Melissa Martz

“Sleeping like a baby.” We’d all love to look down on our contentedly slumbering child and be able to say those four little words. But it’s not always easy—especially when a child has a disability with underlying conditions that affect sleep.
September 2010

All of us have been teased at some point in our lives, especially while growing up. Sometimes it’s light-hearted joking between friends or family members. But other times, teasing escalates into something much more sinister and damaging: bullying. According to the website Bullying.org, in Canada, bullying happens every seven minutes on the playground.
February 2009

Music is the universal language that connects us all, regardless of age, race or ability. All of us have benefited from music as a learning tool. Think of a song that you learned as a child. What made it stick? Chances are, it had repetitive words and a simple, recurring melody. Perhaps it involved hand gestures or miming that helped reinforce the lyrics. Songs can help us remember and use language – it’s no wonder the alphabet has been set to music!
March 2008

You may have heard that some parents are enrolling their young children in sign language classes — even though no one in the family has a hearing disability. While at first blush this sounds like a fad, sign language can benefit children with other disabilities and, indeed, people of all abilities.
December 2007