Author: Dr. Sandra Cottingham: 2009

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

LANDLORDS LOOK-OUT AS TENANTS LEARN ABOUT LEAD EXPOSURE

Many are looking to city officials for better enforcement of rulings that make landlords responsible for lead disclosure and removal. Meanwhile, lead exposed tenants are landing big court settlements.

In past years, there has been no shortage of people around with their head in the sand on the issue of lead exposure. However that complacency came with both misinformation about the dangerous impact of lead, and a high price to pay in terms of who has been impacted and how. Today, with all of the information available there is a new awareness about lead and rightly, a new respect for it.

Lead has the ability to steal one’s life potential in a single exposure. It spares none – from the unborn (our most susceptible) to the aging. Usually, it takes years before the effects of accumulated, low-level exposure is realized. It becomes obvious when a child enters school that he or she is slow to learn, or can’t concentrate. Or when an aging parent begins to lose cognitive function. Unfortunately, it has taken too many of us too long to connect these with lead.

But now that we have, the spot light is turning on those individuals who own the buildings that contain one of the most prevalent and devastating sources of lead around: old paint.

We are hardly talking about a slap on the wrist for less than diligent landlords. Last year’s Matias case awarded 8.5 million dollars in compensation to a 15 year old who had been lead exposed in a rental apartment over a two year period, 8 years earlier. The child’s cognitive damage included nothing that teachers don’t see everyday: a diagnosed learning disability with attention, memory and behavior deficits. The apartment owner was found negligent in the trial.

Lawsuits are before the courts where exposure was ten and twenty years ago. More and more lawyers are advertising their services specifically to those who have been lead exposed. Estimates of the number of school-aged children who have learning and behavioral challenges linked to lead are moving beyond 30%, while the number of those with IQ’s in the mentally handicapped range is predicted to double in the next decade.

Why the staggering numbers? According to special educator, and lead expert/author, Dr. Sandra Cottingham, the amount of lead it takes to permanently damage the developing brain of an unborn child is surprisingly small. Her new book entitled, LEAD BABIES describes the amount as equal to just three granules of table sugar. In landlord terms: just a single square inch of lead based paint is enough to cause measureable damage to 500 children.

Cottingham’s advice for landlords is to properly test all paint layers of rental units, especially if built before 1978. She stresses the importance of following lead abatement guidelines very carefully and providing a safe, lead-free home for renters. Finally, she recommends that landlords protect themselves against liability by ensuring there is no lead on the premises.

The alternative to removing lead paint is to complete a lead disclosure form and provide a potential tenant with the regionally designated lead hazard pamphlet. As the courts are showing, it is the landlord’s responsibility to make tenants fully aware of the health risks their unit poses.

More information about lead's impact and what individuals can do to protect themselves is available at www.nomoreleadbabies.com

LEAD BABIES
Breaking the cycle of learning disabilities, declining IQ, ADHD, behavior problems, and autism

Authors: Joanna Cerazy M.Ed. and Sandra Cottingham Ph.D
Publisher: Kunati Inc (USA & Canada) 1-866-356-2442
www.kunati.com
Distribution: Independent Publishers Group (IPG)
ISBN: 978-1-60164-192-2

Friday, July 3, 2009

LEAD BABIES LAUNCH an Overwhelming Success!

Sunday afternoon at Indigo books this past weekend exceeded even the staff's expectations in attendance and book sales. My co-author and I signed books steadily for 2 busy hours. Friends, family, educators - moms, dads, grandparents, and simply interested individuals enjoyed cold punch and hors d'euvres against the backdrop of a live cellist playing. Our thanks goes to the Grandview Corners Indigo staff who made sure that every detail was perfect.

