Tuesday, December 11, 2012

I have an announcement

As most of you know my real passion in life is advocating for my boys and others with Down syndrome. That is where my heart always leads me, in whatever direction is necessary to make an impact on the community and the larger world and how they view those with disabilities. Once again, Casey and Connor have helped me with direction in my life and have opened a door that I never would have considered before I was blessed with my miracle men.

A few posts back I mentioned an opportunity to help many with disabilities and I wrote how I was afraid to admit how much I wanted to be able to have the chance to make a real difference. Well, friends, guess what?? Last night, my appointment to the Board of the County of Summit Developmental Disabilities Board was confirmed! I will begin my 4 year term in January and I will be part of a board that has made Summit County one of the very best counties in all of Ohio in which to live for someone with a disability!

The Summit DD serves more than 4,000 people and their families providing services like Early Intervention, Community Employment services, housing options, transportation and so much more. You can learn more at www.summitdd.org.

I am so honored to have been chosen and I am really looking forward to helping make things even better. My family has been so incredibly blessed by the Summit DD. We watched our sons THRIVE with Early Intervention and every person we have encountered with the Summit DD has been kind, compassionate, helpful and supportive.

Our Early Intervention team became a part of our family. In the beginning, I would find myself looking forward to the visits from out Intervention Specialist and our phenomenal pt/ot team, Help Me Grow service coordinator and our Speech therapist. I would look forward to their visits because they always came out with great attitudes and wonderful suggestions for ways to help Casey and Connor learn and grow. I honestly believe that without early intervention we would have been lost. Instead, with their help and support, we all grew and learned and our confidence also grew. I knew we were doing the right things to help our miracle men reach their full potential. Our experience with early intervention made me feel like I was not alone and like I was supported even when there were days I was certain I was making nothing but mistakes.

And now, I get to pay it forward.

What a blessing!

So, celebrate with me, friends! I am so excited for this new journey!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Congratulations!!!! God has opened doors for me as well that I would have never expected before having my boys. I have been Executive Director of our local Arc for almost four years now, its amazing to be able to give back and I KNOW you will be a wonderful advocate and friend to those in need... GOOOO GIRL!!!