What if disability representation started in the toy box? In this week’s episode, podcast hosts Daniel and Victor sit down with Lockwood Toys founder, Amy Lockwood, whose main mission is to spread inclusivity and cheer to children, one toy at a time. She talks about the motivation behind the company’s founding, the inspiration behind many of the to…

In this week's episode of the IDD: Get to Know Me podcast, hosts Daniel and Victor chat with Erica Streisslberger, a self-advocate at CAMH and a recreation therapist. Erica shares her journey of achieving independent living and pursuing her dream of becoming a recreational therapist. The hosts and Erica delve into the significance of self-advocacy …

Join us for the first episode of our third season on IDD Get to Know Me! Podcast hosts Daniel and Victor interview Dr. Meghann Lloyd from Ontario Tech University. They talk about her journey with getting involved in Special Olympics and her exciting research about the benefits of participating in Special Olympics. Meghann Lloyd, PhD is an Associate…

This week Victor and Daniel talk to Danielle Strnad, the Executive Director and Founder and Senior Arts Facilitator Morgan Joy of DramaWay and DramaWay Productions. DramaWay Productions is a non-profit arts program for all abilities. As Morgan says, “DramaWay is a place that people come together to grow and create regardless of their backgrounds or…

Heidi is a Special Olympics athlete and a leader. She has been a key member of many leadership committees including People First of Canada, PEI People, Special Olympics Canada’s Athlete Leadership Council, the Global Athlete Leadership Council, as well as the Athlete Representative for the Special Olympics PEI Board of Directors. Heidi joins us to …

On this episode, we speak with Lawyer and Disability Rights Advocate, Kerri Joffe. Kerri is a lawyer at ARCH Disability Law Centre. ARCH Disability Law Centre is a specialty legal clinic that practices exclusively in disability rights law. Respecting Rights is an initiative at ARCH, where self-advocates participate in programs to learn more about l…

This week we have a special guest, Dr. Alan Santinele Martino. Alan is an instructor in community rehabilitation and disability studies at the University of Calgary. He researched the romantic and sexual lives of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Ontario for his PhD at McMaster University. We have Dr. Martino on this episod…

Welcome back for another season of IDD: Get to know me! In the first episode of our second season, podcast hosts Daniel and Victor interview Dr. Yona Lunsky, the director of the Azrieli Adult Neurodevelopmental Centre. Together they talk about why inclusion is so important and different ways they are making the Azrieli Adult Neurodevelopmental Cent…

Parents and caregivers play an essential role in the lives of their children with IDD, helping to ensure their overall health and wellbeing, and supporting their social and emotional needs. The complex role of caring for a family member with IDD can be both a challenging and rewarding experience for caregivers and their families. In this episode, w…

On this week’s episode of IDD: Get to Know Me we speak to Courtney Weaver and Alex Echakowitz about the just-released Mental Health Literacy Guide for Autism, created by the Autism Mental Health Literacy Project (AM-HeLP). The guide is designed to “increase awareness and share knowledge around issues related to Autistic mental health. This guide is…

Siblings of people with disabilities often encounter unique challenges throughout their lifespan but their concerns are not always heard or acknowledged. In this week’s episode of IDD: Get to Know Me, Helen Ries, the founder of The Sibling Collaborative, joins us to share her journey as a sibling to someone with IDD and what drove her to develop Th…

Sibling relationships are some of the most important in our lives-doubly so when autism or IDD are involved. In this episode, Victor and Daniel chat with Victoria Cusumano and Nicole Bobbette on what it is like growing up with a differently abled sibling and how it can be different from typical sibling relationships. Victoria and Nicole reveal what…

Advocacy and Inclusion in the classroom is crucial to people with IDD’s success in the education system. In this episode of IDD: Get to Know Me, Victor and Daniel explore why this is so important and the barriers that exist in creating inclusive classrooms. Victor takes us back to his high school experiences, when teachers really made a difference—…

In our third episode of "IDD - Get to Know Me", we interview People First of Canada President and current frontline worker Kory Earle. He discusses what it's like to support people with IDD during the COVID-19 pandemic and what drove him to join this line of work during the pandemic. Kory Earle works as a screener at a Long Term Care home in Ontari…

In this inaugural episode of "IDD - Get to know me", you'll meet our self-advocate hosts: peer support worker, social worker, writer, and motivational speaker Daniel Share-Strom and actor and Azrieli advisor Victor Pereira. You'll find answers to biting questions such as 'What's the work experience like for people with intellectual or developmental…

In Episode 2 of “IDD – Get to know me”, Daniel and Victor interview Sue Hutton, a developmental disability social worker and mindfulness guru, on how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Key takeaways from their discussion: people’s mental health is suffering, the government could be doing more…