june 2018

JUNE 2018
Bringing about a vibrant community where people lead fulfilling lives and make meaningful contributions.
“I’m a rock star,” said Matt Sears as he fastened himself into his climbing
harness at Vertical Adventures in Columbus. “My arms and my shoulders
look so good.”
A member of the Adaptive Climbing Club for Adults, Sears has been scaling
indoor climbing walls for over a year, something his mother Colleen never
thought she’d see her son do.
“We didn’t know he could climb,” she said. “ I honestly didn’t think he was
capable because there is so much problem-solving involved.”
According to his mother, Matt, who has Down Syndrome, has difficulty
with what she calls abstract thinking.
“He has trouble figuring out steps, what to do next. He struggles with concepts
of time. If you show him necessary steps, he can complete tasks but
he does not typically figure those steps out for himself.”
However, when it comes to climbing, that simply is not the case for Matt.
Each climbing route at Vertical Adventures has a unique difficulty rating
and is mapped out on the wall by a series of like-colored holds. Climbers
must follow the route of green holds, for example, to make their way to the
top of the wall—which may be 45 feet high.
“He doesn’t quit,“ said his instructor and co-coordinator of Adaptive Ascents
Christine Kessler. “He may get halfway up the wall and then stop while
he assesses his next move. But that’s great. He does figure it out and he
won’t come down until he’s reached the top and is ready to repel.”
The Sears credit Fairfield DD Individual Support Coordinator Dawn Busser
with suggesting that Matt give climbing a try. Knowing that Matt enjoyed
sports and socializing, she thought it would be a good fit.
Kessler, along with husband Jordan,
Pam Whiteley
work with children and adults of all
ages and abilities in nine-week sessions
Rzanski and say the sport is not only re-
Vickie
warding for athletes, but safe.
“It’s a lot safer that most sports because
we mitigate risk by removing
factors we can’t control. The climbing
systems are all tested by coaches
who have very broad climbing backgrounds. We have children climbing who
are blind, adults climbing who have no use of their legs, and people with developmental
disabilities climbing who are achieving personal successes they
didn’t think possible.”
Matt, for lack of a better terms, is truly hooked on climbing.
“I like it so much,” he said. “I’m not scared of heights. It’s not scary to me. I
always reach the top.”
Mom Colleen agrees.
“I don’t think he’ll ever be happy if he’s not climbing,” she said. “He just
won’t quit.”

They Serve Because...
Someone told me recently that if
you’re not moving forward, you’re moving
backward.
This struck me as applicable to so
much of what we encounter daily at
Fairfield DD.
We have never been afraid to think outside of the box
when it comes to supporting those we serve in a personcentered
approach. Our individual support coordinators
are empowered and encouraged to seek out the best
opportunities for each person’s life according to their
unique interests and traits. A fine example is this month’s
story about talented climber Matt Sears.
Of course our social purpose enterprises are unlike anything
else in the state and continue to catch the attention
of everyone who hears about them.
And the strides we’ve made in adaptive technology, be
it communication devices or adaptive motor cars for children,
continue to amaze us all.
But it doesn’t stop there. Those behind the scenes, in Resource
Management, Finance, Community Connections,
Employment—they all search high and low, using a plethora
of resources, to accomplish the personal goals voiced
by the over 1200 individuals and families we support.
I’ve always boasted that we are a “think outside of the
box” organization. But knowing that our employees practice
that approach every single day is more rewarding
than I can describe.
When you remove barriers for people, with or without
disabilities, the world not only becomes a much larger
place filled with endless possibilities, it becomes an endless
adventure where the only thing sitting between you and
your goals is your own will.
For many years we have believed in helping people find
their own personal genius. And in doing so, we have enabled
our employees to never stop at a roadblock, but to
simply find another way around it.
And the community is listening. New opportunities exist.
Doors to employment and recreation are open. Communication
is happening. Questions are being asked and answered.
And people, Like Matt are climbing walls that
they never even knew existed.
It’s not innovation—it’s imagination. And it’s limitless.
Take the time this summer to try something new.
John Pekar, Superintendent
Fairfield DD employees at the Administration Building
joined co-workers from the other five county board locations
in taking a moment to tell the public why they
serve the community during National Public Employee
Recognition Week in May. No matter the reason our
employees gave, we are grateful that they do all they
do!
Waiting List Rule Approved
The legislative body in charge of reviewing changes
to state administrative rules has approved the Fix The
List coalition's plan to update Ohio's DD waiver waiting
list.
This approval completes the rule-making process.
The new rule's effective date is September 1. DODD
will provide training tools for county boards on the new
rule, and the contents of these tools are expected to
be available by early June. OACB will follow up with
additional updates on this topic at the next SSA Forum
on June 27.
OACB Launches Guide
ProviderGuidePlus—a new, powerful online tool that
allows people with developmental disabilities and their
families to find, compare, and rate DD service providers—is
now live statewide.
ProviderGuidePlus functions similarly to Angie's List
and other popular consumer rating websites. The site,
which launched statewide on Monday, is free to use,
and reviews are submitted anonymously. To find or
rate a provider, visit www.providerguideplus.com.
The tool is the result of three years of collaborative
effort between OACB, the Ohio Provider Resource Association,
the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities,
and parent and family groups.

