We had several families join us back in June for Lego Club: Sports at MVNU! Our next date is 8/7, 4:30-6:00 at MVNU again! We hope everyone can join us as we create fun musical Lego masterpieces!
As Jacob hops from one piece of equipment to another at Harmony Playground, it can be hard to imagine that just a short time ago he was needing a lot of assistance navigating stairs, uneven surfaces and new surroundings.
Jacob and his family have been utilizing the PLAY Project through Early Intervention and Help Me Grow at Knox DD. The PLAY Project is an autism intervention program that helps young children who are suspected to have autism or have an autism diagnosis reach their full potential through play. The PLAY consultants meet the families and children where they are developmentally and help them learn how to interact with each other in meaningful ways. The PLAY Project helps coach the families and care givers to learn how to have playful interactions with their child. Parents implement different techniques through the week and meet with the PLAY consultants regularly to gauge what is working and not working to help build the confidence and relationships in the home. When you do what the child likes to do, the child will love being with you, interacting with you and building you relationships stronger.
Jacob and his family have been working with our PLAY consultant Kae and they have seen extraordinary progress from Jacob as he learns how to better navigate his world. Jacobs’s mom Amy stated that she has learned so much about interacting with him in a way that is beneficial for him and meets him where he is developmentally. While going through this program as a family, they have observed that he has started engaging in his surroundings more and he has noticed more of what’s happening around him rather than just living in his own little bubble. While we were at Harmony Playground there was a tractor mowing grass, and he noticed it and was fascinated watching it! This is something he wouldn’t have noticed before.
Jacob was building his confidence throughout the PLAY session at the playground. He started his visit with crawling around on the different pieces of equipment to learn how they all worked and by the end of our visit he was running, navigating the equipment like a pro and he dared to get onto the “Drop Zone!”
If you are interested in learning more about the PLAY project, please visit their website at: https://www.playproject.org/statewide-p-l-y-training-ohio/ or contact Brenda Coffman, Early Intervention Director at bcoffman@knoxdd.com
On April 25, 2019 the Knox County Chamber of Commerce held the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Harmony Playground, the new fully inclusive playground in Mount Vernon. Harmony Playground has been a wonderful collaborative project with the Knox County Board of Developmental Disabilities, Crossfit 1808, the Knox County Health Department Creating Healthy Communities and many other wonderful team members that brought together this amazing playground for all families in Knox County and beyond.
Carol Grubaugh, with the Chamber of Commerce led the ceremony and we heard wonderful remarks from Katie Fiorilli, Crossfit 1808 & Caroline’s Classic; Tami Ruhl, Knox County Health Department Creating Healthy Communities; Steve Oster, Knox County Board of Developmental Disabilities; and Mayor Dick Mavis, City of Mount Vernon. Thank you to Jamie and Levi Sanders for cutting the ribbon!
Thank you to everyone who helped make this project a reality, and thank you to everyone who came out to the ribbon cutting ceremony!
Generous donors who made this project a reality are:
Knox County Board of Developmental Disabilities
The Ariel Foundation
Diversified Products & Services
Richard & Arline Landers Foundation
Crossfit 1808 Caroline’s Classic
United Way of Knox County
Kiwanis Club of Mount Vernon
The Energy Cooperative Operation Round Up Foundation, Inc.
The Ramser Family
Licking/Knox Goodwill Industries, Inc.
Knox County Health Department Creating Healthy Communities
Women United
First-Knox National Bank, Division of Park National Bank
Elks Care, Elks Share - Mount Vernon Elks #140
Celestine Watkins
Siemens Energy Systems, Inc.
Mount Vernon Rotary Foundation
City of Mount Vernon
Knox County Foundation
Foundation Parks Conservancy
Concepts in Community Living, Inc.
Margo de Camp
Steve Oster
Kim & Pam Rose
Ian & Charlotte Watson
Creative Foundations, Inc.
Gordy & Fran Yance
Delta Kappa Gamma of Knox County
Knox Community Hospital
Chip & Katie Wilson
Marc & Jen Odenweller
Geotechnical Consultants, Inc.
The Marlow Family
Deb Romas & Associates
Dr. Robert & Patricia Ronk
Riverside Recovery Services - Where Recovery Brings Hope
Amy Albery
Elena N. Brechler
Craig Black - Tricia Moore - Andrew & Anna Breen
Team “Neverquit” - AFC
Adam Daniels - Ben Durbin - Natalee Johnson - Trista Butler
Brock M. Evans
Lara K. Farmer
Built By Unity
Hanna Ford
Matthew Gibson
The Hickman Family
John & Kristin Hofferberth
Matthew Kelling
Always Forward CrossFit
Tara Lamb
Alex Lambert
Melissa Leonard
Ron & Natalie Lucas & Family
Dan & Rebekah Mullins
Emily Nussbaum
Alicia Olson
Evan Palmer
Kathy Patton
Chad & Tami Ruhl
Holden Richards
The Ruffner Family
In Memory of Dorothy “Dottie” Marchal
Megan West
Neal Bell - Justin Satin - Loriann Fuhrer - Kris Whiting
Nichole Williams
“N8” Woodford
Dick & Peggy Mavis
Flappers Bar & Grille - Norm & Erron Porter - Steve Oster
Benjamin Peter Ollis
Lucy Peterson
Barbara Jordan
Anonymous
Easterseals Central & Southeast Ohio
ViaQuest, Inc.
Gantt Homes Inc. & The HIVE
Teresa Bemiller
Joe & Miranda Conkle
Nick & Katie Fiorilli
Rhonda & Chuck Gherman
Steve & Kathy Greenich
Mike & Karen Hagans
Jaclynn Mahle
Joe & Sally Nelson
Donald & Nancy Omahan
Friends of Kelly Shoemaker
In Memory of Ashton Cordray
Moms of Mount Vernon Giving Back
April is Autism Awareness Month. We appreciate the opportunity to share our story with you. Our lives have been changed for the better once we discovered the healing power of spending regular time in Nature!
