By Monty Kerr
BCBDD Superintendent
 

March brings with it many changes - a change in hours, as Daylight Savings Time returns; a change in seasons; and a welcome change in the weather. This March, I would like you to think about another change.
 
I would like you to change the way you look at people with developmental disabilities.
 
For many years, people with intellectual and physical disabilities were perceived as incapable of living the kind of life we all enjoy. The widely-held belief was that they had to live isolated from others where they observed life, but didn’t live it. They remained separated from the community, because that is where the system and society thought they should be. The funny thing is, no one ever asked them what they wanted.
 
Thankfully, times have changed. People with developmental disabilities have found their voice through an initiative called Self-Determination, and we are listening. Self-Determination gives people the freedom, authority and responsibility for their lives. Instead of giving people what we, the system, thinks they should have, we are asking people what they need and want, and they are responding. They are taking control, becoming more self-sufficient and claiming their rightful place in the community. In so doing, they are becoming valued and successful citizens all across Belmont County.
 
Self-Determination is helping people with disabilities create the life they want, and it doesn’t look like it did in the past. They want services “without walls,” the kind found in the community. They know that “separate, but equal,” is not equal, and together we are working to change this. That is why the Board of Developmental Disabilities is committed to promoting the types of jobs where people with disabilities work alongside those without disabilities. That is why we support and encourage educational experiences in non-segregated settings, and residential and recreational opportunities in neighborhoods across Belmont County.
 
Self-Determination helps us see the person first. In so doing, we see their abilities and are then able to help them achieve what they want out of life. It’s different for every person, but one thing is clear. People with disabilities want, and deserve, the same kind of acceptance, understanding and respect as everyone else. They are indeed endowed with the same rights we all have. Their disability does not take those rights away, nor does it define them, and it should not limit their potential to succeed in school, on the job, or in the community.
 
We know that when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. During March, Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, change the way you look at people with developmental disabilities. When you see the person first, you’ll discover someone who is ready, willing and able to be a valued employee, good student, loyal friend and friendly neighbor in your community.