MOUNT VERNON — Many organizations get together for lunch or dinner and hand out awards, and that was a major part of the annual Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month luncheon sponsored by the Knox County Board of Developmental Disabilities and the Mount Vernon Developmental Center Wednesday.
But it was also more to many of the attendees.
“It’s somewhat of a reunion for those who work in the field,” said Nancy Gregg, transition coordinator at the Knox County Educational Service Center. “It’s like a blood transfusion for everyone.”
The employees of the agencies represented got a sense of the worth of their work with a video featuring persons with developmental disabilities talking about some of the hateful names they are called and about how they would like to be thought of and treated instead.
They listened to Jamie and Laura Sanders talk about how Knox County DD has been a huge help to them in raising two children, both with Down Syndrome and multiple health problems. Respite Care has given them the chance to have a break, or to both accompany one to a hospital, and how having therapists come to their home has been a huge help.
John Martin, director of the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities, was the featured speaker. He talked about how Ohio has a 150-year history of trying to help people with disabilities and how those efforts have changed and are continuing to change.
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