My name is Jill. I have enjoyed being a stay-at-home, homeschooling mama of a large family. Even as a child, I was frequently outdoors, soaking up sunshine, noticing beauty, and finding an inner peace. Once we had a family, I often packed the kids into the car and escaped to a playground or a park or into the woods for an hour here or there. Like many families, our kids have had a variety of challenges. Most of them are now launched into successful adulthood. They are scattered around the country, pursuing lives they enjoy.
Life has held extra joys and greater challenges with our youngest daughter. Anna has an alphabet soup of diagnoses, including severe anxiety and autism. Her energy, curiosity, creativity, and imagination are amazing! On the opposite side, her mood swings, crippling anxiety, hyper-focus and insatiable need for social contact (even to the point of danger) are overwhelming…for all of us! Meds, therapy, and the freedoms of homeschooling help, but life has still been chaotic. (Many of you know this roller-coaster. Please tell me you too have times you just wish you could get off the merry-go-round and get out of the amusement park…)
Like me, Anna craves being outdoors. Even as a toddler, she spent hours and hours playing in the backyard no matter how bad the weather seemed to be. For the few middle-school years she was in a public school, we won an accommodation in her IEP that when she was overwhelmed, a counselor or an aide would walk outside with her for a few minutes to help her calm down again. We quickly realized the freedom to learn while being outside is a huge benefit of homeschooling.
Our family reached a pivot point a few years ago. My wonderful hubby saw that I was burned out. He suggested I take a month to wander the country by myself, camping along the way. I immediately responded that I wanted to buy backpacking gear and go on “the trail.” Realizing he couldn’t juggle Anna’s needs plus a full-time job and that we had no one else to help Anna for that long period of time, we agreed that she would need to come with me on my new adventure.
In fall of 2015, when Anna was just 13 years old, she and I haunted the outdoors store, gathered the necessary gear, and planned our adventure. Hubby drove us to Maryland, and we said our good-byes. Anna and I took our first steps on the Appalachian Trail and kept walking in the woods for the next 6+ weeks!
Backpacking was a radical change from suburban or small-town living! We carried everything we needed on our backs. We walked 5-10 miles of dirt trail each day, travelling up and down mountain after mountain. We heated water with a tiny stove and ate rehydrated rice and tuna meals each night. We slept in 3-sided lean-to shelters or in our tent and woke up the next day to do the same all over again. We filtered water from streams to drink, and only showered every 3-5 days when we got to a town for resupply. It was hard. It was crazy. And we LOVED it!
Eventually, I recognized that there was an extra benefit of extended time in the woods. At home it was typical for Anna to have 2-3 major meltdowns each week. However, after weeks of living outdoors, I realized Anna had only had one partial anxiety attack and no mood-swings. In addition to being immersed in nature, while we were on the trail, Anna was an equal with all the other hikers. She was fully competent with no “disabilities” holding her back. Social anxiety and dangerous lack of personal-safety were no longer problems to be dealt with. We discovered Rx: Nature was a miraculous “cure” for Anna’s struggles!
In the past 3.5 years, Anna and I have returned to the Appalachian Trail again and again. At this point, we are proud to have walked 500 miles in the back woods and in the mountains! (And we have not yet reached the 25% point of completing the entire AT which runs from Georgia to Maine. Isn’t that CRAZY?!) We both relish the peace and the beauty of spending extended time in nature.
After returning from our first backpacking adventure, I did further reading. I discovered there is extensive scientific research validating the health benefits of Nature. Many folks find that when they spend regular time outdoors, their moods are better regulated, and they have far fewer anxiety meltdowns. In addition, Rx: Nature helps improve mental clarity and focus, increases immune system responsiveness, and lowers generalized stress. (Woohoo! We found a genuinely effective way to get off the “roller-coaster” for youngest daughter. It’s a relief to find something that actually helps…and better yet is enjoyable for all of us!)
Love,
Jill (& Anna)
If you want to follow along with Anna & Jill’s adventures, feel free to go to their website:
On March 28th, we had another great turnout for Lego Club: Farm Animals. It’s always such a pleasure to watch how everyone works together to create such amazing creations!
As March comes to a close, it’s so wonderful to take some time to reflect on how amazing Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month is. We have been honored to be able to speak to Ohio State Legislators, have a fun evening dancing the night away, had a few Sensory Sensitive Movie showings, two Lego Club events, hosted our annual coloring and essay contest with all public schools in Knox County, and we had an amazing luncheon where we were able to honor so many great community leaders who make Knox County so amazing to live, work and thrive in.
At our DD Month Luncheon we discussed how technology can assist people who have developmental disabilities be more independent and have fuller lives. We were also able to honor 6 different people/groups who make Knox County so amazing.
Local Hero Award: Terri Pribonic, New Hope Industries
Employer Award: Justin Newell, Kenyon College Athletics
Community Partner Award: Public Library of Knox County and Mount Vernon
Community Partner Award: Premiere Theatre 7
Dedication Award: Tiffany Cagnon, Midwest Community
Individual Spotlight Award: Jocelyn Gilardi
Thank you for making Knox County so great!
![Special Olympics State Skills Tournament [basketball]](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a14344e64b05fdd8a136c29/5a1448490d9297befd5cf413/5c9904271905f4e534da404f/1553608970515/Knox+special+olympics-50.jpg)
Athletes from Knox County traveled to Hilliard Darby High School on March 23rd to compete with other athletes from across the state of Ohio in the Special Olympics Basketball Skills Competition! All of our athletes won ribbons and medals and had a great time competing!
