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Description:
I honestly thought I’d suffer hemochromatosis for the rest of my life. I believed there was no way out of it.
I couldn’t have been more wrong!
A simple 2-step process changed everything. I’ve not had a single HTC symptom for 3 years.
In the following video, I’ll explain how I did it:
Want text version instead of video? Here is simplified transcript…
I used to suffer from hemochromatosis. It was a nasty condition and, to be honest, my memories of it are all bad.
Until a few years ago, hemochromatosis – or HCT – was something that you have to manage over the rest of your life – with regular, never-ending hospital trips and invasive, unpleasant treatments.
Yet after years of battling HCT I’m past all that now.
I’ve been clear for a little over 3 years. I’ve not been back to the hospital at all in that time except for an annual checkup – and to make sure my iron levels are, indeed, well within safe ranges.
I was recently reminded of my journey out of the HCT nightmare as I watched a documentary about gene therapy.
It’s fascinating stuff. Gene therapy is a huge deal – some gene therapies are already achieving jaw-dropping results for people with previously untreatable illnesses.
The documentary grabbed my attention because when I was suffering HCT I’d used a natural form of gene therapy to get well.
Gene therapy is based on the simple fact that faulty genes can cause us illnesses – but they don’t necessarily have to.
All too often, it is lifestyle factors – the things we do day to day – that determines whether a particular gene switches on to create actual illness.
And if it does… then it can be repaired and the illnesses it causes can be undone.
The scientific study of how to undo genetic illnesses – like HCT – is called epigenetics.
And it’s thanks to epigenetics that I don’t have HCT any more.
Epigenetics is a multi-billion dollar area of research, studied throughout the world and funded by health institutions, universities and by governments.
It shows us that we can directly affect a gene’s damaging behavior so that it no longer hurts us.
Now, you already know more about epigenetics than you think. In fact, if you currently suffer from HCT you’re a perfect example of epigenetics at work!
You possibly know that to have HCT you need an ‘HCT gene’ from your mom and another from your dad.
But, as your doctor will have explained, lots of people have both these genes. Yet lots of them don’t get HCT.
Epigenetics looks for this missing link in diseases like HCT. It asks the question,
‘What is it that makes the ‘HCT gene’ devastate some lives – yet be completely harmless to others?’
The answer to that question has been found.
It’s because certain genes act one way on some people… and another way on other people. Putting this in medical jargon, the gene ‘expresses’ one way with Bob, for example, and a completely different way with Mary.
How a gene expresses – that is, how the gene affects you – goes on to determine whether you get ill or not.
So identical twins can have identical genes – yet different genetic illnesses. And this is because although the genes themselves are the same… the way they express for each twin can be very different.
If you have hemochromatosis it’s not just because of the genes you inherited from your parents.
Something else – some missing link – was making those genes express in a way that creates HCT in your body.
The missing link is now known and it shows us a path out of the HCT nightmare. And that’s the path I took back into full and vibrant health.
Now that scientists know what causes HCT we finally have the power to directly influence those causes. And that’s exactly what I learned to do.
I made barely noticeable but very powerful alterations to some specific things I did… things that my HCT gene was strongly affected by… and then watched my iron readings start to tumble.
The details of epigenetics are very complex.
But for me as a sufferer of HCT the way of using this powerful discipline was very straightforward. And it changed my life forever.
So, a bit of a disclaimer here. I’m not some scientific whizzkid who worked this out by myself!
I stumbled onto this information by accident. I read about a treatment for HCT on an old online health forum some years ago.
Some ex-HCT sufferers were describing how they had followed a program created by a science-based natural health practitioner called Shelly Manning.
They’d made some simple – but specific – changes to their diets – which had made profound changes to how their HCT behaved.
First, excess iron started draining from their blood and tissues. They experienced gradually falling iron levels month after month – without a single medical treatment from their hospital.
Second, they described how the program also tackled the actual cause of their HCT – the source of their illness.
