Mélanie Héroux, who was born with hydrocephalus, is a tireless advocate for people with disabilities as well as a Special Olympics athlete. She is currently preparing for the 2026 Special Olympics National Games, which will be held in Medicine Hat. The 42-year-old, who was born in Timmins, competes in swimming, bowling and volleyball.
Mélanie currently lives in Ottawa with her mother. Through her involvement in the Special Olympics Athletic Leadership programme, she regularly shares her lived experience with secondary school students to promote awareness and understanding of disability issues.
Mélanie is also a strong advocate for francophones with Intellectual and developmental disabilities, who cannot speak up for themselves and fight for their rights.
When Mélanie and her family lived in Toronto, they were actively involved with the former Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus Association of Ontario, now Hydrocephalus Canada. Mélanie was introduced to the Quebec Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus where she served on the Board of Directors for about five years, until deciding to focus more on her athletic career. She continues to attend monthly support groups to maintain connections with her peers with spina bifida and hydrocephalus.
It is important for Mélanie to give back so she is very active with CAMH, the University of Toronto and the Azrieli Neurodevelopmental Center where she participates in research projects giving feedback to researchers, in creating plain language materials for the disability community, she also hosts and co-hosts podcasts on disability issues.
Mélanie’s condition, which also includes Arnold Chairi malformation, a brain stem disorder, has led to her having developmental delays and cognitive impairments. She has challenges with her memory and attended special education classes in English and in French, when she was living in Toronto, Barrie and Hawkesbury.
When her family moved to Ottawa, she attended Algonquin College and completed a one-year office administration program and worked part-time as a secretary-receptionist.
Mélanie’s advice for anyone living with spina bifida and or hydrocephalus is: ”Unfortunately, there will and are always going to be people who are ignorant and just simply don’t understand our different situations, but just remember that we are people fist, and while people with disabilities might be slower and may need to have instructions repeated several times, we’re still able to get the jobs and tasks done. Don’t be afraid to speak up for yourself, as we all have the right to be respected, and be in an equally shared space. Not all disabilities are visible. “
