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Check out what’s been going on in our world!
My brain goes faster than I can type, but I have a solution; I use ‘speech to text’ on my tablet and phone, and ‘speech recognition’ on my computer. This makes it so much easier for me to work with the printed word. Learning ‘speech to text’ or ‘speech recognition’ takes patience because you have to train the program to recognize your voice.
I am also a big Pokémon fan. I grew up with it and the game is another opportunity for me to increase my manual dexterity and my training skills. The more you train with Pokémon the stronger the bond between the two of you. It is a little like training a dog, which I hope to do sometime soon. I am applying to get a service dog.
Most people probably don’t know this about me but I am terrified of meeting new people. I am not sure but this fear may be a result of being bullied when I was a kid. My twin sister Pagan calls me ‘Little Ame’ after the boy in the movie Wolf Children because he is very shy, but eventually he discovers his ‘inner wolf’. I don’t let the terror stop me from doing new things; like participating in the Astonished! Summer Literacy Program or going to work four mornings a week at Sask Abilities, but it takes its toll on me. I hope a service dog would help me feel at home wherever I am and hopefully reduce my feelings of anxiety and terror. Wish me luck with my application.
Oh I probably should also tell you that I have Cerebral Palsy, I can’t eat eggs unless they are disguised in a cake, I am careful about what I eat because I have ulcerative colitis, and at one point I had a blood clot. I have two favourite expressions, ‘burn’, and ‘hello’ (I stretch it out when I am saying it). Pagan and I live in our own apartments that are part of Chip and Dale Housing. Our apartments were designed for us so there is lots of room to get around in our power chairs, to reach the kitchen sink and the stove-top, and to get from our bedrooms to our bathrooms using the ceiling tracks. We both love having our own places. They were painted a few weeks ago and my bedroom is red like the colour in my photo above.
At A! Summer Literacy I loved that we read out loud. I have a lot of trouble comprehending when I am reading, it feels like my mind gets all jumbled up, but when it is read out loud I get it. I have this same problem when I am typing; this is another reason why ‘speech to text’ works so well for me. Another big bonus from the A! Summer Literacy Program is our new friendship with Al. Al is a University of Regina student who volunteered in the A! Summer Literacy Program. Pagan and I got to know him and now we hang out together.
I hope New Zealand will be in my future. I want to see the locations where they filmed The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings. I know this is a very big trip but I dream big.
You can learn more from Paige on her blog Jurassicdragon21 Dream Big No Matter What
When you read the words ‘Summer Literacy Program’, what comes to mind? Smiling, happy faces like the ones in the photo above? These are some of the participants in the A! Summer Literacy program.
Pagan Racette (A! Core Member) loved the book I want to Go Home, because it was about summer camp, and she loves summer camp. She also loved coffee break because that is where she got introduced to the app 4 Pics/ 1 Word. The day they learned about blogs she was inspired to create her own blog: My Life with Cerebral Palsy27: Never Give Up
Ten Core Members, three U of R volunteers, four companions, two A! volunteers, program coordinator Ella McIntyre, and summer student Tara Lazurko participated in this summer program. They got to know the University of Regina and one another, tried out fabulous apps for their iPads and tablets, challenged each other in word games, participated in shared reading, worked on individual literacy lessons, and strengthened their social connections.
Alykhan (Al) Bhanji (U of R student and A! Volunteer) was impressed with the way Ella incorporated interactive apps, social networking, and podcasts that focused on the interests of each individual.
Paige Racette really liked the group reading. She finds it easier to comprehend the oral rather than the written word and this helped her fully participate in analyzing the book outline, characters, and plot development.
Everyone felt a little sad on August 20th because the A! Summer Literacy program was over.
Thank You to everyone who participated and made this program such a great success.
Extra Big Thank You to:
Dairyland Agro Supply Limited– the Summer Literacy Program Official Sponsor/Supporter
HRSDC – Summer Jobs program for granting program for covering a portion of the wages for the summer student position
Community Initiatives Fund for their generous support for the 2015 Astonished! Summer Literacy program
Photo:
Front: Tara Lazurko, Kennen Dorgan, Ryan Matheison, Corrie Van Burgsteden, Pagan Racette, Janet Davies, Megan Anderson.
Back : Jenna Petrosky, Rebekah Lindenbach, Judy Humphries, Paige Racette, Al Bhanji, Brittani Brescani, Ella McIntyre.
Missing: Kelsey Culbert, Kaitlyn Hoar, Avery Ottenbreit, Jody Mario.
