The Developmental Disabilities Association (Vancouver and Lower Mainland)

The last time I taught Public Policy at the university level, I made sure that my students surveyed a broad range of policy areas. We looked at health policy, urban policy, social policy and environmental policy. Those are the areas that I feel most comfortable teaching and I’m most conversant in the literature. When one of my best students decided to focus on autism policy in Canada for his final paper, I realized that developmental disabilities (of which autism is one) may indeed be one of the least examined areas of health and social policy.

The Developmental Disabilities Association is a charitable organization located in Richmond that offers about 50 programmes of service throughout the Lower Mainland area. From their site:

The Developmental Disabilities Association is a community living agency that provides over 50 community-based programs and services to children, adults and their families with developmental disabilities in Vancouver and Richmond. We create extended networks of support, investing in individual needs, and always striving for an inclusive and safe community. Over 1600 individuals and families in the Vancouver and Richmond area are served by the Developmental Disabilities Association every year.[DDA]

I was profoundly moved and touched when I first learned about the work of the DDA, particularly because after reading my student’s paper I realized how much these disabilities remain in the shadows and are not talked about. The DDA has been embracing social media (DDA blog, DDA Twitter) and through reading more about them, I have come to learn a lot more about the range of severity of these disabilities (from mild to severe) and the broad spectrum of developmental disabilities (cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, etc).

I am very positively impressed with the work of the DDA and would strongly encourage you to donate to this worthy charity. Recently, they participated in Blogathon 2009 and it was a really fun experience to hang out with some of the staff. To learn more about the DDA check their website and blog.