there are many, many more examples. Why is the Premier getting rid of school boards when they've done so well at listening to parents, at ...

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Too many Manitoba children with learning disabilities like dyslexia are not being identified and helped early on starting in Kindergarten and grades 1 and 2. The Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that it is the provinces responsibility to ensure that every child learns to read, and even when, in the case of a child with dyslexia intensive intervention is needed. In 12 years Manitoba has failed to produce a provincial plan to address this issue. We are holding a Forum (see below) on this subject. Please come out to the Forum. There is no cost. Everyone is welcome. To learn more about the need to do better helping children, youth and adults with a learning disability click on this link

The Gerrard Report

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