Mentors and Beginners Ability Online Support network
Elements:
Shared Values,Systems,Skill
Year: 1995
919 Alness Street North York Ontario M3J 2J1 (416) 650-6207 (416) 650-5073
Ability Online is an electronic mail/bulletin board system used
to link children with disabilities and chronic illness to the world outside. What makes Ability Online unique from all other bulletin boards is the online culture that has been created and maintained by volunteers and users.
The online environment is very delicate. It requires constant nurturing and cultivating to ensure it maintains a positive, friendly and family-oriented atmosphere.
Over the years, the founders of Ability Online have worked hard to identify key individuals from all walks of life Ñ such as disabled and non-disabled athletes, health and education professionals and business people and celebrities Ñ to ensure the environment is to learning and sharing.
Ability Online has five interwoven programs that contribute to the development of the overall program. The programs are: E-mail Pen Pal; Mentors and Beginners; Parent-to-Professional Link; Advocating for a Better Future; and Online Education Magic Carpet. Each program has specific objectives
The goals are to introduce positive disabled role models and encourage mentors to help kids maximize their abilities. Children and adolescents with disabilities
are three to five times as likely to be socially isolated and to struggle academically than their able-bodied peers.
