Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month 2024

Each year in the month of March we celebrate Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month!

For 2024, we have been honored to host our annual DD Awareness Month Luncheon where we had about 200 guests join us as we took a journey through life and shared different ways our program has impacted peoples lives from birth through the rest of their lifetime. The presenters that shared their incredible stories were Bryce and Sarah Maners (with their gorgeous daughter MJ), Amber Lavin, Tarynn Ball and Dave Chopson. We were also honored to give out awards to seven different deserving people/groups.

This year we were also able to partner with MTV Arts to have a Sensory Friendly viewing of their production of Honk! We had about 25 people join us on March 13th to watch the show in a sensory safe environment. Thank you for this wonderful opportunity, MTV Arts!

We were excited to host our 8th Annual Coloring and Essay Contest for all Knox County Elementary Schools this year and would like to thank the students for helping us celebrate.  There were nine hundred and thirty-five students who participated in the coloring (K-2nd grades) and essay (3rd-5th grades) contest with one hundred and eleven classrooms participating county-wide, representing twelve different elementary schools in Knox County. 

We are proud to announce the winners of this year’s coloring contest (K-2nd grades): Maezie Stefanik (Fredericktown), Aubree Miller (East Knox), Maren Waibel (Columbia), Addyson Pollock (Pleasant St.), Kennedy Vicars (East), Rowan Kerr  (Danville), Jayce Glick (Knox Learning Center), Oliver Alberts (Dan Emmett), Carter Mackie (Twin Oak),  Giada Gallo (Centerburg), Zoey Light (St. Vincent de Paul),  and  Elena Suazo-Faber (Wiggin St.).  The winners of this year’s essay contest (3rd-5th grades) were: Hadley Mann (Fredericktown), Rylei Morton (East Knox), Eva Johnson (Columbia), Abigail Puzines (Pleasant St.), Zeb Vanderhoof  (East), Kate Gottke (East), Zayden Sapp (Danville), Savannah Byall (Dan Emmett), Lily McCament (Twin Oak), Samantha Jagger (Centerburg) and  Keely Booth (Wiggin St.).  Also congratulations to Sarah Vance from Danville Elementary for winning the teacher classroom prize this year.

Back row: Zeb Vanderhoof, Zayden Sapp, Hadley Mann, Abigail Puzines, Lily McCament, Keely Booth, Samantha Jagger, Rylei Morton, Kate Gottke

Front Row: Addyson Pollock, Aubree Miller, Zoey Light, Rowan Kerr, Elena Suazo-Faber, Kennedy Vicars, Jayce Glick, Giada Gallo

Not Pictured: Maezie Stefanik, Maren Waibel, Oliver Albers, Carter Mackie, Eva Johnson, Savannah Byall and Ms. Sarah Vance (teacher prize winner)

The Knox County Special Olympics basketball skills and team groups were able to partner with the Bladensburg Community Center on March 21st to hold a Basketball Showcase Event! Check out this blog post to see photos from this event.

The final exciting thing we did during March was partner with Mount Vernon Nazarene University for a OneMeal event. Together, we were able to package over 23,000 meals for Kids Across the World that will help feed children in Uganda and Zambia.

Brittany Coon
Special Olympics Basketball Showcase Event 2024

On Thursday March 21st, the Bladensburg Community Center welcomed our Special Olympics Basketball athletes for our second annual Showcase event!

The Bladensburg Sertoma generously donated $500 to Knox County Special Olympics and assisted with arranging this wonderful event. 

Thank you to everyone that helped make this event possible!

Brittany Coon
Special Olympics NW Regional Basketball Skills Tournament 2024

On Saturday, January 20th, Kenyon College hosted the Special Olympics North West Regional Basketball Skills Tournament! Thank you to everyone who helped make this event possible!

Brittany Coon
Sensory Santa Event 2023

On Friday evening, Santa and Mrs. Claus spent some time with these amazing families and kiddos at our Sensory Santa event! The kiddos even got to do so many fun crafts and activities while they were there!

Thank you to The Autism Society of Central Ohio and everyone else that pulled together to host this event!

Brittany Coon
Brace Yourself For The Ex-FEAR-ience

As you approach a little yellow house in Mount Vernon, you can’t help but notice all the amazing Halloween decorations that have adorned the home.  A graveyard in the front, a creepy Pennywise clown hanging off the side of the house, beautifully haunting murals hand painted in the front windows and so much more!  It is clear that the gentleman that lives here loves Halloween! 