It didn’t just mop up years of excess iron. It got rid of the very reason for all this to be happening in the first place.
So that none of it happened any more.
They said the program they followed stopped the absorption of excess iron. They hadn’t just tinkered with HCT symptoms; they’d hit the condition hard at its genetic cause. They’d beaten HCT.
I’ll be brutally honest here: I didn’t believe a word of it.
I’m not at all into alternative health stuff. Rightly or wrongly – wrongly, as it turned out – I trust doctors in everything.
Which might make you wonder why I was even looking at alternative therapies for my HCT in the first place.
Well, I’ll tell you why.
It was because the standard therapies I had been undergoing were starting to hurt.
I’d been seeing a phlebotomist for several months, initially giving blood twice a week. It had started off okay but dizziness – and the risk of falling – had gradually become a real problem for me.
Even when I switched to giving blood monthly the dizziness remained. But I also started experiencing heart irregularities and bad pains in my stomach.
In the end, phlebotomy had to be replaced by iron chelation.
Which meant taking drugs that bind with excess iron in the blood. The chemicals in the drug make the iron less harmful – and so easier to eliminate from the body.
But this is another unnatural process – and it over time it produced new, unwelcome side-effects including vomiting, diarrhea and nasty skin rashes.
I became very worried about how all this was going to end. My doctor was very supportive but he’d seen this all before. Treatments start out okay but they don’t always stay that way.
In truth, the standard treatments for HCT were not nice even when they work. But for me they were no longer even working – while the side-effects were becoming increasingly nastier.
And I faced a lifetime of this.
I was feeling increasingly stuck. And the more I worried the more willing I was to look elsewhere for help. And that’s exactly how I found myself listening to respected natural health practitioners like Shelly Manning.
Which was probably one of the best decisions I ever made, to be honest.
So despite initial scepticism about the claims of ex-HCT sufferers I decided to do what they did. I got a copy of the same program and I followed it to the letter.
A series of hospital tests confirm that my HCT gene no longer expresses in the way it did. Meaning it’s impossible for HCT to exist any longer in my body.
My iron readings have been in the safe range for just over 3 years now. I’m not expecting they’ll ever be a problem for me ever again.
I can’t tell you how happy, how relieved I was when I got the all-clear. I honestly nearly cried!
Let me tell you how it all worked for me.
The program that did it for me is called Ironbound.
There are hundreds of research papers and experimental results from laboratories and universities across the US, Europe and the rest of the world that show just how to manage conditions like HCT right out of your life.
But the program aims at achieving two simple sets of goals: a game-changing primary goal and a couple of vitally important secondary goals.
The primary goal is to stop the HCT gene from creating the HCT condition. That’s the game-changer. If the gene stops creating the HCT how can you have HCT?
Do that and that’s our main problem solved.
The secondary goal is to clear up the huge excess of iron that’s still in the body – and to start undoing the damage that iron did to tissues and organs throughout the body.
Epigenetics knows exactly what the HCT gene is doing to give a person HCT.
It isn’t producing enough of something called ‘hepcidin’.
Hepcidin is a peptide hormone that directly regulates iron in our body. When we’ve absorbed enough iron from food hepcidin goes to the intestines to shut down any further iron absorption.
Hepcidin is like an on/off switch. It stops iron absorption when we have enough iron. It keeps iron levels healthy. It stops iron overload.
It stops hemochromatosis.
I had HCT because my faulty gene was not producing hepcidin. So I couldn’t shut down iron absorption when I had enough iron in my body.
And this is why you currently have HCT. You’re absorbing dangerous amounts of iron from food because your gene doesn’t have the hepcidin to stop that absorption.
Why doesn’t your HCT gene have the hepcidin it needs to avoid over-absorbing iron?
Tackle this problem and it’s all over. So long, HCT.
It all comes down to a simple mechanism that takes place in, of all places, your gut.