LEAD BABIES
Breaking the cycle of learning disabilities, declining IQ, ADHD, behavior problems, and autism

Authors: Joanna Cerazy M.Ed. and Sandra Cottingham Ph.D
www.nomoreleadbabies.com
Publisher: Kunati Inc (USA & Canada) 1-866-356-2442
www.kunati.com
Distribution: Independent Publishers Group (IPG)
ISBN: 978-1-60164-192-2

Lead In Children's Bicycles OK Rules Consumer Product Safety Commission

Guidelines allowing lead in children's products concern lead activists, led by Dr. Sandra Cottingham

Published on July 02, 2009

by Sandra Cottingham

(OfficialWire)

VANCOUVER B.C. CANADA

The Consumer Product Safety Commission handed down its decision today: bicycle manufacturers have been granted a two-year stay of enforcement against a new lead limit law, effective until July 1, 2011.

The lead law is part of the Consumer Product Safety Information Act, which came into effect last August. The Act was designed to ensure that products used by and for children do not contain lead. Or rather, it puts limits on the amount of lead that can be used in these products.

The Bicycle Product Suppliers Association justified continued use of small bicycle components such as the levers used in brakes, by showing that the amounts of lead children get from other sources such as water and food are higher than their intake as a result of exposure to bicycle component parts.

Author of a new book on lead, Dr. Sandra Cottingham, says this scenario is absurd for two reasons. First she points to the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s allowable limits and reduction plan. The allowable limit is 600 parts per million, with a plan to gradually decrease it to 100 parts per million by 2011. “There is definitive and indisputable research that shows that there is no safe level of lead. While lead poisoning is and always has been a serious issue, it is low level toxic exposure that is causing the permanent and widespread cognitive damage that is the biggest threat and doing the most damage.”

But Cottingham has an even bigger concern and she calls the rationale behind the stay – that forcing some children’s products off the market would create safety concerns - a red herring:

“The Commission recognizes that correctly sizing the bicycle to the rider is an important safety consideration and includes this recommendation in its bicycle safety messages. Children who cannot comfortably reach the pedals or who have to use the more complicated braking and gear shift mechanisms found on adult bicycles are at greater risk of injury than children riding properly sized and equipped bicycles.”

"The issue is lead, not bicycle safety," Cottingham reminds us. The Commission acknowledged that there are health concerns associated with lead, but the “lead poisoning and elevated blood lead levels” they refer to don’t speak to the matter meaningfully according to Dr. Cottingham. She explains that lead does the worst of its damage in-utero – while the brain of an unborn child is in its earliest stages of development. Therefore, a mother’s lifelong accumulation of lead – a tiny bit at a time over her life, stored in her bones, is released during pregnancy at the detriment of the fetal brain. Up until a baby is about 2 years of age, until the blood brain barrier is formed, a baby is critically vulnerable to lead damage. The resulting damage is permanent and debilitating, leaving school age children with learning and behavior problems that will carry forward and impact their earning potential as adults. Sterility for men and women is another serious lead exposure outcome of epidemic proportion.

So where did all the lead that has accumulated in a teenager or adult’s bones and tissues come from? From food, drinking water, dust, soil – from one’s surroundings, explains Cottingham who devoted a book to explaining the prevalence of low level lead sources. She refers us to the weights used in car wheels – a major source of lead. Then to the impact on employees handling lead in a manufacturing plant that can be devastating not only to the worker, but to his family, as lead travels home, contaminates the family car, the laundry, and adds to the heavy metal toxicity of the home. She explains how lead deposited on roadways becomes airborne and travels long distances. “It never breaks down or dissolves. It never becomes less toxic.”

The lead components in children’s bikes will not cause lead “poisoning” unless a child somehow gets their hands on a valve stem or spoke nipple and accidentally swallows it. And if Cottingham is right, the bikes’ contribution to the larger problem of low-level lead exposure seems to have been missed completely. Consumers are simply not being given accurate information about the risks that the lead poses,” she insists.

Cottingham’s recommendation – “Don’t wait for government regulation when it comes to issues related to toxic exposure. Your best defense is to become a lead-savvy consumer and take the simple steps needed to lead-proof your home. Cottingham’s book entitled, LEAD BABIES, Breaking the cycle of learning disabilities, declining IQ, ADHD, behavior problems, and autism” provides readers with the information and tools required. It is a practical and easy to follow guide to ensuring you and your family are lead-safe. You can visit www.nomoreleadbabies.com for more information, or pick up a copy at your local library.