We hope you will join us at the Annual Astonished! BBQ Tuesday August 18th at
Evraz Park (Formerly Ipsco Park), 1670 Armour Road, 5:30 –8:00 pm.
Everyone please bring your own chair (wheel or lawn) and we will meet you at the front gates of the park and provide the food and beverages! RSVP by Friday, August 14th to Bonnie
This event is weather permitting – if it looks like it will be a bad evening to be outside we will give you a cancellation email/phone call on the morning of August 18.
Tell your family and friends! All guests are more than welcome to come!
If you are taking paratransit, please ensure that your drop off is no earlier than 5:15 and your pick up is no later than 8:15. Thanks!
You might say I was a bit of a rover in my early years. I was born in Saskatoon and then moved to Cudworth, Regina, Balgonie, Regina, Pense, and back to Regina, where I finally settled down. I attended school in most of these places, but spent my final few high school years at Michael A. Riffel High School. After graduating in 2006, I took a few years off and then went to work at Cosmo, where I currently spend my days.
Towards the end of my high school years, I moved into Cheshire Homes where I reside in my “green and white” man cave. This should give you a strong clue about my favourite activity. I am a sports animal who attends Rider games, Pats games, and Red Sox games whenever I get the chance. When I’m not at games, I’m watching games on TV.
I am a core member of Astonished! and attend most of their social events . This summer I am attending my first ever Astonished Literacy Camp. I am the only guy camper, which is pretty sweet. I also attend Friendship Club and BeLonging gatherings when there’s no football or hockey games to watch. In my very limited free time, I listen to country music, watch funny movies, eat pizza, and dream about going to camp. I would live at Camp Easter Seal if they’d let me! My favourite people are my girlfriend Kayla, who also works at Cosmo, and my godmother Margaret, who I visit in Cudworth whenever I get the chance. My friends describe me as an open-minded, good-natured, and honest guy, optimistic even when the Riders are losing and camp is over for the summer.
In a previous blog blog, we mentioned that the Drop Dead Drift Corporation was holding a fundraiser for Astonished! on July 26.
An update:
We have to say, they came, they saw, they conquered AND overwhelmed us with their generosity!Here, is a truly great group of people looking to get involved and give back to the community. The day was awesome – the races were entertaining, the people were lovely and even the weather cooperated! Everyone from Astonished! had a lot of fun and we could tell that everyone else was having a lot of fun, too. To round out the day, Drop Dead Drift made a donation of $5000 to Astonished!
To our Drop Dead Drift contact Kaylah Zahara and the Drop Dead Drift Guys -the core 4 are Austin Phillips, Justin Schiller, Jon Tougas and Kolton Ryan – as well as all the organizers, participants, volunteers, and spectators, THANK YOU! We cannot say enough great things about you. The same goes for Travis Fehler, Kyle Zimmer, and Dave Rushinko, who partnered with Drop Dead Drift to make the weekend possible. You are all so good. It is because of generous donations like these, that we are able to continue to engage in meaningful research and offer innovative services for young adults with complex physical disAbilities. It makes all the difference.
We encourage everyone out there looking for something interesting to do to check out a Drop Dead Drift event!
https://www.facebook.com/DropDeadDrift?fref=ts
*This picture is A! Core Member Kennen Dorgan out for a few laps with her brother Reed and Jessie-Joe Curtis with Odd Man Out Performance of Regina!
There are so many things to love about our association with the University of Regina. We love it when students come to Astonished! with ideas of how we can partner together. Jake Sawa, U of R Kinesiology grad, came to us last summer with the idea of creating the A! Dance Project. Jake learned some of his moves with Lazylegz Patuelli and created many of his own. Each month we have danced with Jake, strengthen our community, and gained new confidence in our own unique responses to the beat. Last evening was our last official dance time with Jake. He is off to study medicine at the University of Saskatoon. We will miss him and we know he will be a fabulous doctor. Jake brought listening, respect, fun, skill, and the ability to adapt to changing situations to the A! Dance project. All of this will carry him well in his future. Thank you Jake!
Photo- Ryan and Jake catch the beat.
We work in inclusive community to address barriers facing young adults with complex physical disAbilities (core members) by creating opportunities for teaching and learning, social, recreational and cultural engagement, and for employment and housing.
The Big Sky Centre for Learning and Being Astonished Inc.
University of Regina
3737 Wascana Parkway
Regina, SK S4S 0A2
Phone:
Bonnie Cummings-Vickaryous, Executive Director, 306-737-9560
E-mail:
BCV@beingastonished.com