With Our Diversity, Comes Our Strength

Dr. Madelaine Werier, DVM, BScAg

“Acceptance is based on two key concepts. First, each one of us has something to contribute to our communities and our world, and second, our communities are not whole until all of us belong.” -Shelly Christensen

February is Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance and Inclusion Month (JDAIM), a worldwide initiative to raise disability awareness and to support inclusion in Jewish communities. As co-founder of the Jewish Ottawa Inclusion Network (JOIN) and an autism mom, this is an exciting month! A highlight so far was participating in the CIJA delegation on parliament hill for the annual Jewish Disability Advocacy Day. JDAIM events will be taking place all over North America and worldwide. It is also my pleasure to announce some upcoming events right here in Ottawa!

JOIN is honoured to partner with Tamir, Jewish Federation of Ottawa, and Jewish Family Services of Ottawa to present Pushing the Boundaries: Disability, Inclusion and Jewish Community at the SJCC on April 3, 2019. This will be a day of learning for lay leadership, community professionals, front line staff and volunteers and all are welcome to attend. Shelly Christensen, author of From Longing to Belonging: A Practical Guide to Including People with Disabilities in Faith Communities and Jewish Community Guide to Inclusion of People with Disabilities will be our keynote speaker. Shelly is a leader in the field of disability inclusion and spirituality, co-founded JDAIM in 2009, and serves as its organizer.

On the evening of April 2, the community is invited to join us at Kehillat Beth Israel for conversations with inclusion expert Shelly Christensen and Daniel Tammet, an essayist, novelist, poet, translator, autistic savant, and New York Times best-selling author. It will be a fascinating and inspiring evening and is not to be missed.

Community inclusion for persons with disabilities has become a passion and a mission for myself and others in our community. As parents of children with exceptionalities we have united in friendship, effort, and solidarity to break through some of the barriers we experience with our children. Adults and children with visible and invisible disabilities make up 22% of the population (Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey on Disability 2017). Do you look around your synagogue, community centre, simcha or school and wonder, where are they? Some of these adults and children are right here at our school! Many children at OJCS have diagnosed physical, developmental, or learning disabilities. The benefits of including all types of learners at our community school extends well beyond the individual child. The entire school is strengthened by the diversity of talent, learning style, and unique perspective. The culture is also shifted as the attitudes and actions of the next generation are shaped by the examples set in the classroom. Interacting with peers that communicate or learn differently fosters advanced and adaptive communication and cooperation skills. When children get an opportunity to give and receive support from one another, their sense of community and responsibility leads way to meaningful friendships, empathy, and moral stewardship. We learn better together #northstars.

What does inclusion at OJCS mean for a family like mine? To put it simply, it is everything! My children will be invited to parties, grow up with Jewish friends, find support in their own faith community, and feel confident in their Jewish identity. In return the school and community will benefit from their unique talents and offerings (which as their Mom I have to say are pretty amazing!). My delight in my children’s inclusion is bittersweet knowing that others in our community cannot attend OJCS for reasons directly related to their disability. Although the reasons can vary, the primary hindrance is a lack of necessary resources. Our community needs more training, equipment, expertise, and knowledge of the fundamentals of inclusion. Parents are responsible for providing all kinds of private supports, special equipment, missed work days for never ending appointments and assessments. From personal experience the financial and energy costs are beyond staggering and realistically not accessible for most. There are many strategies that we can utilize as a community to reduce some of these strains that get transferred onto the individual or their family.

What can we as a community do? Whenever possible, choose inclusion! Inclusion is a spectrum, a journey. It is not black and white and can always be tweaked and improved upon. We can use our voices, influence, votes, and donation dollars to show that inclusion of all Jewish children in our day schools is not optional. We can teach ourselves to do different work not necessarily more work to foster inclusion. We can support the board members and administrators of our school in helping them create the inclusive future they envision. We can applaud them for what they are already doing, help fundraise, volunteer, and collaborate. We can reach out to people who are shut out of community involvement and ask them how we can facilitate their inclusion. We can make new friends and lead by example for our children. We can enjoy the diversity of one another.

Throughout February as we recognize #JDAIM19, think about ways you can promote inclusivity in our community. It could start in your home, at your Shabbat table, in your business, in your synagogue, and in your child’s school. We will all be better for it.

Hope to see you at Pushing the Boundaries on April 2 and 3!