Cain Gives Dance
Attendees That
Special Touch!
Brittany Cain, receptionist at Fairfield
DD (left) volunteered her time and her
cosmetology talents last month when
she offered to do the makeup of people
attending the annual Community
Dance Spring Formal.
Over 18 women were glammed up
by Cain who is certified to do makeup
and hopes one day to make it a fulltime
profession.
Pictured is Elizabeth John, a receptionist
at Forest Rose School who attends
the Community Dance each
month where they are held at Forest
Rose School from 6:30 to 8:30 pm.
Thank you Brittany for helping to
make every lady feel like the belle of
the ball!
FMC Summer Camp Returns
Fairfield Medical Center will host the annual Summer
Camp for Children with Autism at Forest Rose
School July 23—August 3 from 9 am to noon.
The goal of the camp is to help children transition
from the summer months back into the school setting
for the upcoming academic year.
Participants must be age five to 14 and have a
diagnosis in the autism spectrum. There is no cost to
attend but registration is limited to 20 participants.
Campers will take part in activities with an emphasis
on gross and fine motor skills, speech/
language and sensorimotor skills. Participants will
also be able to use the pool and picture schedules
on a daily basis. All campers will receive a t-shirt.
Transportation to and from camp is not provided.
For registration information, contact Carolynn
Gilliam at 740-687-8622 by July 6.

Anthony Cummerlander has a colorful life. He sings in the choir. He is close with his family. He attends Blend Art
Studio in Newark. But he misses his friends from Pickerington North High School. Though he graduated in 2012, Anthony
has not forgotten the many friends he made during his school years.
“When Anthony graduated he was really excited,” said his mother Marie, a Fairfield DD Individual Support Coordinator.
“But it was the celebration he enjoyed.
He didn’t realize graduation was actually
an ending.”
As his classmates embarked upon their
many different post-high school paths— off to
new schools, jobs and towns, Anthony soon
felt their absence in a profound way.
“He really started to retreat back into what
he calls Anthony’s World,” said Marie.
“The real world is not for me,” he told his
family.
Anthony has always had an affinity for cartoons
and all things plush. So he began to surround
himself with hundreds of plush animals,
many of which he made himself, and he can
(and will) recite entire episodes of various cartoons
from start to finish, complete with onpoint
impersonations.
While Anthony may have found many ways
to comfort himself, his studio coordinators at
Blend, a studio of SPARK in Indian Mound Mall that offers art classes and employment opportunities to people
with developmental disabilities, decided to help Anthony use his imagination and sewing skills to begin letting go
of the pain from missing his former classmates.
Over the course of the last eight months, Anthony has been very busy creating plush replicas of every friend he
had in high school. He spent countless hours with studio coordinators selecting fabrics that match the skin tones,
eye color and hair color of each friend, using his old high school yearbook for reference.
Earlier this May, when all of the dolls were completed, he held his
own graduation ceremony for them.
His family and other supports hope that by allowing his plush
friends to graduate, he will begin putting that chapter of his life
into perspective, if not behind him. And he was in good spirits as
he proudly presented his friends to everyone in the studio. He told
everyone in attendance, “These are my friends.”
Then, at the end of the day, he carefully packed up each plush
doll into a clear storage container and loaded them into his mother’s
car to take home and put into storage.
“He’s ready to move on I think,” Marie said. “He won’t stop making
plush dolls. In fact, he has lists all around the studio of the dozens
of plush dolls he’s ready to make next. But he has finished the
high school project and can focus on something else.”
While Anthony may never choose to emerge from Anthony’s
World, there is no denying that he finds comfort there while still being
very aware of the people around him who care about him—
including his studio coordinators.
“I give special thanks to Beth [Bearor] and Ben [Piper],” he said.
His studio coordinators are anxious to watch Anthony, whom
they describe as a bright soul, move on to new projects.
“Anthony is a barometer of the environment,” Bearor said. “What
he is creating is always a clear indicator of what is happening
around him. He’s never met a stranger and he brings a lot of joy to
everyone around him.”

