Vale Dyspraxia Support Group appeals for volunteer leaders

4:30pm Sunday 21st August 2011

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THE Vale Dyspraxia Support Group is appealing for volunteers to come forward to run the organisation.

The Barry family members who have run the group for the last seven years are moving out of the area, and they are desperate for someone to take over the reins.

VDSG provides support and advice for parents, carers, families and others that are affected by dyspraxia.

they currently provide members with monthly meetings, an advice line, and links to a range of other organisations.

they also arrange social activities including 10-pin bowling, cinema trips, boat trips and visits to the likes of Techniquest.

“We are considering moving to Oxford and we are not going to be able carry on with the group if we move there,” said one of the co-ordinators.

“After seven and a half years the group could do with some fresh leadership too.

“We are asking for people to come forward, for us to find out a little bit more about them, and see if people in the meetings feel happy for them to lead the group and take it forward from us.”

Dyspraxia is a condition where the normal process of development of physical actions that require co-ordination is delayed or disturbed.

Typically a child with dyspraxia has difficulty with their gross motor skills, including activities such as throwing, catching and running, as well as fine motor skills, such as handwriting.

Dyspraxia is part of a group of conditions that include dyslexia and ADHD, with many children having symptoms of one or more of these conditions.

if you have an interest in helping young people with dyspraxia and its associated conditions, email valedyspraxia@aol.com or ring 01446 738945.

You can also visit the website at vdsg.org.uk

Read these News stories

Vale Dyspraxia Support Group appeals for volunteer leaders

4:30pm Sunday 21st August 2011

• Print
• Email
• Comments(0)

THE Vale Dyspraxia Support Group is appealing for volunteers to come forward to run the organisation.

the Barry family members who have run the group for the last seven years are moving out of the area, and they are desperate for someone to take over the reins.

VDSG provides support and advice for parents, carers, families and others that are affected by dyspraxia.

They currently provide members with monthly meetings, an advice line, and links to a range of other organisations.

They also arrange social activities including 10-pin bowling, cinema trips, boat trips and visits to the likes of Techniquest.

“We are considering moving to Oxford and we are not going to be able carry on with the group if we move there,” said one of the co-ordinators.

“After seven and a half years the group could do with some fresh leadership too.

“We are asking for people to come forward, for us to find out a little bit more about them, and see if people in the meetings feel happy for them to lead the group and take it forward from us.”

Dyspraxia is a condition where the normal process of development of physical actions that require co-ordination is delayed or disturbed.

Typically a child with dyspraxia has difficulty with their gross motor skills, including activities such as throwing, catching and running, as well as fine motor skills, such as handwriting.

Dyspraxia is part of a group of conditions that include dyslexia and ADHD, with many children having symptoms of one or more of these conditions.

if you have an interest in helping young people with dyspraxia and its associated conditions, email or ring 01446 738945.

you can also visit the website at vdsg.org.uk

Read these News stories

Jan van Vugt, known as ‘Jan the Bicycle Man’ has found healing from pain and fatigue caused by Parkinson ‘s disease.

This healing hasn’t come from taking a pill twice daily, but from cycling.

“Twice a day I go biking and when I do, I am almost pain free. when my feet are on the pedals, they move like the feet of a healthy person,” Jan said.

In 1998, Jan, who was an appliance repairman for 30 years, was forced to retire due to Parkinson’s disease. The disease caused a tremor that made it too dangerous for him to work with live electricity.

Seven years ago, Jan had brain surgery to reduce the tremor, and it was a success. however, the Parkinson’s still left him exhausted and in pain.

“In September, 2009, I got sick and tired of feeling sick and tired,” he said.

“The muscles in my legs were deteriorating and I was finding it difficult to get in and out of the car. my son had told me that in Holland, he saw a lot of 80- and 90-year-olds that were still riding a bicycle. he also told me that he saw a lot less overweight people in Holland.”

Jan’s doctor originally advised him against cycling. however, this didn’t stop him from trying it.

“The first time I tried cycling, I couldn’t pedal two metres up the hill without stopping and walking. After one month of regular cycling, I could pedal up the entire hill in first gear. it started getting easier. I started riding a bike instead of using the car everywhere I went. my legs are getting stronger and I am feeling much better.”

It was a doctor in Holland who discovered that cycling reduced the shaking symptoms of Parkinson’s.

“The exercise from my bike riding reduced the effects of my Parkinson’s and is giving me a new outlook on my future.”

Jan has now been cycling since September, 2009. One of his main fears is riding in traffic.

“I think the City of Abbotsford is doing a good job establishing bike lanes. Although, I believe they should put a proper bicycle lane down Old Yale Road on each side, not a left turn lane that will push traffic closer to the sidewalks. Rules and roads seem to be made by non-bikers. I suspect that city planners feel cyclists are an inconvenience,” he said.

“The bicycle is the most important asset you can have for your health because if you ride a bike you can’t help but improve your health. I think that we, as a society, are getting too lazy and too infatuated with the automobile.”

Jan took part in last Wednesday’s Cycling4Fun session put on by the Abbotsford Cycling Action Group (ACAG) that taught participants about cycling in traffic and took them on a one-hour bike ride along an urban route.

“Since the last Cycling4Fun ride, I’ve gotten more courage and felt safer riding in the traffic. that ride was the biggest help that I’ve had as far as riding on the road was concerned,” he said.

“When I went on that ride, I was worried about not keeping up to the rest of the group. but I found that a lot of people were in similar shape as me. The ride went at a nice pace and I had no problem whatsoever.”

Jan will continue to attend Cycling4Fun sessions until May 26 and he encourages people who suffer from similar symptoms to also try cycling.