You may already be familiar with the discovery that our gut environment contains trillions of good, beneficial bacteria.
What scientists know – and have proven – is that these various types of bacteria are beyond just ‘beneficial’. They perform functions that are essential to health and to life.
Gut bacteria have been with humans since the beginning of humanity. We can’t be healthy without them.
They extract nutrients from food that our bodies can’t extract. They produce hormones and brain chemicals that our bodies can’t produce. They assist in so many body processes that scientists refer to gut bacteria as an organ in its own right.
A range of common western diseases – including low moods, heart disease, blood sugar imbalances, obesity and chronic inflammation – are shown to be caused by problems with our gut populations.
Specifically, it is when we lack certain, specific bacteria types that we get particular conditions.
Gut bacteria has been proven to be so important to our health that in America and across Europe transplants of healthy gut bacteria into the guts of sick people are proving to be almost overnight successes in treating some illnesses.
And it’s gut bacteria that sits at the root of our HCT problem. The explanation is technical but here’s the super-simple version.
If you have HCT it’s because your HCT gene is unable to stop you from absorbing excess iron. It needs hepcidin and it doesn’t have any.
Why doesn’t it have any hepcidin?
Because it can’t manufacture it.
To manufacture hepcidin we need a substance called butyrate. But there isn’t enough butyrate in your body to make the hepcidin you need. And without the butyrate you can’t have the hepcidin.
Butyrate makes hepcidin. Your genes use hepcidin to stop your body absorbing excess iron.
If you don’t have the butyrate you can’t have that hepcidin.
Make the butyrate and you get the hepcidin. It’s that simple.
Guess who makes butyrate?
Yes, your gut bacteria make butyrate.
Specific bacteria are responsible for producing butyrate. If you don’t have enough of that bacteria then you don’t get any butyrate… so you don’t get any hepcidin.
Want to know how to fix HCT?
Fix those bacteria. Make them healthy again. Let them get on with their job of producing butyrate…
… so you can then make hepcidin
… so your HCT gene can finally stop absorbing all that excess iron. s
So how do we fix our gut bacteria?
Scientists have long known that gut bacteria are ultra-sensitive to the kinds of food we eat. They respond fantastically well to the right nutrients.
If they’re not getting what they specifically need their numbers reduce dramatically. Without their health-giving activity illness eventually follows.
However, give them exactly what they need in the quantities and combinations that they need it… and all that health-giving, life-preserving bacteria will flourish.
And when it flourishes so do you.
And this is what I did. I followed the program, did the right things and literally ate my problems away.
Make no mistake. This is not about ‘healthy eating’ – not in the sense we hear about on television and in magazines. In many respects, it’s far easier.
But we’ve got to be smart with this. Those microscopic, life-saving friends of ours need specific foods in the right quantities. If they thrive then we do too.
Remember, we have HCT in the first place because those bacteria are struggling.
We have to address this so they can get back to doing their vital work for us.
They are the broken link in the chain that leads to HCT. We want to fix that chain – quickly.
And the right foods in the right quantities at the right time does exactly this.
Which is what I and thousands like me have done.
We used food supplements to heal our gut and so switch back on the supply of butyrate. The butyrate allowed our HCT genes to start producing hepcidin… which it then used to stop the over-absorption of excessive iron.
And so ending the overload of iron that creates hemochromatosis.
I’d never used a food supplement before. To be honest, until I’d felt them work on my own body, I just didn’t believe in that kind of thing. I had to see it for myself before I was convinced beyond any doubts.
If you’re unsure of these things I understand.
But as someone who no longer suffers the ravages of HCT let me say: don’t underestimate the colossal power of the right supplements in the right quantities at the right time.
The nutrients we need plenty of come from fruits, plant stems, leaves, roots… They’re highly reliable, powerful and they have a transforming effect on gut health and, therefore, HCT.
But if we’re ill they’re difficult to consume in the quantities we need in order to get well again.