The stay applies to bikes manufactured before Feb. 10, 2009.

Lead Babies

Breaking the Cycle of Learning Disabilities, Declining IQ, ADHD, Behavior Problems, and Autism

Joanna Cerazy, MEd (Author), Sandra Cottingham, PhD (Author)

This groundbreaking study reveals the continuing danger that lead contamination presents to health—particularly in the earliest stages of life. Disclosure about the lead content in house paint, gasoline, canned food, and tap water revolutionized the manufacturing of those products a generation ago, but lead-based products are still produced and pose a health hazard as lead remains in the environment years after its initial use. The deleterious effects of lead on early cognitive development are well documented, but the data in this reference regarding in utero lead transfer contains critical new information that shows the effects on infants and families. Week-by-week brain development in unborn and newborn children is demonstrated, explaining lead’s damage potential at each stage and how that household sources and surroundings—including soil, plumbing, imported canned goods, and house dust—are outlined and simple precautions that can reduce or minimize exposure are discussed. With an awareness that has allowed a generation of injured children to be born, and empowers the reader to break this destructive cycle.

Authors

Joanna Cerazy, MEd, is a special education consultant and has taught both regular and special education classes in primary, elementary, and secondary schools. Sandra Cottingham, PhD, is a special education consultant with 20 years of classroom experience. She is an instructor in the department of counseling psychology and special education at the University of British Columbia and an associate of the Taos Institute. They both live in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Lead Babies

Childrens: Parenting & Family Care, Health

256 pages, Cloth, 5.5 x 8.5
Kunati Books
$24.95 (CAN $25.95)
9781601641922
(1601641923)

Contact

Persona Corporation
Derek Armstrong
derekarmstrong@mac.com
Tel: (647) 477-8179

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Pair of Surrey educators try to get the lead out

By Alex Browne - Peace Arch News

Published: June 25, 2009 3:00 PM

School days – especially for elementary age children – are not the way many adults remember them.

Learning disabilities, declining IQ levels, attention deficit disorder, autism and behaviour problems – such as violence and delinquency – have become epidemic among children over the last few decades.

Joanna Cerazy and Sandra Cottingham are two Surrey school district special-education specialists – Cerazy as a hands-on worker with a caseload, Cottingham as a district level consultant – who have seen the increase in children with such problems. And it’s become clear it’s a problem not just affecting children in their own school district, but worldwide.

Rather than continue to find ways to cope with symptoms, the two colleagues decided instead to question why.

What they found was a mass of evidence and research to suggest exposure to lead in our environment – passed on to unborn children – is the primary cause of the upswing.

Their just-released book, Lead Babies (Kunati Books), is being launched this weekend at Grandview Corners.

Cerazy, a South Surrey resident, said that in more than 20 years in education, starting in her native Poland, she has seen the incidence of developmental problems rise to almost one in every six children.

“We wanted to know what’s going on,” she said. “We started researching various toxins and realized that lead was causing it – that even a low level of lead exposure can cause very serious problems.”

While the toxic effects of lead have been known for years, Lead Babies gathers together the latest research concerning in utero transfer of lead from mother to baby, showing that lead – from a multitude of apparently harmless sources – can pass into the brain and other organs of unborn children.

As sobering as the message is, there is hope to reverse the trend.

The authors assert the aim of Lead Babies is to take a positive approach, provide practical information that will allow parents to lead-proof their homes and protect their children from the beginning of pregnancy through the early childhood years.

“We didn’t want to scare the heck out of people, we wanted to empower them,” said Cottingham, a North Delta resident.

“We’re saying we can do this for another generation, or if we’re really aware of it, we can break the cycle. We’re saying here’s the process we need to go through to lead-proof our homes. It’s not that scary, it’s not that difficult. It’s doable.”

