Today, April 2nd, is World Autism Awareness Day – a day when people come together to share stories and help spread awareness about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). When we talk about spreading awareness, we’re talking about helping to educate and inform others about ASD, which in turn helps to make our communities more inclusive for both people on the spectrum and the families that love them. Here are a few quick autism facts: ASD can affect a person’s communicate, socialize, and engage with their environment. When people refer to the “spectrum” they refer to the fact that a person with autism can demonstrate[Read more...]
The transition from pediatric care to the adult health care system can be a very daunting and difficult experience for young patients with chronic illness. As the carefully regimented checks and balances fall away, having some kind of support for things such as managing medications, keeping track of appointments, and navigating independence can be crucial in helping young adult patients to continue to be successful. Programs such as Sick Kids’ “Good 2 Go”, CHEO’s “On My Way”, and B.C. Children’s Hospital’s “ON TRAC” can be incredibly valuable during what is a very tumultuous time. Read the full article from The Globe[Read more...]
Cough, sneeze, wheeze… If that’s still the story in your home, you’re not alone. It feels like respiratory sickness is hanging around longer than usual for this time of the year, and I’m definitely hearing parents ready to say “Uncle” to this season of bronchiolitis and goo. So I spent a few minutes yesterday evening between patients in the ER and jumped onto Public Health Agency of Canada’s FluWatch website. Here’s the first bit of not-so-good news: This is the map of the Windsor-Montreal Corridor. The violet coloured zones represent areas of sporadic influenza activity, and the blue zones are[Read more...]
A big story in the news in 2012 was that pertussis, more commonly known as whooping cough, had been making a troublesome return across North America. Whooping cough is an infectious disease that can be especially dangerous for infants and young children. Word of its recent resurgence is certainly worrisome and naturally you, members of the QPAM community, had a number of questions. The most common questions we received had been about the pertussis vaccination schedule. The immunization schedule gives pertussis (the vaccine is grouped with tetanus and diphtheria) at 2, 4, 6, and 15-18 months, as well as 4-5 years of[Read more...]
Recently the Public Health Division of the Canadian Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care issued a revised version of the Publicly Funded Immunization Schedules for Ontario. Among some of the updates and changes to the list is the addition of an oral vaccine used to protect children against a disease called rotavirus. Rotavirus is a highly contagious virus that can cause severe diarrhea, most common in babies ages 2 and under. Causing inflammation in the stomach and intestines, gastroenteritis, rotavirus can come packaged with vomiting, fever and abdominal pain along with tell-tale watery diarrhea. Along with the complications of dehydration[Read more...]