Which is exactly why we take supplements. Supplements are just concentrated forms of the essential nutrients found naturally in these foods.
The right supplements are easy to consume because they are very small volumes – but very high effectiveness.
This is why this supplementation plan works so well. It provides plenty of what your body badly needs to be well – but in a format that’s easy to consume.
The key to me escaping the clutches of HCT wasknowledge.
Certain foods and supplements work very well when taken on their own… but are next to useless if you’ve eaten certain other foods around the same time.
Same with some common nutrients: excellent for HCT when taken on their own… but they work against us if combined with particular other foods.
It’s easy to work around – but you’ve got to have your facts straight.
This program tells you what you need to know so you get it right – and then enjoy the effects of getting it right.
Oh, and junk health advice – like ‘don’t drink coffee’ – doesn’t exist in the Ironbound program.
Coffee, for example, needs to be kept separate from certain other substances but apart from that… I don’t know where I’d be without my morning cup of joe!
Again, although the detail is complex, what I had to do to tackle HCT was easy.
The majority of the powerful effects of Shelly Manning’s program came down to 5 specific nutrients.
Together, these 5 superstars – as Shelly calls them – did the following:
Combined, these 5 superstar supplements stopped HCT at its source… and cleaned up all the iron that was soaked into my blood and body tissues.
I bought these superstars in my local supermarket. They’re not exotic substances, they’re not expensive and, because they’re completely natural – they’re food, basically – they’re super easy to consume.
I don’t have to take these supplements any more. Once they’ve done their work they are no longer necessary.
It is necessary to include some specific foods on a weekly basis – foods that keep your gut bacteria happy.
I buy those foods each week at my local supermarket and I make sure I eat them.
It really doesn’t get more complicated than that.
Those micro-friends in my gut keep on producing the butyrate… so my HCT gene can manufacture hepcidin… and ensure I never again absorb excess iron.
No more phlebotomy. No more chelation drugs. No more doctors, hospitals or procedures.
The 5 superstars have side-effects – but these are the kind of side-effects you’d want!
I lost weight without dieting – about 10 pounds of fat in all. Took about 5 months.
I found myself sleeping much, much better – and generally feeling more energised and cheerful throughout the day.
I also found out that the 5 superstars offer strong protection against
Many people have also pointed out another very desireable side-effect of this program – namely that it showed measurable improvement in sexual functioning: sex drive in men and women, erections in men.
I won’t comment on that last point… although I’m smiling as I write this!
Many people have also pointed out another very desireable side-effect of this program – namely that it showed measurable improvement in sexual functioning: sex drive in men and women, erections in men.
I won’t comment on that last point… although I’m smiling as I write this!
Shelly Manning is not claiming to have invented a way out of HCT. She isn’t claiming some level of genius that nobody else has.
Instead, Shelly is a highly respected alternative health practitioner with a number of hugely successful natural health remedies to his name. She researches intensely and experiments widely before releasing her programs.
Everything in the Ironbound program is based on two decades of research results and scientific fact uncovered by universities and research institutions across North America, Europe and the rest of the world.
None of the claims here are new. None of the discoveries in themselves are unique. All of it is widely known and accepted by medical scientists everywhere.
What is new is that Shelly Manning has gathered together a wide range of complex, proven medicine into a single, simple program designed specifically for people like you and me who simply don’t want a lifetime of hemochromatosis.
And as a result the program has several thousand very happy followers – people like me who despaired of ever being free of HCT but who today can barely remember what the disease even felt like.
Shelly’s meticulous analysis has resulted in what, for me, was a near-miracle way out of a disease that I thought I was going to suffer for life. I am so glad I found the Ironbound – and so relieved that someone had created it!
For all the horrors of hemochromatosis the way out of that disease was remarkably straight forward.
Instead of visits to my doctor I went to the local supermarket.
Instead of weekly phlebotomy sessions to remove blood… I ate supplements for about 12 weeks until the HCT gene was working properly.
