Fall 2015

Options
Volume 23 w Issue 2 w Fall 2015
Fulton County Board of Developmental Disabilities
Making A
Dream Reality
April Petz, SSA
T
ara is a 2007 graduate of Wauseon High School
and Four County Career Center. She was part of
the floral culture program while she was in high
school, but it wasn’t her first choice. Tara wanted to be
a part of the business program, but unfortunately they and services to have the best opportunity at success.
did not have any openings. Tara’s dream was always to
attend college, but she said that after graduation she Tara says, that like traditional students attending coljust wasn’t ready.
lege, the hardest part is learning to manage your time
with the workload. Tara also is balancing working 5
In 2012, Tara decided that it was time to start pursu- days a week with attending school, and she is learning
ing her dream. She asked for assistance from her Team valuable skills on time management and responsibility.
Leader at Filling Home, and she applied at Northwest
State Community College and was accepted.
I asked Tara what she is the most proud of with her college career, and she told me that she’s so proud of goTara’s major is Office Management, and she is work- ing to college and proving to all the doubters that she
ing hard towards her Associate’s Degree with dreams could do it. She said, “I knew it was going to be hard,
of working in a business office. Tara has said that the but I could do it.” I also asked her if she had any advice
teachers at Northwest State have all been willing to for other individuals who may want to attend college
help, but you have to ask for it. She said that the faculty and she offered this, “Just ask for help, don’t be afraid
at the college have been very supportive, and there is to ask and do the best you can.”
an advisor on campus that specifically works with ADA
students to help them find the appropriate supports
From the Superintendent
In Ohio and in Fulton County, change is coming. Socrates said “The secret of change is to focus all of your
energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new”. In late spring, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services (CMS) told the State of Ohio that they have until 2024 to “get out of the business” of providing day and
transportation waiver services to adults with developmental disabilities. Individuals requesting new waiver services should be looking at services provided by providers other than the county board as of July 1, 2015.
In order to focus our energy on building the new, on June 15, 2015, the Fulton County Board of Developmental Disabilities made the decision to stop providing adult day and transportation services by May 1, 2016. This
sounds pretty scary. BUT what does this really mean?
For the over 60 individuals that receive adult services from the Board of DD, they can continue to receive services at TP, Reach and Seniors. For those who are transported by the Board of DD to TP, to Seniors, to Reach and
to Quadco or Northwest Products as well as to jobs in the community, TP will be able to provide that transportation service.
While the county board will no longer provide the services, we will continue to provide funding so that others (such as Triangular Processing) can provide the services. Already today, we provide funding for individuals
from Fulton County who receive services from Quadco and Northwest Products, Peopleworks, Person Centered
Services, Anne Grady, Sunshine, and CLASS. Next May, we will add TP.
We know that for most, change is not something that we look forward to or anticipate with glee. So we are
working hard to insure that the change be seamless for those served—the services will not change, the setting
will not change, the vehicles will not change and many of the faces will remain the same. We anticipate the
easiest transition to be for the individuals who receive the services and hardest for those providing the services.
But while change may not be easy, that does not mean it is a bad thing. As C. JoyBell C. stated, “We can’t be
afraid of change. You may never feel secure in the pond that you are in, but if you never venture out of it, you
will never know that there is such a thing as an ocean, a sea. Holding onto something that is good for you now,
may be the very reason why you don’t have something better.” Our focus needs to be not on what will be different, but on what will better.
Beth Friess
Unicorns
& Community
Ann Martin,
Executive Secretary
On a cool morning, BJ, Debbie and myself
went on an adventure to find the rainbow
(and maybe a unicorn or two) at the 2015
Color Run in Toledo.
Along this 5K walk/run, we were doused from
head to toe in different colors at each kilometer. BJ showed his enjoyment with smiles and
laughs along the untimed race.
Although we didn’t see any unicorns, we
were grateful for the sunshine, the happiness
around us and to be a part of a day of rainbows in our community with BJ.
Fulton County
Special Olympics
Helping Hannah and Her Family
Jamie Johnson, SSA
Hannah’s services with the Fulton County Board of Developmental
Disabilities began years ago when her mother, Annette, called inquiring about a local screening. She wanted to make sure her child was
“on track” for school. The evaluators noticed delays and connected
Hannah with a Service and Support Administrator (SSA).
