INSIDE DOUGLAS COLLEGE / OCTOBER 3, 1989

 

 

 

Children With Aids Conference

Gives Hop

After returning from the 5th
Annual Paediatric AIDS conference
earlier this month, Douglas College
instructor Cathleen Smith said that
she finally feels there is some hope
for children inflicted with

Ce

AIDS - attended the conference

whom are parents of children with

which was held in Los Angeles on

Sept. 6, 7 and 8.

“The parents were there to get

ference was from the U.S. National
Association of Schools. The associa-
tion announced its new policy stat-
ing that children with AIDS will
not be excluded from the school
system because of their ill-

 

AIDS.

Although the medical
profession has yet to discover
acure for the fatal disease,
doctors and other guest
speakers at the conference
presented several ways to
help AIDS patients feel more
comfortable throughout the
illness and during the final
stages of the disease.

“There were speakers
and workshops and films,”
Smith said. “Each one gave a

 

 

ness.

Two of the most impor-
| tant issues in dealing with
AIDS, Smith said, are com-
munication and awareness.
Unfortunately, she added,
these are often the most dif-
ficult to achieve.

“Most children feel iso-
lated and afraid to tell
anyone about their sick-
ness,” Smith said. “Like any-
thing else unpleasant,
people often react to the

 

 

non-sentimental presentation
of what it is like to be a fami-

Cathleen Smith

children with fear. But what
we have to remember is that

 

ly dealing with AIDS and
suggested creative ways to reach
children and parents affected by
AIDS.”

Because of her work with the
B.C. Task Force for AIDS: Women
and Children, Smith and Robyn
Goldie, a social worker with the
Hospital for Sick Children in Toron-
to, shared a $2,000 grant from the
Foundation for Immune Diseases
to help cover the cost of the con-
ference.

Eight hundred people - 41 of

 

 

Smith said one couple she

to be respected,” she said. “They

 

October 27 & 28
at the Sheraton Plaza 500 Hotel,
Vancouver

The role of play and physical activity

in the developing years.

Registration information: Contact the

Society for Children & Youth of B.C.

3644 Slocan Street, Vancouver, B.C.

V5M 3E8 or call (604) 433-4180.

to know each other and to get sup-
port,” Smith said. “They are facing
issues unlike any other chronic dis-
ease. ’Think of Leukaemia, for ex-
ample," she added. “Parents have
never had to move out of the neigh-
bourhood because of the disease.”

spoke to at the conference lost two
children to AIDS. “They were there
because they felt they have a right

are tired of the secrecy and shame.”
One of the speakers at the con-

Focus on Children Symposium

 

 

a person is still a person no
matter what illness they have.”

Although the conference was
“an emotional three days,” Smith
said, it was also uplifting because
of the “heroism of the kids and the
parents.” Participants left the event
full of inspiration and hope.

“Tf people use precautions,”
Smith said, “then there is no
reason why we should have
another case of AIDS. It would be
sheer irresponsibility to ignore that
the disease exists and to not edu-
cate the public." =