Instead of chemically clearing out excess iron… I ate normal foods that specialize in removing excess iron cleanly and without harm to any part of the body.
The science behind Iron Bound is unanswerable. The body intends to be well. If you give it what it needs, then it will be well. It can’t actually do otherwise.
I have enjoyed 3 years in a row with normal iron levels and zero HCT symptoms. For me, that’s everything I had wished for.
If you’re concerned enough about your illness that you’re looking for a way out of it… I imagine you do.
Ironbound was my answer. It’ll be your answer too – I guarantee it.
Click here and you can get started on your journey out of HCT today…
Illness doesn’t just happen. It has a cause. And we now know the cause of HCT.
So instead of handling symptoms we can go directly to the source of the illness – and handle that instead.
When we’ve removed the cause of the illness you simply can’t have that illness.
We feed our gut bacteria so they create the butyrate that makes hepcidin… which means your HCT gene can stop your body absorbing excess iron.
Instead of a lifetime of unnatural chemical treatments…. we have a few months of natural supplements that treat HCT at its source.
We don’t have to suffer a lifetime of HCT symptoms – Ironbound is our way out. Get it here…
I went through the standard HCT treatments. They started off okay but the side-effects got progressively worse.
And those treatments are required for your entire life. You can never stop. But one day, I’d be too old to withstand the side-effects of bloodletting. And chemical injections. Then what?
It was infinitely better for me that I fix HCT at its source while I still had time. A temporary course of supermarket supplements and then a varied eating program afterwards did everything I wanted.
If I hadn’t done this I’d still be visiting my hospital, subjecting myself to completely unnatural procedures… and suffering ever-worsening side-effects.
I couldn’t face a future like that. Thankfully, I didn’t have to.
Ironbound shows you how – click here and get your copy today…
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My Hemochromatosis cb vsl | Blue Heron Health News is backed with a 60 Day No Questions Asked Money Back Guarantee. If within the first 60 days of receipt you are not satisfied with Wake Up Lean™, you can request a refund by sending an email to the address given inside the product and we will immediately refund your entire purchase price, with no questions asked.
Skinstitut Holiday Gift Kits take the stress out of gifting
Toronto, October 31, 2024 – Beauty gifts are at the top of holiday wish lists this year, and Laser Clinics Canada, a leader in advanced beauty treatments and skincare, is taking the pressure out of seasonal shopping. Today, Laser Clincs Canada announces the arrival of its 2024 Holiday Gift Kits, courtesy of Skinstitut, the exclusive skincare line of Laser Clinics Group.
In time for the busy shopping season, the limited-edition Holiday Gifts Kits are available in Laser Clinics locations in the GTA and Ottawa. Clinics are conveniently located in popular shopping centers, including Hillcrest Mall, Square One, CF Sherway Gardens, Scarborough Town Centre, Rideau Centre, Union Station and CF Markville. These limited-edition Kits are available on a first come, first served basis.
“These kits combine our best-selling products, bundled to address the most relevant skin concerns we’re seeing among our clients,” says Christina Ho, Senior Brand & LAM Manager at Laser Clinics Canada. “With several price points available, the kits offer excellent value and suit a variety of gift-giving needs, from those new to cosmeceuticals to those looking to level up their skincare routine. What’s more, these kits are priced with a savings of up to 33 per cent so gift givers can save during the holiday season.
There are two kits to select from, each designed to address key skin concerns and each with a unique theme — Brightening Basics and Hydration Heroes.
Brightening Basics is a mix of everyday essentials for glowing skin for all skin types. The bundle comes in a sleek pink, reusable case and includes three full-sized products: 200ml gentle cleanser, 50ml Moisture Defence (normal skin) and 30ml1% Hyaluronic Complex Serum. The Brightening Basics kit is available at $129, a saving of 33 per cent.
