May is Speech and Hearing Awareness Month

Did you know?

• One in 10 Canadians has a speech, language or hearing problem.
• About 4% of preschool children have a significant speech or language problem.
• About 1% of Canadians and 4% of preschoolers stutter. Men are four times more likely to stutter than women.

Speech and Hearing Awareness Month is coordinated by the Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists (CASLPA). There are events taking place across Canada. Here are the events happening in BC:

· "50 Years of Making Waves" - The Western Institute for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing is celebrating 50 years of service to deaf, deafened and hard of hearing British Columbians with a cocktail reception and entertainment on May 26 at the Vancouver Aquarium and a dinner and dance, May 27th held at the Coast Plaza Hotel and Suites.
Contact: Susan Masters masters@widhh.com for details.

· Mayoral Proclamation of May Month at Penticton City Hall, Penticton, BC. Tuesday, April 25th at 10:00 a.m.

If you or your organization is interested in celebrating Speech and Hearing Awareness Month it isn’t too late to download electronic files of the “May Month Marketing Kit”.

This kit contains everything needed to promote the month. It includes: a media release, publicity tips, celebration ideas, ad mats, public service announcements, assorted fact sheets and feature stories, poster, clip art sheet and photo gallery.

For further information please visit CASLPA's web site - www.caslpa.com

Self-defense Workshop for Lesbian, Gay, Transgender & Bisexual People

The Centre serving and supporting Lesbian, Gay, Transgendered, Bisexual People and their Allies is offering a free, participatory workshop with information and techniques to help LGTB people stay safe and defend themselves against violence. If interested, please come wearing running shoes and loose, comfortable clothing.

The workshop will be held on Wednesday, June 7^th 7:00 – 9:15 p.m at 1130 Jervis Street, Lower Hall @ St. Paul’s Church.

To register please call (604) 684-5307

Free online guide to Family Health and Literacy

This guide is designed to help integrate health and literacy education in family literacy programs. It contains easy-to-read health materials and websites for family literacy teachers, health educators and practitioners who work with low literate parents. The resources listed can help teach health to families with lower literacy skills and are free online. There are listings of easy-to-read health information, lesson plans and teaching activities, online activities to use in class and activities and games for parents and children to do together. It also discusses how to integrate health and literacy education, how to get started and engage adult learners, and how to build connections between literacy programs and local health services.

To access the Family Health and Literacy online please visit:
www.worlded.org/us/health/docs/family

This guideline is a PDF that only will open with Adobe Reader 7. If you don’t have Adobe Reader 7 you can download it via the above address.

Hard copies are also available free of charge for a limited time: please
contact Leah_Peterson@worlded.org

Request for Stories: Life Experiences of Adults with Developmental Disabilities

Kathie Snow, author of Disability is Natural, is collecting stories of childhood experiences by people with developmental disabilities. She is requesting “good and bad” stories about family life, growing up with a disability, experiences with therapists, interventions and medical care, relationships, education and independent living. Snow’s goal is to write a book that includes real-life childhood experience with her recommendations on how to parent children with developmental disabilities differently.

There are no length requirements and no firm due date. However, her April 27^th email asked for them as soon as possible! Stories can be published anonymously if requested. If your story is chosen you will receive 3 free copies of the book once it is published.

For more information please visit: http://www.disabilityisnatural.com/documents/CallForStories.pdf

PLAN workshop for families of teens transitioning from school to adulthood

Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network [PLAN] is a non profit organization that assists people who have a disabled relative. PLAN is offering a two-part workshop on May 10 and 13 from 7 – 9:30pm at the Life Centre Community Church 185-3655 Kingsway. The cost is $30 per individual or couple and free to lifetime PLAN members. This two part workshop will cover topics on how to secure the future for your son or daughter. Such topics include: home, work, support circles, estate planning, disability benefits and alternatives to adult guardianship. Participant will also receive a resource guide and a map to understanding the potential services and funding mechanisms available.

To register for this workshop please call PLAN at 604-439-9566 or email inquiries@plan.ca

Council of the Federation Literacy Award

Created in 2004 and first awarded in 2005, the Council of the Federation Literacy Award acknowledges outstanding achievement, innovative practices and excellence in literacy. The award honours a person or group in each province and territory whose accomplishments have shaped the landscape of literacy. BC nominees must have lived in the province for at least 2 years and be a current or former student, literacy volunteer, pracitioner, teacher, administrator, researcher, business or organization.

The May 15 deadline for nominations is fast approaching!

Nomination forms are available at: http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/literacy/nominations.htm

BC Multicultural Health Directory

The Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Service Agencies of BC (AMSSA) is providing the BC Directory of Multicultural Health Expertise as a free on line service for health organizations, institutions, community agencies, communities and individuals to facilitate the identification of public health care professionals with multicultural health expertise as well as cross-cultural health care services.

To register your program in the directory click on the following link:
http://amssa.org/multiculturalhealthyliving/phase3/directoryForm.cfm

Just released: Quick Guide to Health Literacy

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' recently released the new Quick Guide to Health Literacy. The Quick Guide is a reference for professionals interested in health literacy. Strategies discussed in the guide are taken from current research in health literacy and health communication.

Some of the strategies explored in The Quick Guide include:

* improving the usability of health information
* improving the usability of health services
* building knowledge to improve health decision-making
* advocating for health literacy improvement.

To take a look at the Quick Guide and a sample Power Point presentation please visit: http://www.health.gov/communication/literacy/default.htm.