The Dispatch

Defiance County Board of DD's Monthly Newsletter

January 3, 2022

Check Out New YouTube Channel!

The Defiance County Board of Developmental Disabilities has a YouTube Channel! We will use this platform to share a variety of beneficial videos from information on Early Intervention, sharing videos from School activities, changes in Ohio's Waivers, and other great resources!

Funding and Grant Opportunities

Defiance County Board of Developmental Disabilities regularly looks for funding and grant opportunities to support and improve the quality of life for Defiance County individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.

By providing this list, it is our goal to help you find resources that meet your needs. There are multiple local and national funding and grant resources available. Each resource is different and has different goals and eligibility requirements.



Defiance County Board of DD aims to provide accurate and up-to-date information, obtained from sources of information believed to be reliable, no warranty or declaration, either explicit or implicit, is given as to the accuracy or completeness of such information. Defiance County Board of Developmental Disabilities is not affiliated with any of the resources provided.

***This list is updated twice a year, on January 1st and June 1st.***

Hello 2022!

With the Holidays behind us, now is a great time to jumpstart your healthy lifestyle!

What we eat and what we do every day makes a big impact in all areas of our life. Check out the 2022 Defiance County Board of Developmental Disabilities Fitness Goals Bingo! This is such a great way to push ourselves to be the best we can be!

January Anniversaries

2 Years

Alexa Polsdorfer, Early Intervention Service Coordinator

4 Years

Gina Theobald, Food Service Manager

5 Years

Jodi Martinez, Early Intervention Physical Therapist

Now the Rest of the

Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) Story

IFSP Review

• This occurs at least every 6 months.
• We will come together to look at your child’s IFSP to see if the plan still matches the family’s priorities.
• We review:

1. Any changes made to child and family information
2. The current outcome(s)
3. Frequency
4. Any additional paperwork needed for their file.

Annual Redetermination

• Each year we will complete a family directed assessment (FDA), child assessment, and child observation.
• This information is used to determine if a child/family has a need for services.
• If you child shows a need for services, then the annual IFSP will be written and completed with all updated information.
• During this period we will make sure that your family’s priorities and concerns match your child’s plan. 

The Family Resource Network of Ohio

is here to help families by providing resources, tools, and trainings.

We use Charting the LifeCourse Framework to help individuals and families of individuals with developmental disabilities support each other in the pursuit of the good life. Together, we can achieve great things.

Happy new year from all of us here at Good Samaritan School. 

It is hard to believe that we are already half way through this school year. Without the help of the parents, staff, and students following health guidelines we would not have been able to make it this long. For that, thank you to all involved in allowing us to continue educating the students in person. 

Preschool staff will soon begin transition planning meetings to begin looking at what additional information and evaluations are needed to determine services for the preschool students that may be going to Kindergarten for the 2022 – 2023. We will be working with the home districts on this process. 

Reminders:

Monday January 3rd will be a two-hour delay for a teacher in service. 

We will be off Monday January 17th for Martin Luther King Jr. day. 

ATTENDANCE REMINDER

If a student is going to be absent from school please call the office to let us know. The bus drivers, bus assistants, and teachers do not always have time to report absences to the office.       

Good Samaritan School

January Lunch Menu

What sets Good Samaritan School apart from other educational institutions?

Occupational Therapy

Holly Wendling, MA, OTR/L, c/NDT

We sat down with Good Samaritan Schools own Occupational Therapist , Holly Wendling, and asked her to give us an overview of what OT is like for our students.

Occupational Therapy(OT) helps people across all ages participate in the things they want and need to do through the therapeutic use of everyday activities. For children- OT helps them learn to play, eat, dress, color, write, cut, and do self care skills such as washing their hands, brushing their teeth, combing their hair, tying shoes, and so much more.

What sets us apart at Good Samaritan School is that OT and other related services are integrated into the students daily routine. Because we offer these services in house, we are able to see a child at different times throughout their day and address their specific needs in the moment. Our students therapy is not compartmentalized into only when our therapist is in the building maybe 1 to 2 times a week. Plus, we work closely with our teachers so that they are able to incorporate those strategies into the students day. We have awesome teachers who work on those skills daily.

Students that experience difficulty in one or more occupations in their daily life, will be referred for an OT evaluation. This can be done a few ways. It can be part of their Evaluation Team Report or after they are already enrolled.

"As an OT, I look at why a child is having difficulty in a certain area of their life. I look at their fine motor skills, bilateral hand skills, visual motor skills, visual perception skills, sensory processing, and core stability.", stated Holly.

OT works to increase the foundational skills which are needed to complete an activity. It is not just about practicing the skill but working on those underlying foundational skills which help children be more independent.

When children are successful and become independent in doing something, it increases their self- esteem and helps them feel good about themselves because they can do things own their own.

Special Needs Planning

One of the most common concerns parents face is making sure their child is cared for when they are gone, especially a child with a disability. For these parents, estate planning has a special purpose-- ensuring their child has the resources they need to live a healthy need-free life but also be eligible for governmental benefits. It may also include planning for guardianship or other protections for their child. 

For these reasons, it’s important to start thinking about this early and to talk with someone who knows all the options available for special needs planning. There are many booklets out there to help parents start this journey, two of which are published by the Ohio Developmental Disabilities Council: “Planning for Bright Tomorrows” and “Guardianship in Ohio.” The SSA office has copies of both handbooks, so feel free to stop by and pick one up. Parts of the handbook are also available on the DD Council’s website at https://ddc.ohio.gov/estate-and-future-planning. These booklets offer basic information, such as the focus of special needs planning; the different types of trusts; STABLE accounts; and Medicaid, Social Security and other governmental benefits. 

As always, its important to speak to an attorney knowledgeable in special needs planning, but these resources are a great way to learn some basics and help parents to start thinking about the future.

If you are interested in having a speaker present (or Zoom) on these topics, please let the SSA office know. If there is enough interest, we can schedule a seminar to help answer all of your questions.

Resources

The Family Resource Network of Ohio is hosting a 3 part series dedicated to families who experience disability. Learn about the tools and resources that are available to you to help plan and advocated for your loved one throughout their lifetime.

What: Project STIR Leadership Training

When: February 1st at 11:30AM through February 3rd at 3:30PM

Where: Crown Plaza Hotel-North, 6500 Double Tree Ave., Columbus, Ohio 43229

Cost: $550 if OSDA Member / $650 Non-Member 

Not a member? Join now at the OSDA website and register at the Member fee. Scroll to the bottom of this web page  

http://osdaohio.org/pricing/

Registration deadline is

January 15,2022.

Check Out Our Online Event Calendar!

The Defiance County Board of Developmental Disabilities (DCBDD) Event Calendar lists information about activities, programs, and special events for individuals with developmental disabilities happening at our agency and in the community. Please scroll to the bottom of this page for links to other important calendars.

Some meetings, workshops, events and activities are sponsored and hosted by organizations other than the DCBDD. The DCBDD is not responsible for the content and operations of these events, programs, or organizations.

Defiance County

Self-Advocacy Meeting

Keep up to date with us on Social Media!