Cottingham said they didn’t set out to write a book on lead.

“We wondered what would happen if we took research from a lot of different disciplines, from toxicology to neurology, and put together all the pieces of the puzzle,” she said.

There is a well-known tendency for different scientific research disciplines to co-exist in isolation, Cottingham said, but when she and Cerazy started correlating data from many of them, a clear pattern emerged.

“The answer kept coming up lead – and the heavy metals in general,” she said

There is, for example, a section in the book on mercury – which has been linked with autistic behaviours.

“But there’s a significant increase in the toxic effect of mercury when there is lead in people’s systems. There’s a synergistic effect. It’s a missing piece of the puzzle, one you might not see if you’re only looking at mercury. But lead is such a key piece.”

The lead industry is still flourishing, Cerazy and Cottingham report. Lead is an important component in many cosmetics, and is a key ingredient in plastics that are required to be bendable, including toys. It can even be found in some kinds of imported candy.

While some have been lulled by the notion that there are “acceptable levels” of lead, the authors say their research indicates that there is no such thing as a “safe” level where lead is concerned.

“I demonstrate to people by showing them three granules of table sugar,” said Cottingham.

“That’s the equivalent amount of lead it takes to cause brain damage in a child.”

Again, Cottingham emphasizes that the book is intended to present practical solutions, not induce panic.

And judging by hits on the authors’ website, the book is already generating a large amount of interest internationally, a fact she finds heartening.

“I really think we can break this cycle,” she said.

Cerazy and Cottingham will be on-hand at Indigo Books at Grandview Corners this Sunday (June 28) from 2 to 4 p.m. to launch their book and discuss their findings.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

BIG NEWS IN AUTISM RESEARCH!

Just published by the American Association for the Promotion of Research...

The Frequency of Polymorphisms affecting Lead and Mercury Toxicity among Children with Autism

Biochemistry and Biotechnology

Read the article here... http://aapr.us/aapr/?p=571

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Lead Testing begins in Staten Island… 30 years after the fact.

“Nearly 30 years after a bad address led to a toxic Port Richmond industrial site being overlooked for decades, the federal Environmental Protection Agency this week will begin tests to see how much lead contamination from the old Jewett White Lead plant on Richmond Terrace has seeped into the neighborhood” reports Staten Island Real-Time news.

A school gymnasium full of residents were told that an inspector had once come looking for a site called “Shore Road”, and not realizing the name had been changed to “Richmond Terrace”, abandoned the search for the reported lead hazard site. It reads a bit like a movie script with Julia Roberts about to arrive on the scene.

There have been early reports that the surface soil at the site is 30 x safe limits. However, as Cerazy and Cottingham point out in their newly released book, LEAD BABIES, there is no such thing a “safe level” when it comes to lead. “Its so toxic to a developing brain – either through a child’s direct contact with lead, or in-utero exposure where a mother’s life-long accumulation of lead stored in her bones head straight for baby, that even trace amounts cause permanent damage.”

Residents are being advised to wash their homegrown vegetables well. But better advice would be to get backyard soil tested to see if it is safe to allow children and pets yard access. Testing the water, instead of using it to wash the vegetables, seems like a more logical response.

As random soil testing throughout the adjacent neighborhood gets underway, the broader region is also a concern. A nearby park will need to be re-landscaped before it is deemed safe for children.

Residents and homeowners are justifiably angry that this cleanup has been left for decades. The question is, how much lead has accumulated in the bones and brain tissues of residents in the years that have passed. Of course the children’s safety is of paramount concern, but as Cerazy and Cottingham make so clear in their book, “lead poisoning” at age 10 is a completely different issue than being born with a severe learning disability, ADHD or with a mental handicap because your mother’s lead crossed the placenta and permanently damaged your brain. Given the studies that are emerging one after another, showing that bone lead and delinquent or criminal behavior are causally linked, there needs to be as much focus on getting the lead out of the systems of the teenagers and young adults, as there does protective measures for children (and pets).