Jacob just moved to Mount Vernon this past summer after some not-so-great experiences at his last residence.  He has been working hard at Creative Learning Workshop where he is a janitor, making new friends in his new town, and doing his best to live life the way he wants to! 

Halloween is his absolute favorite holiday, so his Direct Support Professional Suzanne has been working hard to help him decorate his home!  They have created amazing murals that are painted in the windows, some spooky spiders, ghastly ghosts, a creepy graveyard and so much more!  He is enjoying scaring people that drive past his house with all his scary decorations! 

Jacob dreams of working in a haunted house so he can scare people for a living!  Unfortunately, this year we couldn’t help him achieve that dream – but next year he has big plans!  One of the nurses that works with Jacob has some great connections – her husband works at a haunted house!  He is going to help Jacob with making connections, applying, and interviewing with that haunted house next season so he can fulfill his dream of scaring people for a living!

house with halloween decorations
window with clown painted in it
spider halloween decorations
witch painted in a window
inside view of the witch painted in the window
porch decorated with halloween decor
clown decorations outside of a house
Brittany Coon
Help Me Grow Fall Festival 2023

On October 13, 2023 the grassy area near the Knox DD/Head Start Building was filled with laughter, activities and fun for the family! Our Help Me Grow and Early Intervention programs put on a family Fall Festival for the community to come together and have a wonderful time!

We had food available from Mama Lupe’s and Molten Grilled Cheese, cotton candy, free pumpkins to decorate that were generously donated, “Bring the Farm to You” petting zoo, Triple P, Knox Public Health WIC, CMH, Cribs for Kids, The Village Network, NYAP, Head Start, Spi Spot, Amanda Gibson Parent Mentor, Tavaci, Autism Society, Safy, OhioKAN, OhioRISE, Lashley Training, New Directions, Interchurch and Creative Foundations were all available to do fun activities and make memories that will last a lifetime. We also were visited by the Mount Vernon Fire Department!

Thank you to everyone that helped make this event such a memorable and successful event!

Brittany Coon
Special Olympics Banquet 2023

On August 3rd, more than a hundred athletes, volunteers and family members gathered to celebrate the wonderful accomplishments of the Athletes in our Athletics, Basketball, Bocce and Bowling programs. Congratulations to each and every person that is involved in making this program so successful! We ended the evening by presenting an award to Linda Kerr as she is handing the torch off to Talisha Beha to lead the next phase of the Special Olympics program in Knox County.

Brittany Coon
Limitless Livestock Show

Ansley Daubenmier, Mount Vernon High School Junior brought the Limitless Livestock Show to the Knox County Fair for the first time last week! The Limitless Livestock Show allows an opportunity for children with developmental disabilities to show an animal without the obligation of purchasing the animal.

There were six children that participated in the program with mentors that showed pigs, goats and rabbits.

Thank you, Ansley for putting together a wonderful and memorable event. Thank you to all the mentors, friends and family that also made this event so wonderful. Congratulations to Ciarra, Alex, Dalton, Ayden, Dylan and Makenna! You all did a fabulous job showing the animals!

Brittany Coon
Building Changes

There are some exciting changes happening at the Knox County Board of Developmental Disabilities.  We are starting a project within our building to remodel and build an addition.  This project will allow us to have more privacy and space for individuals, families and providers when there are meetings.  It will also give staff space to work with less distraction and allow for additional storage space.  All of our staff will be working remotely or at drop in spaces in the back of the building over the next year. 

 

If you need to come to our office, please call ahead of time to be sure the person you are looking for is in the building. The number is 740-397-4656. Our main entrance door will be closed starting this week. When you call ahead to notify someone that you are coming to our office, we will instruct you at that time on how to find us in the back of the building.  If you need to talk to someone, all cell phones, desk phones and email addresses are still functioning and you should be able to reach our staff. Meetings during the renovation will be held off site at various locations within our community.

 

Our address and phone number will not change.  If you need to look up direct contact information for any of our staff, it can easily be found on our website: https://www.knoxdd.com/agency-directory

 

If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to ask.

 

Sincerely,

Steve Oster

Superintendent

Brittany Coon
Fundraising effort provides 34 disabled individuals a free season pass to Hiawatha Water Park

Written by: Cheryl Splain

“I know how it is to be shut in. I just want to help other people as I've been helped.” — Paul Acitelli

MOUNT VERNON — Paul Acitelli has cerebral palsy. He also has a servant's heart.

Because of his desire to help others, 34 disabled individuals will receive a free season pass to Hiawatha Water Park this summer.

