Community forum calls for action on learning disability supports

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Manitobans with learning disabilities gathered with allies on Sunday afternoon to raise awareness about “Marin’s principle” and related gaps in the public school system.

More than 50 people showed up to the Corydon Community Centre to participate in an education forum hosted by Jon Gerrard, former MLA for River Heights, and the Manitoba Liberal Party.

Twila Richards, a teacher, spoke about how her now-adult daughter struggled in school as a result of dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia, among other diagnoses, and inadequate interventions.

“Marin is not a dropout. Marin is a survivor, and the trauma is still there,” Richards said.

“I spoke to a couple of Marin’s former classroom teachers this past couple of days. They, her former teachers, signed Marin’s principle and they are saddened still as they never received the proper training to teach the students like Marin.”

The mother of two launched the call to action named after her daughter, as well as a petition to draw attention to the challenges many marginalized students face and improve school screening, instruction and intervention.

Marin’s principle is about ensuring every struggling student receives support to realize their human right to become literate, and so much more, she said.

The Manitoba Human Rights Commission launched a special project to document concerns about reading instruction in fall 2022.

There have been numerous unexplained delays in what’s been dubbed the “Manitoba Right to Read” consultations via survey and in-person meetings.

Richards originally advocated for the commission-led initiative in 2020. She launched Marin’s principle this year, owing to concerns about the delays and the urgency of the situation — especially the deteriorating wellbeing of children and adults who are illiterate.

Gerrard, a retired pediatrician, said he’s disappointed in the stalled project and that Manitoba has not introduced meaningful changes in response to a landmark Supreme Court of Canada ruling that affirmed the legal rights of students with learning disabilities in 2012.

(The retiree has taken a special interest in learning disabilities dating back to 1980, when he worked under a mentor-professor with dyslexia in medical school, and because some of his in-laws have the same diagnosis.)

Ahead of the forum, he published a 36-page report detailing research tying undiagnosed and untreated learning disabilities to low levels of self-esteem, substance abuse, suicide, homelessness, anti-social behaviour and criminal activity.

The document relies heavily on the findings of the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s 2022 Right to Read inquiry, and offers a slew of recommendations, beginning with a holistic provincial plan.

The NDP government pledged to establish “clear outcomes for literacy instruction” in the throne speech, marking the start of the second session of the 43rd legislature, last week.

“There’s no recommended screening tool. School divisions are left to their own devices to choose whichever screening tool they feel is best — or cheapest (right now),” Ian MacIntyre, a retired teacher and former president of the Manitoba Teachers’ Society, said Sunday.

The other panelists included Jamie Pfau, president of the Manitoba Foster Parent Association, and Willard Reaves, a former running back with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who spoke about his challenges in elementary school.

Tyndall Park MLA Cindy Lamoureux, the sole representative for the Liberals in the Manitoba legislature, is expected to introduce the Marin’s principle petition when she returns to work; Lamoureux gave birth to her first child on Nov. 3.

Citing concerns about declining reading performance and literacy being a key social determinant of health, the Canadian Paediatric Society recently released a position statement on the subject.

“In-class quality reading programs must include phonemic awareness, phonics, and reading practice to improve word-reading accuracy and speed,” per the statement.

The organization’s Manitoba branch has endorsed the advocacy initiative in support of structured literacy lessons and launched a petition in support of “evidence-based literacy instruction.”

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

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