LEAD BABIES

Breaking the cycle of learning disabilities, declining IQ, ADHD, behavior problems, and autism

Authors: Joanna Cerazy M.Ed. and Sandra Cottingham Ph.D
www.nomoreleadbabies.com
Publisher: Kunati Inc (USA & Canada) 1-866-356-2442
www.kunati.com
Distribution: Independent Publishers Group (IPG)
ISBN: 978-1-60164-192-2

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Toymaker Giant fined for allowing lead paint. What does this ruling mean for families?

Toymaker giant, Mattel and its subsidiary Fisher-Price, has been fined 2.3 million by the United States’ Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) for allowing toys containing lead into the United States. This is a clear message to both toymakers and consumers, that the “CPSC is committed to the safety of children, to reducing their exposure to lead, and to the implementation of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act.”

And there is a ban on lead paint for a good reason. Not enough of us have a real understanding of what lead does to babies and children, and just how little it takes to do damage. They are simply not aware of what it means to a child when there is lead paint on a Barbie doll, or a toy car.

An amount of lead equivalent to three tiny granules of sugar – the kind you put in your tea, is all it takes to cause permanent damage. There is simply no safe level of lead exposure, and the younger the child, the more susceptible they are to it.

In older children, lead lowers IQ and adds to an accumulating lead load that is resulting in concerning behavior problems in the teen years. When lead reaches the developing brain of an unborn child or a child under two, the result is lowered intelligence, learning disabilities, ADHD and behavior disorders later in life. It’s the explanation of why there is a growing epidemic of individuals with learning and behavior challenges – a factor that is not only stressing the resources of schools, but also safety and productivity in the workplace. Add the related issue of crime and its costs, also an issue that researchers are certain is lead exposure related, and you have a very significant burden that taxpayers must shoulder.

Canadian authors, Cerazy and Cottingham say this news about Mattel’s fine is a positive step for consumers, but this is not a message that we can sit back and rest easy. In fact, they insist, the message is the opposite. It is up to individuals to make their homes lead-safe. A list of recalled products or government intervention in bad manufacturing practice is simply not enough.

“Consumers need a good understanding of the science attached to our biological susceptibility. And insight into the demand our society has created for lead’s continuing use and production so we know where to look for lead.” Cerazy and Cottingham maintain that creating a lead-safe home is not complicated or expensive, but that it takes more than removing a few Barbies or toy cars from the toy box. Their new book, “Lead Babies” ties science to real life, and then guides readers through a practical three-step process to identify and remove lead from their homes.

Visit www.nomoreleadbabies.com for more information about the book entitled, “LEAD BABIES; Breaking the cycle of learning disabilities, declining IQ, ADHD, behavior problems, and autism”.

LEAD BABIES; Breaking the cycle of learning disabilities, declining IQ, ADHD, behavior problems, and autism

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Comments from readers...

I thought I knew everything I needed to know about lead but truly, the information I had was out-of-date, and minimal at best. Lead Babies opened my eyes about how little it takes to do so much harm. And what a price we all pay. I now have a fuller grasp on the cycle that needs breaking, and on what I can do to break it. 

Special note - the chronology was particularly interesting; the stuff documentaries are made of!  Lead Babies is a rational and constructive approach to a very serious problem. I highly recommend it, whether you are young, old or in between.

It’s a very informative and enjoyable read.

Reviewed by Al.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

THE NUMBER ONE MOST SIGNIFICANT EDUCATIONAL BREAKTHROUGH IN A GENERATION

Why can’t some children learn to read or concentrate in school? Why are so many youth and young people defiant and aggressive? If the autism epidemic is genetic, why didn’t previous generations have this many kids with autism? And why do all of the above happen to boys more than girls?

THE ANSWER IS: LEAD.

Read the research. Learn the facts. Understand our history.

The cause of learning disabilities, ADHD and most behavior disorders is exposure to lead in-utero or in the months after birth. Lead acts synergistically with testosterone. And mercury. Find out what that means for boys and how that equals autism.

The implications for educators are profound.

