The Dispatch

Defiance County Board of DD's Monthly Newsletter

October 1, 2021

It's Fall!

It's that time of year where the weather gets cooler and we start to pull out our coats and sweaters. With the cooler temperatures comes cold season. Here are a few tips to keep your students and yourself healthy this fall.

• Flu Shots will be available through your local provider, health department, and pharmacies.
• Hand washing is an important tool to keep your student well. Help them practice good hand hygiene skills by reminding them to Wash Your Hands.
• Healthy Food choices help your body's immune system be its best. Remember the more colors on your plate, the healthier you will be.

October Anniversaries

12 Years

Deb Holtsberry, Instructor Assistant

5 Years

Bret Mack, Director of Business Operations

3 Years

Taylor Vogelsong, Service and Support Administrator

2 Years

Tanya Bradley, Instructor Assistant and Bus Assistant

The Referral

What happens when a referral is made to the Defiance County Early Intervention Program (irth-2 Years)?

1. Service Coordinator calls to ask questions and discuss your concerns about your child's development.
2. Questions around your child's development might consist of (but not limited to) play, behaviors; eating, sensory, fine motor, gross motor, self help skills, speech, social-emotional, cognitive and much more.
3. Next we will discuss what the Early Intervention Programs is. If you are interested in learning more about the program and potentially receiving services.
4. If interested a meeting is scheduled with the Service Coordinator to complete initial paperwork and schedule a Developmental Evaluation with the Early Intervention team.

Stay tuned next month for more on the El Evaluation Process!

We would like to thank all of the parents and guardians for your understanding as we maneuver through this pandemic. We will continue to communicate changes as soon as they arise. Although we could not have all of the field trips that we planned, our students were still able to participate in some amazing experiences. Some of our students were able to go to the Defiance County Fair, while others took trips to the library and grocery store. We will continue to work with Ayersville Local Schools about trying to get back to swimming once it is safe for all parties.      

Officer J from the Defiance City Police Department has started to stop in to interact with our students to promote safety and positive behavior. He will continue to stop in to participate in activities with our students throughout the school year.    

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.       

Principal TJ, Anthony, and Tony are ready for some Tiger Basketball!!

The week of September 12 through 18 was Direct Support Professionals Week, and we would like to thank all those DSPs out there who are the FOUNDATION of the DD system! We cannot thank you enough for your tireless commitment to the people you serve: working long hours without seeing your own family, jumping from home to home to cover for someone who is out ill, forsaking that special trip you had planned to make sure your homes were covered…. Selflessness, dedication, compassion. All perfect words to describe everything you are, every single day. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

During DSP week, the SSAs were able to deliver a small token of our appreciation to all the direct support professionals and their provider agencies. Because we don’t know all the DSPs by name, gift cards were delivered to each provider agency and each home where services were more than “drop in”. (And if we missed you, we apologize for the oversight and give us a call 😊)

And so a HUGE THANK YOU to the following agencies:               

Enjoy the photos, and here is a shout out to all the people who ROCK!!!

Follow us on Facebook to see all of the great things our staff, clients, and providers are doing!

Held each October, National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) aims to educate about disability employment issues and celebrate the many and varied contributions of America's workers with disabilities. NDEAM is led by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy, but its true spirit lies in the many observances held at the grassroots level across the nation every year. Learn how you can support NDEAM by visiting the ODEP website: www.dol.gov/NDEAM.

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