March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month

This article is part of a regular column written by Superintendent Leigh Anne Wenning and published in the Sidney Daily News each month.

March is celebrated nationally as Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. At the Shelby County Board of Developmental Disabilities, we want to shine a light on people of all abilities. People with developmental disabilities (DD) are our friends, neighbors, coworkers, and family members; and our community is stronger when we include everyone.

Meet Woody

Woody is newly employed at Shelby County Board of DD as our therapy dog. Woody belongs to Nurse Deb Graham and will accompany her in the preschool building. He is trained through the Anything is Pawsable program, which is a nonprofit organization that makes trained assistance dogs more accessible and affordable to those who would benefit.

Woody is being trained to disrupt negative behaviors and administer deep pressure therapy to help calm and comfort children with autism, stress, and anxiety disorders, along with many other skills. Of course, Woody will also be available for emotional support to all SCBDD staff members. He is a welcome and positive addition to the SCBDD family!

Literacy Week at Shelby Hills

Shelby Hills Preschool recently celebrated Literacy Week. The week was filled with stories from the If You Give a Mouse a Cookie series and guest readers in Sidney, Houston, Anna, Ft. Loramie, and Jackson Center. To finish the week, families were invited for a fun evening of activities and celebration in the Shelby Hills Gymnasium.

Enjoy a look at this video with photo highlights from this very special week. 

Click HERE for Printable PDF of Events

Finding and Creating Inclusive Activities

Participating in social activities and interacting with the community is an important part of good mental health. People with developmental disabilities are sometimes reluctant to attend events and go out with friends because of accessibility issues.

To encourage fulfillment in healthy social activity, the CEO department puts together a list of community events each month. Some of events are organized by the CEO department, and several of the SCBDD activities are open to the public. Watch our Facebook page at the beginning of each month to find updated calendars.

Building a Better Community

The CEO department networks and builds relationships with many service organizations and employers to create moments like these.

Pictured here is Sidney Kiwanis Aktion Club and the SCBDD Job Club.

So far this year, Aktion Club has assisted Key Club with a community project, donated pantry items to Mercer Mission House/Alpha Center, and donated egg fillers and their time to help Sidney Alive put on an Egg-stravagent Easter Egg Hunt for the Shelby County community.

Educating the whole community

For the 2023 March Developmental Disabilities Awareness campaign, SCBDD presented an essay contest to students at Sidney City Schools and Fairlawn Local Schools. It was the county board’s first attempt at a project like this and was done in an effort to educate a younger generation.

Students were asked to write an essay about inclusion and what it means to people with developmental disabilities. The CEO department members served as judges, and all were very impressed with the responses students submitted! The top three essays not only won prizes from the Shelby Co Board, but their essays will also be printed in the Sidney Daily News. Visit www.sidneydailynews.com to keep an eye out for the published essays.

First place winner, Darcy Maxon of Fairlawn Schools, received a $100 gift card. Second place winner, Norah Houts of Sidney City Schools, received a $50 gift card. And third place winner, Peyton Toms of Fairlawn Schools, received a $25 gift card. Congratulations and Great Job Ladies!

First Place: Darcy Maxon (Fairlawn Local Schools)

Second Place: Norah Houts (Sidney City Schools)

(Pictured with Principal Greg Snyder & Counselor Oshae Pearts)

Third Place: Peyton Toms (Fairlawn Local Schools)

SSA Kendra Hausfeld

How would you describe your job?

Helping people get connected to the services that they need in their home, in the community, and at work so they can live their most independent life.

What is one reason people with DD might need assistance from the county board?

A lot of times, our individuals don’t know what is available to them in the community and may not feel comfortable in new situations without having someone with them that they know.

What do you do to help support the choices of people served by the county board?

I make sure that they know what all their options are and answer any questions they may have.

Describe a time you helped someone served by the county board with a difficult choice.

Helping someone pick a place to live. They had a couple of options, so we went over the pros and cons of each place and they were able to pick the place that was able to best fit their needs.

SSA Kaleb Coil

How would you describe your job?

We assist our clients by assessing their wants and needs and then connecting them to services and resources to help meet those wants and needs. We want our clients to be happy and want to help them accomplish what they want to accomplish, while also maintaining their health and safety.

What is one reason people with DD might need assistance from the county board?

Opportunities for inclusion are such a big part of what we hope to provide as SSA’s. Sometimes the folks that we serve don’t feel comfortable speaking up for themselves so we do the best that we can to be advocates and to inform our clients of their rights. They have a right to make choices about their lives just like anyone else.

What do you do to help support the choices of people served by the county board?

I try to help the individuals that I work with understand their right to make choices, but also help them understand the potential consequences of those choices as well. If an individual is passionate about wanting to do something or making a certain choice, I am going to help be an advocate for them to the best of my abilities while also trying help maintain their health and safety.

Describe a time you helped someone served by the county board with a difficult choice.

I have a client that was very capable of being employed in the community but lacked the confidence to do so. I constantly encouraged him about his abilities alongside his vocational habilitation provider. Through this positive encouragement and discussion of available jobs in the community, he eventually decided that he would give working in the community a try. He has now been employed for almost two years and maintains his job on his own. He says that moving forward with this job is the best decision he has made in recent years and he loves what he does.