Family Dynamics

Creating Solutions One Piece at a Time

Family Mediation

innovative and co-operative approaches to resolving disputes for people in family conflicts

Health & Disability Advocacy

providing advocacy for families with special needs children and disabled family members

Special Needs Consulting

providing professional planning and management services

for families with special needs children and disabled family members

Family Mediation

• Custody, parenting agreements, child and spousal support, division of family assets.
• Domestic arrangements and pre-nuptial agreements.
• Family disputes between adult and elderly members.
• Hospital discharge planning for disabled adults and the elderly.
• Disputed wills and estates.
• Special needs children and the provision of health and education services.

What is mediation?

Mediation gives you the chance to create your own agreement to end the dispute. A mediated agreement can be tailor made to suit your specific needs and circumstances.
Mediated agreements are confidential, cost effective, and can be finalised quickly. There are no courtroom hearings.
A mediated agreement is more likely to be honoured, will be more stable, and generally works better than a court ordered solution.
Mediation is a win-win process.

Health & Disability Advocacy

• Children with special needs, including developmental and behavioural disabilities.
• Adults and seniors with disabilities or special needs.
• Human Rights Tribunal
• Workers Compensation Board
• Canada Pension Plan

Why utilize the expertise of a health & disability advocate?

Most matters pertaining to health and disability are not decided in the public and open court system.
Decisions that will affect the rest of your life are often made without evidence that is critical to a positive outcome.
Negative decisions become increasingly difficult to change after the fact.
An experienced health and disability advocate working for you, long before the decisions are made, can make a significant difference in the final outcome.

Special Needs Consulting

• Assisting families through the 'What Now?' phase after a diagnosis.
• Achieving an effective individual education plan (IEP) in the school system.
• Accomplishing an effective and sustainable health care treatment plan.
• Effective communication of your special needs to service providers.
• Goal setting and planning.
• Adjusting, coping and managing: A life-long concern.

Why plan for the special needs family member?

Nothing in our general life experience prepares us for the difficulties faced in meeting the needs of a disabled family member or a special needs child.
Future planning for a member of the family with a disability or special needs is a daunting task.
It is imperative that relevant factors that enable beneficial long-term decisions to be made are clearly identified.

Joyce Dassonville GN LLB

Registered Nurse (1977-1986)
Practicing Lawyer (1986-1992 & 2003-2004 in British Columbia and 1999-2002 in Nova Scotia).
Workers Compensation Appeal Commissioner (1997-2002 in Nova Scotia).
Legal advocacy experience in family law matters and health and disability issues.
Mediation and Collaborative Family Law experience.
Experience with special needs children with a particular emphasis on developmental and behavioural disabilities including autism spectrum disorder. Experience with disabled adults and seniors.

       CV Addendum