Community programs have become a big part of Benji and Giulietta's lives, especially since they are no longer in school. When school ended, we knew it wasn't enough to simply fill their schedules. We wanted them to continue learning, building relationships, contributing to their communities, and developing the skills that would help them lead meaningful and independent lives. Over the years, community programs have helped create that foundation. For Benji, this has included o

Behind every opportunity, achievement, and milestone in Benji and Giulietta's lives is a dedicated team of support staff who work alongside them every day. Through consistent 1:1 support and the stability of a live-in caregiver, these relationships help create the foundation for growth, participation, independence, and meaningful experiences across all areas of life. Through self-directed funding, both Benji and Giulietta have been able to build individualized support teams t

Meaningful progress does not happen by accident. For Benji and Giulietta, every goal begins with understanding who they are as individuals, what is important to them, what challenges they are experiencing, and what opportunities might help them continue to grow. Goal setting has never been about creating a list of skills to work on or checking boxes. It starts by looking at Benji and Giulietta's everyday lives. What would help them become more independent? What would make dai

For Benji and Giulietta, employment has never been about simply filling time or having somewhere to go during the day. Work has become an important part of who they are. Like everyone else, Benji and Giulietta want to be involved in their communities, contribute in meaningful ways, and have responsibilities that matter. Employment provides opportunities to do all of those things while continuing to build confidence, skills, and independence. For many individuals with developm

Every decision that has been made for Benji and Giulietta has started with the same question: "What kind of life do Benji and Giulietta want to live?" Not what services are available. Not what program they fit into. Not what other people think they should be doing. What matters first is who Benji and Giulietta are as individuals. Although they share the same diagnosis of Phelan-McDermid Syndrome, they are very different people. They have different personalities, different int

Independence for Benji and Giulietta has never been about mastering tasks quickly or perfectly. It has always been built slowly through everyday participation in the routines that make up daily life. Getting dressed in the morning, helping around the house, preparing simple meals, organizing belongings, and being part of household and community routines are not separate skill areas for them. They are simply part of how life is structured, and over time these repeated experien

For Benji and Giulietta, communication has never just been about speech. It has always been about finding ways to be understood in everyday life. Communication is one of the most important foundations of independence, choice-making, and community participation, and for both of them it has also been one of the most complex areas of support. Benji and Giulietta live with Phelan-McDermid Syndrome and childhood apraxia of speech, which impacts the ability to plan and coordinate t

Over time, health became one of the most important foundations in Benji and Giulietta’s lives, not because it stands alone, but because it directly shapes how they are able to participate in everyday life. When people think about independence, health is often seen as separate from learning, communication, or community involvement. For Benji and Giulietta, it is what makes all of those things possible in the first place. Health is not something separate from daily life or trea

What Benji and Giulietta needed was not another isolated service. They needed a way of thinking about life where communication, employment, recreation, education, life skills, social opportunities, and community participation all worked together instead of being separated into different programs and schedules. That shift changed everything. Instead of life being shaped around appointments and service calendars, the focus moved toward everyday life. Real environments, real rou

When people hear the term self-directed funding, they often think about budgets, administration, or how services are paid for. For Benji and Giulietta, self-directed funding is certainly about funding, but it is about much more than that. It is about having access to individualized funding and the flexibility to decide how that funding could best support their lives. Families know their children better than anyone else. They understand their strengths, interests, challenges,

Every person deserves the opportunity to build a life that reflects their interests, strengths, and dreams. For Benji and Giulietta, our vision has always been guided by three core values: choice, inclusion, and belonging. Choice means having opportunities to make decisions, explore interests, and shape the direction of their own lives. Inclusion means being active participants in community life, not simply present but genuinely involved. Belonging means developing relationsh

Before there was a program, a framework, a Microboard, or a Circle of Care, there were simply two children named Benji and Giulietta. Like many parents, their family started with hopes, dreams, and expectations for what the future might look like. What they could not have predicted was the journey that lay ahead, or how much creativity, persistence, and determination it would take to build a meaningful adult life for both of them. Benji and Giulietta live with Phelan-McDermid

The Microboard Guide: Part 1 of 5 A microboard is a small group of committed people who come together with an individual who has a disability to form a registered non-profit corporation. The microboard provides governance, advocacy, and decision-making support for that person throughout their life. It creates a formal legal structure that can outlast any one individual’s involvement. A microboard is not a group home or a service agency. It is a personalized structure, built a

The Microboard Guide: Part 2 of 5 To call your non-profit corporation a microboard, a minimum of five directors are required. Most families do not start with five people ready to serve. Building toward that number is a process that may take months or years. The formal structure comes later. The starting point is relationships. Start with Who Is Available A microboard can begin with two or three committed people. That might be a parent, a sibling or other family member, a nei

The Microboard Guide: Part 3 of 5 There are several government funding streams available to people with developmental disabilities in Ontario. They come from different ministries, go through different channels, and have different rules. This post provides a high-level overview of where a microboard fits in. The specifics depend on each family’s situation and should be worked through with Microboards Ontario or one of the other organizations listed in Part 1 of this guide. Fun

The Microboard Guide: Part 4 of 5 When a family and their circle are ready, the next step is to formally incorporate the microboard as a non-profit corporation. This is what creates the legal entity that can enter into agreements, open a bank account, manage funding, and engage support workers. This step does not need to happen on any timeline. Some families take months, others take years. What matters is that the relationships are in place and the group is ready. How to Inco

The Microboard Guide: Part 5 of 5 Once a microboard is incorporated and operational, there are ongoing obligations. These are more extensive depending on whether the microboard manages funding, but even microboards that serve primarily as governance and advocacy structures have basic corporate obligations. With the right systems and supports, these requirements are manageable. Regular Board Meetings A microboard should hold regular board meetings. Meetings can cover the indi

What It Is The Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) is a federal savings plan, introduced in 2008, that allows families to save for a child with a disability while receiving government contributions from the federal government. It works in a similar way to a RESP: money is contributed into the plan, investments grow tax deferred inside it, and the government adds grants and bonds on top of the contributions. The lifetime contribution limit is $200,000 with no annual cap.

There are several federal and provincial programs in Canada that provide income, health benefits, tax relief, and long-term savings for people with disabilities. These programs are spread across different levels of government, each with its own eligibility rules, application process, and timeline. This section brings them together in one place and walks through them in a sequence that reflects how they connect to one another. These programs interact and are inter-related. Som

What It Is A Henson Trust is a type of trust used estate planning to protect the financial interests of a person with a disability while preserving their eligibility for ODSP. It is an absolute discretionary trust. In simple terms, this means the trustee (the person managing the trust) has full control over when and how the money in the trust is used, and the beneficiary (the person with the disability) has no legal right to demand payments from it. Because the beneficiary do