Hydration Heroes is a mix of hydration essentials and active heroes that cater to a wide variety of clients. A perfect stocking stuffer, this bundle includes four deluxe products: Moisture 15 15 ml Defence for normal skin, 10 ml 1% Hyaluronic Complex Serum, 10 ml Retinol Serum and 50 ml Expert Squalane Cleansing Oil. The kit retails at $59.
In addition to the 2024 Holiday Gifts Kits, gift givers can easily add a Laser Clinic Canada gift card to the mix. Offering flexibility, recipients can choose from a wide range of treatments offered by Laser Clinics Canada, or they can expand their collection of exclusive Skinstitut products.
Brightening Basics 2024 Holiday Gift Kit by Skinstitut, available exclusively at Laser Clincs Canada clinics and online at skinstitut.ca.
Hydration Heroes 2024 Holiday Gift Kit by Skinstitut – available exclusively at Laser Clincs Canada clinics and online at skinstitut.ca.
LONDON (AP) — Most people have accumulated a pile of data — selfies, emails, videos and more — on their social media and digital accounts over their lifetimes. What happens to it when we die?
It’s wise to draft a will spelling out who inherits your physical assets after you’re gone, but don’t forget to take care of your digital estate too. Friends and family might treasure files and posts you’ve left behind, but they could get lost in digital purgatory after you pass away unless you take some simple steps.
Here’s how you can prepare your digital life for your survivors:
Apple
The iPhone maker lets you nominate a “ legacy contact ” who can access your Apple account’s data after you die. The company says it’s a secure way to give trusted people access to photos, files and messages. To set it up you’ll need an Apple device with a fairly recent operating system — iPhones and iPads need iOS or iPadOS 15.2 and MacBooks needs macOS Monterey 12.1.
For iPhones, go to settings, tap Sign-in & Security and then Legacy Contact. You can name one or more people, and they don’t need an Apple ID or device.
You’ll have to share an access key with your contact. It can be a digital version sent electronically, or you can print a copy or save it as a screenshot or PDF.
Take note that there are some types of files you won’t be able to pass on — including digital rights-protected music, movies and passwords stored in Apple’s password manager. Legacy contacts can only access a deceased user’s account for three years before Apple deletes the account.
Google
Google takes a different approach with its Inactive Account Manager, which allows you to share your data with someone if it notices that you’ve stopped using your account.
When setting it up, you need to decide how long Google should wait — from three to 18 months — before considering your account inactive. Once that time is up, Google can notify up to 10 people.
You can write a message informing them you’ve stopped using the account, and, optionally, include a link to download your data. You can choose what types of data they can access — including emails, photos, calendar entries and YouTube videos.
There’s also an option to automatically delete your account after three months of inactivity, so your contacts will have to download any data before that deadline.
Facebook and Instagram
Some social media platforms can preserve accounts for people who have died so that friends and family can honor their memories.
When users of Facebook or Instagram die, parent company Meta says it can memorialize the account if it gets a “valid request” from a friend or family member. Requests can be submitted through an online form.
The social media company strongly recommends Facebook users add a legacy contact to look after their memorial accounts. Legacy contacts can do things like respond to new friend requests and update pinned posts, but they can’t read private messages or remove or alter previous posts. You can only choose one person, who also has to have a Facebook account.
You can also ask Facebook or Instagram to delete a deceased user’s account if you’re a close family member or an executor. You’ll need to send in documents like a death certificate.
TikTok
The video-sharing platform says that if a user has died, people can submit a request to memorialize the account through the settings menu. Go to the Report a Problem section, then Account and profile, then Manage account, where you can report a deceased user.
Once an account has been memorialized, it will be labeled “Remembering.” No one will be able to log into the account, which prevents anyone from editing the profile or using the account to post new content or send messages.
X
It’s not possible to nominate a legacy contact on Elon Musk’s social media site. But family members or an authorized person can submit a request to deactivate a deceased user’s account.
