Smiles all around: Galileo and L.I.N.K.S. at McGill’s dental clinic

By Randy Pinsky

Galileo Adult Education Centre and L.I.N.K.S. High School took part in a partnership with Special Olympics Quebec’s Healthy Communities Program on October 18. Free dental check-ups were provided to 36 students from the schools.

Teachers understand that the unknown can be stressful and scary, so in preparation for the upcoming visit, students practiced role-playing and discussed social stories to visualize the experience in all its aspects.

In turn, McGill dental students received sensitization training from the English Montreal School Board’s special education consultant, Sarah Lynch, and director of Healthy Communities, Tristan Delmas, in anticipation of the event. “Our advice to them is to [approach] with a lot of humanity – communicat[ion is key]. Don’t see the disability; see the ability first,” said Delmas.

The collaboration is part of a 12-week internship program with McGill’s Ingram School of Nursing. In order to encourage a less stressful association with medical professionals, the interns lead workshops and teacher trainings, and socialize with the students, including an apple-picking activity, to foster trust and rapport.

The team hopes the pilot project will lead to more collaborations, such as physio-therapy assessments.