I am sure I am not the only one that needs to follow these steps.

Do you have a child with FASD, ADHD, Autism?

Did you know you can qualify for the Disability Tax Credit in Canada?

Does it look too hard to apply? Don’t panic. I thought the same which is why I decided to post this information on my blog.

My son is 11 and has FASD and ADHD. I mentioned the tax credit forms to his pediatrician on our last visit. He went and printed them off and signed them right away.

What do you need?

Print off the T2201 Disability Tax Credit forms for your doctor to complete.

If the child has FASD or autism, make sure the doctor checks Yes to the questions on page 6 and notes that the restrictions were since birth. This will enable you to have your tax returns re-assessed. Ours were assesed back 10 years which I think is as far as Revenue Canada allows.

Some of the answers might be different depending on your child’s level of impairment but our pediatrician filled in page as follows:

Diagnosis: FASD

Effects of Impairment: Needs constant supervision, unable to be without supervision or will wander off, needs significant academic supports in school.

He then checked the box that the impairment would NOT improve and signed it.

That was all he did. I actually felt he hadn’t written enough and expected the forms to be returned and we would be denied.

It “may” have been due to the long letter I attached to form T2201 before I mailed it to Revenue Canada. On page 1 the form asks you (parent applying for the credit) to “give details of the support you provide to the person with the disability. I wrote “Please see attached sheet” and wrote a long letter. In this letter I outlined every single thing I do for my son that I would not be doing if he wasn’t FASD. This included constantly reminding him to get dressed in the morning, to brush his teeth, to eat his food, to get his coat on. It included being driven to and from school as he often stops en route and gets distracted. Having to buy clothes that don’t bother his skin as he has a sensory disorder. Paying for tuition in the summer. Spending hours helping with homework that other kids he age could probably do alone. I went into details about helping with homework such as my son not being able to get his ideas on paper fast enough…by the time he has one idea written, he has forgotten the next therefore I have to scribe for him. He gets stressed really easily and then gets upset and angry and has melt-downs – that was included.  I mentioned having to take him to Occupational Therapy appointments, Pediatric appointments, counselling etc. and that I spend more time in contact with his school due to his disability. He is easily led by his peers so I included that he needs supervision when playing with friends or they might lead him astray. I also included the meds that he was taking. Go into as much detail as you can. Think of everything and write it down. Attach the letter to your form.

Make sure you take a copy of the forms for your records.

Mail it off and fingers crossed, you will you are also approved. I really didn’t expect to be.

Good luck and feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Santa Booties

This is one of our most popular knitting patterns.  It sells year round as it looks great in any colour yarn. They are especially nice and cozy at this time of year.

The pattern will fit 0-3 month babies.

They make great gifts too.

This knitting pattern is available as an instant download.

Since leaving England, I have had a constant craving for my mum’s bread pudding. It is not the Bread and Butter pudding that will immediately come to your mind. This is like a heavy, wetter cake. I finally found a recipe at Traditional English Puddings. Believe me, I started salivating the minute I saw the recipe LOL. Found some day old bread in the local store. Stale bread is required for this recipe. I left the loaf on my counter. One day went by – bread still wasn’t feeling stale. Two days… Three days…. Four days…. bread still wasn’t going stale. Odd???? On the fifth day it went mouldy. It got me wondering why bread doesn’t seem to go stale these days. Having done some research I realise that store brought bread has so many preservatives/additives that it no longer goes hard and stale like bread used to do. It WILL go mouldy eventually – -  and some take forever to even do that – -  but the bread doesn’t go stale. That is a huge concern to me so I am now making my own bread again. I do not want to feed my son additives from a staple food item – BREAD.  It makes me rather mad to know when I feed my son a healthy whole grain bread, I am also feeding him chemicals. Money is so important these days. Companies want bread to last longer on the shelf so that comes before health. No wonder so many kids have ADHD these days………………..

No sooner does the snow melt than the weather becomes almost summer. We have much higher than normal temperatures which made us the hottest place in Canada last Wednesday. I have put my crocheting to one side for a while and have been doing a lot of gardening. Grew most of the seedlings myself this year. Have two plots in the Hay River Community Garden. This week I planted peas, cabbage, broccoli, zucchini, tomatoes and onions.

Not had many deliveries of crochet patterns recently. Looking to find some new independant designers – self publishers. Always looking to support indie designers. If you design yourself and would like us to offer your patterns for sale, let us know.