Passwords
Besides the major online services, you’ll probably have dozens if not hundreds of other digital accounts that your survivors might need to access. You could just write all your login credentials down in a notebook and put it somewhere safe. But making a physical copy presents its own vulnerabilities. What if you lose track of it? What if someone finds it?
Instead, consider a password manager that has an emergency access feature. Password managers are digital vaults that you can use to store all your credentials. Some, like Keeper,Bitwarden and NordPass, allow users to nominate one or more trusted contacts who can access their keys in case of an emergency such as a death.
But there are a few catches: Those contacts also need to use the same password manager and you might have to pay for the service.
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Is there a tech challenge you need help figuring out? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your questions.
The Canadian Paediatric Society says doctors should regularly screen children for reading difficulties and dyslexia, calling low literacy a “serious public health concern” that can increase the risk of other problems including anxiety, low self-esteem and behavioural issues, with lifelong consequences.
New guidance issued Wednesday says family doctors, nurses, pediatricians and other medical professionals who care for school-aged kids are in a unique position to help struggling readers access educational and specialty supports, noting that identifying problems early couldhelp kids sooner — when it’s more effective — as well as reveal other possible learning or developmental issues.
The 10 recommendations include regular screening for kids aged four to seven, especially if they belong to groups at higher risk of low literacy, including newcomers to Canada, racialized Canadians and Indigenous Peoples. The society says this can be done in a two-to-three-minute office-based assessment.
Other tips encourage doctors to look for conditions often seen among poor readers such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder; to advocate for early literacy training for pediatric and family medicine residents; to liaise with schools on behalf of families seeking help; and to push provincial and territorial education ministries to integrate evidence-based phonics instruction into curriculums, starting in kindergarten.
Dr. Scott McLeod, one of the authors and chair of the society’s mental health and developmental disabilities committee, said a key goal is to catch kids who may be falling through the cracks and to better connect families to resources, including quicker targeted help from schools.
“Collaboration in this area is so key because we need to move away from the silos of: everything educational must exist within the educational portfolio,” McLeod said in an interview from Calgary, where he is a developmental pediatrician at Alberta Children’s Hospital.
“Reading, yes, it’s education, but it’s also health because we know that literacy impacts health. So I think that a statement like this opens the window to say: Yes, parents can come to their health-care provider to get advice, get recommendations, hopefully start a collaboration with school teachers.”
McLeod noted that pediatricians already look for signs of low literacy in young children by way of a commonly used tool known as the Rourke Baby Record, which offers a checklist of key topics, such as nutrition and developmental benchmarks, to cover in a well-child appointment.
But he said questions about reading could be “a standing item” in checkups and he hoped the society’s statement to medical professionals who care for children “enhances their confidence in being a strong advocate for the child” while spurring partnerships with others involved in a child’s life such as teachers and psychologists.
The guidance said pediatricians also play a key role in detecting and monitoring conditions that often coexist with difficulty reading such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, but McLeod noted that getting such specific diagnoses typically involves a referral to a specialist, during which time a child continues to struggle.
He also acknowledged that some schools can be slow to act without a specific diagnosis from a specialist, and even then a child may end up on a wait list for school interventions.
“Evidence-based reading instruction shouldn’t have to wait for some of that access to specialized assessments to occur,” he said.
“My hope is that (by) having an existing statement or document written by the Canadian Paediatric Society … we’re able to skip a few steps or have some of the early interventions present,” he said.
McLeod added that obtaining specific assessments from medical specialists is “definitely beneficial and advantageous” to know where a child is at, “but having that sort of clear, thorough assessment shouldn’t be a barrier to intervention starting.”
McLeod said the society was partly spurred to act by 2022’s “Right to Read Inquiry Report” from the Ontario Human Rights Commission, which made 157 recommendations to address inequities related to reading instruction in that province.
He called the new guidelines “a big reminder” to pediatric providers, family doctors, school teachers and psychologists of the importance of literacy.
“Early identification of reading difficulty can truly change the trajectory of a child’s life.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.
