The Family Mental Wellness Festival at Assiniboine Park today

The Family Mental Wellness Festival, organized by Angela Taylor of Inspire Communications and many who worked with her, is going on today at Assiniboine Park. It is open to all. Consider coming down to the Park near the Lyric Theatre as the program will continue into the evening.

Naomi and I purchased a copy of Adam Schwatz's book "Jonathan and the Big Barbeque" for our grandson Zayd. Adam has autism of a type which was previously called Asperger's Syndrome. He is an amazing champion for those with autism. His excellent book is an example of what he can accomplish.

Angela Taylor got things started this morning, and thanked all those who contributed to making the Festival happen.

Dougald Lamont, Manitoba Liberal Party leader talked of the importance of better attention to mental health support at the provincial level.

I talked of the important work Angela Taylor is doing emphasizing a better appreciation of neurodiversity - the fact that each one of our brains is different - and that when we better understand the differences in the brains of others - as an example those with autism - we can be more empathetic and appreciative of each others.

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Comparison between Manitoba and South Dakota shows dramatic impact of Physical Distancing

Manitoba implemented physical distancing measures in mid-March. South Dakota has still not made physical distancing mandatory. The result is a dramatic difference in the incidence of covid-19 viral infections between the two jurisdictions. This graph shows the number of people with Covid-19 infections from March 27 to April 14. Manitoba ( red line ) started leveling off about April 4 and has seen only a small increase in Covid-19 infections since then. South Dakota ( blue line ) has seen a dramatic increase in Covid-19 infections since April 4. Those who are skeptical of the impact of physical distancing in Manitoba should look at this graph! Data are from the Johns Hopkins daily tabulations

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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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