An SSA offers various supports and services and is parent driven.
These services depend on the family and individual’s unique needs.
For Hannah, the SSA has aided in the understanding of the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and has attended the IEP meetings with
the family. According to Annette, “It is helpful for my SSA to attend
the IEP meetings knowing she will ask questions on Hannah’s behalf.
She has observed Hannah prior to the meetings and helped us see
the big picture which we sometimes miss, especially since we are so
emotionally attached.”
SSA’s can also link the families and individuals to local resources. Over the years, Hannah has been linked
to speech and language services with Bowling Green Speech and Hearing to help increase her communication
skills; Family Support Services to help with the cost of Hannah’s unique needs; Special Olympics to participate
in soccer, track, and swimming; placement on the Waiver waiting list for future planning; and most recently, the
Summer Youth Program where Hannah was able to earn her first pay check. When asked why someone should
use SSA services, Annette said, “Hannah’s SSA responds quickly to my questions and helps us understand what
is to come. I know Hannah’s SSA has her back and is looking out for her best interest.”
Hannah enjoys being an active member in her community and has grown tremendously with her exposure
to these resources allowing her to further develop self-confidence, self-esteem, and new friendships. With the
help from family and her SSA, Hannah’s experiences have helped her to become the young lady she is today.
If change makes your life better then friends and families of the
Board of DD are about to hit the jack pot of good fortune. Over
the last few months, information has been swirling regarding initiatives from state and federal agencies pertaining to new service
models. Of course change always puts us a little on edge. The
unknown is just that “unknown.”
Jim Taylor, writer and professor at the University of San Francisco, tells us that personal baggage, habits, negative emotions and the environment we create and allow around us, are deterrents to positive change. Change is
scary and change means risk. Many of us, don’t like risks, but with risk comes reward. Can’t we all remember
that teacher or coach that pushed us a little harder than anyone else? It may have been a struggle at first, but
when it was all over you knew you had accomplished something more. You knew that without that extra push
you would not have taken the risks you did, the changes that created something new and better.
Once we navigate the changes before us, we will have opportunities to try new things and push ourselves.
Whether you view the changes as good, bad or indifferent; you can make the choice that these changes are a
chance to make things better. We can do it together!
Robin Shepherd, Community Services Director
“Your life does not get better by chance. It gets better by change.”
- Jim Rohn
The PLAY Project, developed by Dr. Richard
Solomon, is an evidenced-based program to
help strengthen the social-emotional abilities of young children with Autism. PLAY
Project consultants provide regular Home
Visit sessions to families which are designed
to help families identify their child’s unique
strengths, to build relationships between
family members and their children, and Fulton County’s P.L.A.Y. Project consultants are Kathryn Natzke and Cheryl
have a positive impact on their social devel- Kohls, pictured receiving their awards from Director Martin and Dr. Solomon.
opment. The program occurs in the family’s
home, with the people that the child has the
most interaction with. It focuses on building interactions with others using fun, playful, developmentally appropriate techniques. PLAY consultants provide modeling, coaching, video feedback of adult/child play interactions
and teaching of the techniques, which parents are able to use through all their daily routines. The PLAY project
is free to families with a child who has an Autism diagnose and is enrolled in Early Intervention, in Fulton County.
Currently nearly half of Ohio counties have access
to trained P.L.A.Y. Project consultants. Dr. Solomon
and his staff provide training and support to current trained consultants. Recently they held a P.L.A.Y.
project reunion for trained consultants in Ohio where
they received additional support as well as awards
from Dr. Solomon and the Director of the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities, John Martin.
November 10th - Staff In-servce Training CLOSED
November 26th & 27th - Thanksgiving Holiday CLOSED
December 24-29th - CHRISTMAS Holidays CLOSED
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Permit #7
Wauseon, OH
43567
1210 N. Ottokee Street
Wauseon, OH 43567
419/337-4575
www.fultoncountyoh.com/board_dd
Closings and Delays
The following stations announce our closings and delays: WMTR-FM-96.1
WTOL-TELEVISION-11
13ABC-TELEVISION-13
Sign Up for our Text Alerts
To receive alerts through texts or emails go to:
fultoncountyoh.com/board_dd
On the left hand side click on
Emergency Weather Alerts
Then on the right sidebar click on Notify Me
Follow the instructions for messages.