“The joy that I have found in a renewed love for biking only brings me one regret. Why did I wait so many years to get back into it?”

Cycling4Fun sessions run every Wednesday, until May 26, from 7 p.m. to 8:20 pm.

Cycling4Fun is funded in part by B.C. Recreation and Parks Association.

For more information about Cycling4Fun, visit acag-bc.ca.

To learn more about Jan’s story, visit janthebicycleman.com.

© Copyright (c) Lower Mainland Publishing

I found out my dog has whipworm. He is being treated right now. what kind of symptoms has your dog had, while having whipworm?

draggs *** on the floor

genhealth.com/Products/Vitakl…

Eating grass and throwing up all the time.

The dog usually drags its butt a little, but that might not necessarily happen. the big telltale symptom is a little blood constantly oozing from the anus. the whipworms attach themselves to the colon and cause wounds that bleed.
A quick note-make sure you are immediately picking up your dogs poop as soon as it hits the ground. Whipworms can burrow into the soil and live for seven years. they can re-infect your dog at anytime.

My two dogs didn't exhibit any symptoms. I found out that they had whipworms when I did the annual fecal check. they had both been eating goose poop at the park earlier in the month before I took them in for testing.

new Democrat Party MP Peter Stoffer (centre) is dragged out of Commons by fellow NDP workers to take part in the campaign to raise funds and awareness for prostate cancer research, known as Movember, by shaving off his trademark moustache in Ottawa, Nov. 1, 2010. (Chris Roussakis, QMI Agency)

Having done the Clark Gable thing, Toronto’s Mic Salem is now thinking handlebar. like thousands of other Canadian men, Salem is taking the month of November to grow a moustache and raise funds and awareness for prostate cancer.

A couple of years ago, he raised $800 for Prostate Cancer Canada and grew a moustache reminiscent of the kind old-timey actors made famous: Small, clean and manicured. “this time around, I will shoot for the whole handlebar thing,” says the 32-year-old communications and marketing officer for The Toronto Community Foundation.

Salem is participating in Movember, a men’s health initiative that originated in Australia seven years ago and is now global. (Mo is Australian slang for moustache and November is prostate cancer awareness month – hence, Movember.) Last year, the Movember movement raised $42 million; since its inception, over $100 million has been raised, along with awareness of a potentially dangerous men’s cancer.

As new treatments emerge and more and more men come forward to put a face on the disease (think the NDP’s Jack Layton, golfer Arnold Palmer, new York’s former mayor Rudy Giuliani, and former U.S. secretary of state Colin Powell), prostate cancer is becoming better known. But there’s still a lack of awareness, and even denial among men. Research has shown that men are 40% more likely than women to die from cancer, in part because they put off visiting the doctor. As one prostate cancer survivor told me, “if you’re waiting for actual symptoms to appear, you’re waiting too late.”

Those who’ve had to live with prostate cancer are quick to tell other men to have their annual checkups, including the dreaded finger up the rear exam. they should talk to their doctors about the possibility of having a PSA test. although a physical exam or the harmless blood test for prostate-specific antigen may save a man’s life, only half the men over the age of 50 get tested. Check out Prostatecancer.ca for more on cancer assessment.

But what exactly is the prostate, many men still ask. The prostate is a walnut-sized gland located at the base of the penis in front of the rectum, just below the bladder. it produces part of the fluid that carries sperm. Rates of prostate cancer in men are comparable to breast cancer rates in women, with a man being diagnosed with the disease every 2.7 minutes. in 2010, approximately 246,000 men will be diagnosed and 4,300 will die. it is the most common cancer to affect Canadian men.

But there is good news on the horizon. Death rates have been dropping since the mid-1990s: Earlier detection saves lives and today’s better treatments prolong lives. more accurate interpretations of test results mean that, today, some men’s prostate cancer – particularly ones that are very slow-growing and considered less dangerous – are monitored rather than aggressively treated.

But men have to take charge, learn more, and have their own health evaluated on a regular basis. As for awareness, prostate cancer is following in the footsteps of breast cancer: You can’t think pink today without thinking breast cancer. Blue striped ties and scarves are associated with prostate cancer awareness, and now, so is upper lip facial hair.

Mic Salem knows people among his family and friends who were diagnosed with the disease. his moustache will again raise awareness, he says. and growing it is kind of fun for someone in their 30s: “There’s a creep factor about them, but that also makes them kind of cool. Beards today are commonplace, but moustaches draw attention. I had a hard time taking myself seriously, though, when I grew it a few years ago. At work, they had a good laugh but it encouraged them all to talk about prostate cancer and to donate.”

Grow Your Mo

Will yours look like the mos sported by Hulk Hogan, Tom Selleck, Stevie wonder, or Howie Mandel? Will you be like Dr. Phil or Prince? Take November and give it a try – and raise funds and awareness for the number one killer of men.

Mo Information

“The mos that you grown, the mos you support, the mos you caress help to take prostate cancer research further,” says Dr. Anthony Joshua, a prostate cancer researcher at Toronto’s University Health Network. Check out Movember.com, where you’ll find info on this fun initiative, plus pin-ups of the “Mo Men” of past years.

Buy Into It

Like the breast cancer awareness initiative, Movember has spawned lines of products that donate money to the cause when you purchase them. Along with video camera skins, cufflinks and t-shirts are shoes by TOMS, a company already known for its charitable initiatives (every time a pair is purchased, the company donates a new pair of shoes to a child in need). their Movember-specific design will also donate a portion of the sale to the Movember Foundation. Visit Tomsshoes.ca for more information.