If you have children, teach children or work with people who do, you need to read LEAD BABIES.

It is wake up call that is long overdue.

LEAD BABIES Breaking the cycle of learning disabilities, declining IQ, ADHD, behavior problems, and autism

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Do you LOVE Your Job?

I am asking if you love your job, because I do.

About 15 years ago, when I was working towards a Masters Degree at the University of Oregon, I had to take a research methodology course. The professor happened to have a particular expertise in a program evaluation, and strayed off into the area of job satisfaction assessment. I learned that there are five key areas that come into play:

1. autonomy

2. sense of purpose

3. closure

4. feedback

5. financial remuneration

An evaluation of a particular job in a specific venue yields a score on how much freedom the employee has, whether the job is meaningful in the bigger scheme of things (e.g., makes a difference in people’s lives, etc.), where the job requires starting something and seeing it all the way through, if feedback about the work is forthcoming, and how well the job pays.

Then the employee rates the same five aspects of the job, based on how important each is to them. For example, I don’t need autonomy or feedback as much as I absolutely must have a sense of purpose and closure. How much I am paid is up there as well.

When the two profiles are compared, they are either a good match – and the employee is happy and loves their job. Or the disconnect between what the job offers and the needs and priorities of the employee leave them unhappy and unfulfilled.

The close match between the job I do as a special education consultant for a school district and what I need to “love my job” are certainly not an accident. I have applied this formula systematically a number of times when faced with difficult decisions related to potential career moves. I also used it to find my way here.

If you don’t love your job, rate your priorities first, and then take a look at the job. You may find that it is only a bit of tinkering needed - asking for more feedback if it is important to you but lacking. If the alignment is simply missing – then I say… overhaul! For if you don’t love your job, then it is nothing more than work.

LEAD BABIES

Breaking the cycle of learning disabilities, declining IQ, ADHD, behavior problems, and autism

Authors: Joanna Cerazy M.Ed. and Sandra Cottingham Ph.D
www.nomoreleadbabies.com
Publisher: Kunati Inc (USA & Canada) 1-866-356-2442
www.kunati.com
Distribution: Independent Publishers Group (IPG)
ISBN: 978-1-60164-192-2

Monday, April 20, 2009

Susan Boyle.

BLOGGING – a creative outlet. (Who would have thought?)

I was introduced to blogging by publisher and author, Derek Armstrong (www.kunati.com). His urging to “getting blogging” was slightly more intense than a gentle nudge – but not quite a do or die ultimatum. Last weekend, I set aside Good Friday knowing that if I put some other pressing duties on hold, there was a whole long weekend ahead of me to get what I needed done. And then gingerly waded in. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

By the time Easter Sunday rolled around, I had emailed Derek to confess that I was so hooked on blogging, I had delegated Easter dinner’s hors d’oeuvres, mashed potatoes, and pies to family members that thought they were just coming as guests. As for the turkey, I did have to cook that. I was basting in between blogs.

This weekend, I ventured out into the wild world of Twitter. I was promptly rewarded with an email informing me that Barack Obama had signed on as a my follower. (Go figure.)

I can only assume Martha Stewart just hasn’t checked hers yet today or I'd have heard from her too.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Go Canucks

Game 3 - Canucks against St. Louis Blues.

GO CANUCKS!

You can read, Lead Babies later... the game is starting.

Things I Think I Might Have Been

Life takes each of us down many unexpected paths, while challenging us as we make our way down planned ones. Both types of excursions are rewarding and worthy of reflection. But what about the paths we never did take?

I think in all of this writing and teaching and researching, I may have missed a couple of turn here signs. One pointed to Archeologist. I often romanticize about freeing the skeleton of something older than our imaginations from the earth and rock around it - digging with tweezers and a small paintbrush in the middle of nowhere.

At the time I was considering the field of archeology, it was the beginning of the last big recession, and the mindset around me was all about finding a job. The statistics for archeologists and paleontologists in even related work were grim – and that was with a PhD in hand; a bit daunting for an 18 year old with a bachelor degree as her goal. Of course, the real reason I missed this calling are obvious to me now. I like to sleep in my own bed, for starters. And life without a flush toilet is simply not an option.

