Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network

05/14/2026

Families and people with intellectual disabilities often discover that when a young person turns 18 or 19, nothing about the person’s actual support needs changes overnight — but suddenly the systems around them do.

In this important Globe and Mail article, Vancouver lawyer and disability advocate Max Shilleto explores the growing need for more relational and nuanced approaches to supported decision-making, autonomy, and adulthood.

Too often, people are forced into “all or nothing” systems that fail to recognize the reality that many adults may make some decisions independently, some collaboratively, and some with support.

At PLAN, we continue to see how caring relationships, thoughtful planning, and supported decision-making approaches can help create more respectful and sustainable pathways forward.

We are grateful to Max for helping bring this important conversation into the public sphere with such clarity and care.

Parents can find themselves shut out even though a young adult may still need support

05/12/2026

Some stories stay with you long after you read them.

This beautiful reflection by Sophie Yendole explores friendship, grief, belonging, and what happens to a personal support network after the loss of someone deeply loved. Through the story of Eddie, it reminds us that caring relationships ripple outward across lifetimes — shaping not only one person’s life, but the lives of everyone connected around them.

A moving piece about love, community, loss, and the lasting impact of intentional relationships.

Click through for the full story on PLAN's blog:

By Sophie YendoleApril 28, 2026 Eddie loved orange. He loved baseball, quarters, marriage proposals and all sorts of other things. Eddie was surrounded by good friends, curious and loving, a […]

04/29/2026

Important Update: Disability Tax Credit Changes Announced

Today’s federal Spring Economic Update included significant proposed improvements to the Disability Tax Credit (DTC) that could make this important support easier to access for many Canadians.

Highlights include:

Some long-term conditions may no longer require repeated reapplication, including Down syndrome, intellectual disability, Dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and limb loss.

More professionals may be able to complete applications for certain conditions, including physiotherapists and speech-language pathologists.

For many people with disabilities, families, and caregivers, the DTC process has felt overly complex and repetitive. These changes could reduce barriers and unnecessary stress.
We’ll continue watching for details and timelines to share with our community.

When systems become easier to navigate, families can spend less time proving disability—and more time building a good life.

04/29/2026

A thoughtful and hopeful reflection from Sophie Yendole, a member of our Family Support and Leadership team on the power of personal support networks—and what can grow when we nurture them with intention.

So many caring relationships already exist around us. In this piece, Sophie invites us to recognize that networks are living circles of friendship, presence, generosity, and shared responsibility. They grow when people show up, stay curious, listen well, and find their own natural ways to contribute.

Through the story of Barbara and Kirsteen, we see how small, steady acts of connection can blossom into lifelong relationships that bring belonging, continuity, joy, and peace of mind.

When we begin to see ourselves as part of someone’s network, new possibilities open. We start to notice the roles we already play, the gifts we each bring, and the beautiful things that can happen when caring is shared.

By Sophie YendoleApril 28, 2026 So many questions swirl around the idea of a ‘network’ so let’s dive a little deeper into what this elusive term means in the context of […]

04/02/2026

You’re Invited: A National Conversation on Care

At PLAN, we know that caring is not a side story—it is the thread that holds everything together. It lives in families, in friendships, in quiet acts of commitment, and in the ways people show up for one another every day.

This month, in recognition of National Caregiver Day in Canada, there is a beautiful opportunity to be part of a larger conversation about care—what it asks of us, what it gives, and how we strengthen it together.

We hope you can join a special Caregiving Essentials webinar hosted by McMaster Continuing Education, featuring:

Al Etmanski, curator and editor of The Courage to Care: Ripple Effects of Love in Action

Donna Thomson, caregiver, writer, and host

Molly Peacock, celebrated poet and contributor to the book

Together, they will explore how this powerful new book—through stories, poetry, and visual art—pulls back the curtain on the complexity and intimacy of caring. This is a conversation about courage, about love in action, and about building a national “caregiver agenda” rooted in dignity, connection, and shared humanity.

Courage to Care reminds us:
You are not alone
Your care matters
There is beauty, even in the hardest moments

And together, our acts of care create something larger than any one of us

Whether you are a family member, a paid supporter, a community member, or someone who simply cares deeply—this conversation is for you.

Join us and be part of it.

Boost your caregiving knowledge and connect to a growing movement of people who believe in the power of care.

Register here:

If you are an unpaid, or paid, individual in a caregiving role, the McMaster Continuing Education Caregiving Essentials course and webinar series will provide you with relevant and meaningful information to help you as a caregiver. This month, the Caregiving Essentials webinar series is proud to pre...