Armed with the proper solicitor's permit, Acitelli collected donations from the end of April through the end of May. Recognizing that people would have difficulty understanding him, he wrote an explanation of what he was doing on a piece of paper and carried it on his wheelchair.

When he finished, he had collected $2,181.37.

Allyn Frye, Acitelli's direct support person at Gantt Homes, explained why Acitelli set out to collect money for the season passes.

“He thinks the disabled should be able to have a life — to get out with everybody else,” she said.

Speaking through Frye, the 71-year-old Acitelli said, “I know how it is to be shut in. I just want to help other people as I've been helped.”

Acitelli's original goal was to collect $1,000.

“When he got to that point, it wasn't enough, so he kept going,” said another caregiver.

When asked how he felt knowing that 34 individuals would be able to enjoy the pool this summer, Acitelli was pleased.

“I like that,” he said, adding that he knows how it is to have access to the outside world. “The disabled should have a life like everybody else.”

Born with cerebral palsy, Acitelli said doctors told him he would never walk. He acknowledged that doctors did not know a lot about it at the time.

Health care providers know a lot more about the condition now, and so does Acitelli -- and he wants to share that knowledge.

“I just want to educate people about being disabled,” he said. “A lot of people don't understand what it's like. That is part of why I do this.”

What does he want people to know about those with disabilities?

“That they are people just like everybody else. They have problems, but they have the right to be like everybody else and have a life,” he responded. “A lot of disabled can't get out by themselves. I try to talk for them.”

Acitelli has suffered many indignities as a result of being disabled. Frye said he has been banned from eating out by himself because people don't understand what it takes for him to eat alone. He does eat out with a caregiver to help.

“I can tell them a lot about how people are treated in group homes. It's not right,” Acitelli said, adding that a big problem is how nursing homes handle people.

At Acitelli's request, Frye related a story from his stay in a local nursing home.

Incontinence is a common side effect of cerebral palsy; Acitelli wears Depends as a precaution but prefers to use the bathroom.

When he pushed the button for an aide to help, the aide refused and told him to use the Depends. Acitelli then heard staff members laughing about it in the hallway. However, it was Acitelli who got in trouble for raising a fuss.

“Their job is to help people. They asked for the job, but the people don't ask to be disabled,” Acitelli said. “It's not right. [The disabled] can't tell you themselves, so I will.”

Acitelli moved to Mount Vernon from Youngstown about 20 years ago because he wanted a change. He said it was a good decision.

City officials think so, too.

“This is a gentleman who is entirely committed to the community and advocating for them,” Mayor Matt Starr said. “Paul is a guy who is committed to helping by volunteering and giving back to the community, just like everybody else.”

What Acitelli has done is amazing and it fits in with bringing more awareness, Council member Amber Keener said. Keener, who chairs the city's Parks and Recreation Committee, invited former Ms. Wheelchair Ohio Laura Sykes to visit the city in 2021.

Things that she recommended make the lives of the disabled in this town easier,” Keener said.

In April, Keener led a county-wide effort to implement ADA forms for first responders. The form allows residents to provide details about special needs or considerations that responders should know.

“I think this helps the rest of the community know how to help,” Keener said. “I think we need to listen to the experts in the field, which are people like Paul.”

Starr noted that a member of the city's recreation board, J.J. House, has said he would like to get to Walmart in his wheelchair. However, there needs to be more sidewalks or paths.

“That is guiding our new development,” he said. “Sidewalks and paths are a must. That's part of our strategic infrastructure. It's definitely a priority.”

Another idea the city would like to implement is installing adult changing stations in new park restroom facilities.

Collecting donations for the pool passes isn't the first time Acitelli has helped his adopted community. In 2021, he collected $1,000 for Food for the Hungry.

And he's not done. He is already brainstorming his next project.

He wants to do other things if he has the permit for it, Frye said.

“Just yesterday he was saying he wants to do other fundraising things," Frye said.

“A lot of disabled people don't have a lot of money. I am very fortunate to have what I have. I want to help other people and the disabled have a life similar to mine,” Acitelli said.

This man has again served his community, Starr said.

“What a wonderful gentleman this guy is," Starr said. "We are so fortunate to have him in our community.

“He has a servant's heart.”

https://www.knoxpages.com/life_and_culture/fundraising-effort-provides-34-disabled-individuals-a-free-season-pass-to-hiawatha-water-park/article_165a6962-0ae7-11ee-9e2d-0b994210b436.html

Brittany Coon