Then there is my non-existent career as a professional musician. A cellist to be exact. Somehow I have it in my head that if I had started to play at five years old, I really could have been good. Really good. But I began playing the cello at 45 , and I am not really good at all.

My third vocation that never came to be was that of lawyer. I only bring it up because others say that it is what they think I am cut out for. From time to time I imagine myself out on the veranda between Denny Crane and Alan Shore with a scotch neat. I think I have the stomach for the drama and the brains to know law. But I would have to pass on the scotch. And I am not sure if this is just a television thing, but there are a lot of lawyers still in their offices after the sun goes down. I love my life, and my evenings too much for that.

Archeologist – Concert Cellist – Defense Attorney … perhaps not. I can’t help wondering if the pathways I went down were not the right ones after all. I like what I do and my pathways may have come just close enough anyway. I have a treasured collection of animal bones – skulls of birds, a coyote, steer that I used as a visual arts teacher as objects to study for drawing and painting. After 3 years of lessons as a beginner cellist, I play my cello on Friday nights with the piano accompaniment of a friend – for nothing else than the pleasure of being able. As for the legal side of life… I will continue to enjoy living vicariously through Candice Bergen’s character (Shirley) as soon as I figure out which night they switched Boston Legal to. And I couldn’t be more satisfied that all of the pathways in my life have converged at this place – co-author of an important new book about to release in just days.

LEAD BABIES Breaking the cycle of learning disabilities, declining IQ, ADHD, behavior problems, and autism

Authors: Joanna Cerazy M.Ed. and Sandra Cottingham Ph.D

www.nomoreleadbabies.com
Publisher: Kunati Inc (USA & Canada) 1-866-356-2442
www.kunati.com
Distribution: Independent Publishers Group (IPG)
ISBN: 978-1-60164-192-2

Friday, April 17, 2009

TO BE CANADIAN

I will admit upfront that I feel an exaggerated – and sometimes overbearing sense of ownership when it comes to Canada. As an 11^th generation Canadian, there are all sorts of claims to fame in my family’s history, no doubt some of those exaggerated slightly over the years as well.

I will counter that with the occasional sense of frustration and embarrassment as “the Canadian way” is so often embodied in nationwide complacency around laws and policies that make absolutely no sense. Anything that smacks of injustice or unfairness infuriates me, but I am not one to chain myself to a bulldozer or take to the streets with a petition. (Remember? I am Canadian.) The most outrageous protest I have personally waged of late was to write to the Finance Minister this winter, to complain that the banks were not passing the interest savings on to mortgage consumers, which I understood was the intent of the Bank of Canada. I expected something to be done, and said so. I got a nice letter back, signed by Minister Flaherty, which clearly missed my point.

But Last summer I had a very cool experience that genuinely rekindled my Canadian spirit. I was in Ottawa in late August, watching the light show that is projected against the Parliament buildings – a little low tech, but a lot of fun. Two sets of bleachers were packed and the lawn between them and the Parliament buildings was covered with families on blankets and lawn chairs, huddled in the dark. As the show approached the end, and a rendition of O’Canada blared from the massive sound system, every single last man, woman and child spontaneously stood, and stayed standing until it ended. It was an unexpected and powerful few minutes that will stick with me for years to come.

Kudos, Canadians as we stand proud.

By Dr. Sandra Cottingham, co-author

Sunday, April 12, 2009

IMPLEMENTING THE MANDATE OF INCLUSION FOR STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS: A Model for Moving From Concept to Action

My dissertation interest is in the topic of "inclusive schools". Although inclusion has been mandated by government and has become common language found at every level of school planning, it remains at the conceptual stage. In fact, the prerequisites for successful educational integration of students with disabilities are so frequently ignored that the very principle of inclusion has become threatened. The call for social change in education on the issue of inclusion is at a critical juncture.

