Frustrated with the gaps and inequities for assessments and treatment programs available for low to middle-income Canadian families dealing with neurobiological disorders, Dr. Maged Kodsi founded Caring for Young Minds (CYM) in 1999. Rotary Club Toronto West, in line with our vision to “Ignite the potential in youth,” invited Dr. Kodsi to give us an update on the invaluable work CYM is doing.
Dr. Kodsi, spoke to us of the tremendous progress that has been made over the past decade. It is now recognized that behaviours demonstrated by some children such as, restlessness, inattention, withdrawal or under achievement are often due to biological conditions affecting the brain. Many of these children have struggled in school because of the early stages of their mental health issues. Also some may have a formal learning disability that has never been identified. CYM provides these children with a formal “Psycho-educational Assessment” from a qualified school psychologist. Some of these children will need completely new academic settings and school programing. As a result, many will have a more positive classroom experience that meets the newly discovered learning profile. These assessments have had significant impacts on the child’s education as well as his/her mental health. The support Caring for Young Minds provides helps these children to reach their full potential and will ultimately lead to substantial savings and benefits to our society.
In recognition and support of this valuable endeavour, our club presented Dr. Kodsi with a financial donation for this very worthy cause.
To learn more about Caring for Young Minds visit: www.caringforyoungminds.ca