Applying the principles of social constructionist theory and Appreciative Inquiry, the primary purpose of her project is to create a model for educational institutions and other organizations to move ideas from concept to positive action - to salvage, rethink and retool important principles which reflect core values, but which are incongruent with entrenched organizational practice. My action research has facilitated a move from the existing Ministerial mandate of inclusion to democratic dialogue amongst stakeholders, and ultimately to a reconstructed notion of "inclusion" owned by all.

http://taos.publishpath.com/completed-dissertations

Dissertation Table of Contents
Dissertation Summary
Dissertation Foreword
Dissertation Chapters 1-6
Dissertation Appendix

Dr. Sandra Cottingham, Taos Institute Associate

When I completed my PhD in 2007, I was honored to be invited to become a Taos Institute Associate.

The Taos Institute ( www.taosinstitute.net) is a community of scholars and practitioners concerned with the social processes essential for the construction or reason, knowledge, and human value. A common theme of social change connects its members - "a non-profit organization committed to exploring, developing and disseminating ideas and practices that promote creative, appreciative and collaborative processes in families, communities, and organizations around the world."

I accepted the invitation and continue to engage with others enthusiastically, in social change initiatives which are important and empowering to us all.

Please visit http://www.taosinstitute.net/institute-associates. You will find me when you click on Canada.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

The Journey from Tilburg to Lead Babies

I have always believed that it takes leaving home and traveling abroad to really get a clear view of the culture we are a part of. Being fish out of water in a country where the language, customs and cuisine is nothing like home, somehow helps illuminate what makes us different and in the process, enhances our understanding of ourselves. I have to say, I really like how that feels. It is why I like to travel and make it a priority in my life.

With that perspective in mind, I went off in search of a post-graduate program that was outside of my field of previous study and present employment. I was in search of an opportunity to grow and learn, and I believed that I needed to look outside of education. My journey to the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Science at the Universiteit van Tilburg in the Netherlands made perfect sense (to me). I could not have been happier to meet my 19 fellow PhD cohort students and discover 17 countries represented, and not a teacher amongst us. Photo insert: With my children (Brook, Katie and Charlene) experiencing the Netherlands.

Ok. I admit that the whole endeavour was a little outside the norm, with world class universities such as UBC and SFU just down the road from home. But I liked where it was all leading, which is what this post is about. I came to appreciate how differently others look at world and to confirm my growing hunch that education was a world of thoughts and ideas and ways of approaching things, but not the only world.

Something else became evident; a realization that was so potent, that it eventually became the motivation for writing, Lead Babies. Despite all of these other brilliant points of view, vessels of knowledge and reams of research outside of education, it was all happening in silos. The members of my cohort were talking. And it was, to say the least, invigorating. But the fact that we were a diverse group cross-pollinating each others' research and inquiry with our unrelated perspectives highlighted that what we were doing was fairly novel in the grand scheme of things.

And so... I returned to my field of special education, convinced that there is much less "unknown" than the education community is willing to accept. It becomes a matter as simple as going abroad and seeking out others who hold the individual pieces of a bigger puzzle. They are asking different questions. And so, hold valuable pieces of information that become meaningful when juxtaposed beside other also seemingly related pieces of information.

Basically, if you can't the find the answer, you didn't venture out far enough. There is no better example than the question of the causes of autism, learning disabilities, and ADHD. Lead Babies, co-written with friend and colleague, Joanna Cerazy, was a first attempt at seeing just how far we had to travel outside of the education community to bring back the missing information. It was a fruitful journey, to say the least.

LEAD BABIES
Breaking the cycle of learning disabilities, declining IQ, ADHD,
behavior problems, and autism

 Authors: Joanna Cerazy M.Ed. and Sandra Cottingham Ph.D 

www.nomoreleadbabies.com

 Publisher: Kunati Inc (USA & Canada) 1-866-356-2442 

www.kunati.com

 Distribution: Independent Publishers Group (IPG) ISBN: 978-1-60164-192-2