WHOSE
C U B E ?
At the OACB Spring Conference Keynote
Speaker James Kane stressed the importance
of knowing the people around
you. One of the best ways?
“Look at their workspace,” he said. “Take
the time to really observe a persons work
space and it will tell you a lot about them
and maybe even kick-start conversation.”
So it’s your turn! Can you tell whose cube
is pictured below?
ANSWER:
Charity Jacobs, ISC

The Side by Side group at Fairfield DD is making it their mission
to get out into the community and get to know their neighbors.
The group has been busy lately with visits to Community Action
to exchange information, the YMCA Rec Plex to train incoming
instructors for the new All Abilities Gymnastics classes being offered
this summer and they recently spent the day addressing
200 students at Tollgate Middle School’s Disability Awareness
Day in Pickerington, where they also invited high school key
club members to assist.
This June they will once again conduct sessions with area
camp counselors along with Lancaster city lifeguards. If you’d
like a visit by Side by Side to your organization, give them a call
at 740.652.7220, ext. 7237.
Fairfield County Special Olympics
Equestrian Team recently hosted an
area invitational and it was a huge
success! To see more about the team,
tune in to Channel 9 on Spectrum this
month and catch them on Fairfield
Today.

“Public and private agencies
that serve people with developmental
disabilities say they are
embracing various initiatives —
from recruitment campaigns to
longevity pay and an emphasis
on the emotional rewards — to
attract the workers the system
so desperately needs.”
- From a May 2 article in The Columbus Dispatch. To
read the article in its entirety, including comments by
Superintendent John Pekar, visit http://
www.dispatch.com/news/20180430/agencies-rampup-efforts-to-recruit-caregivers-serving-those-withdisabilities
Reference Cards for First
Responders are now available by contacting
Temple Montanez in Community Relations.
These will be distributed throughout the county this
summer but if you or someone you serve would like
copies to keep or to give to providers, health professional
or the like, please call 652-7220, ext. 7237.
What to Know for
FIRST RESPONDERS
Square 7’s New Offering
Responding to a person with a developmental disability
can be more efficient when you are able to recognize
behavior symptoms and be familiar with contact approaches.
It may not always be apparent that an individual has a
developmental disability, or you may be made aware by
the dispatcher, family, witness or the person himself/
herself.
Each person with a developmental disability has a different
level of independence and has the same rights as
every other person.
WHO TO CALL
For immediate information about an individual supported
by Fairfield DD, call Services and Supports at
740.652.7220.
Jennifer Walling is the Investigative Agent for Fairfield
DD. Jennifer investigates, interviews and reports all incidents
involving people supported by Fairfield DD.
740.652-7230, M-F, 8 am to 4:30 pm.
If you are reporting outside normal business hours, call
211 or 740.687.8255. If you are sending in a report after
speaking to a staff member, send to
report@fairfielddd.com .
If you need another fabulous reason to stop into Square 7 Coffee
House, 150 W. Main St., look not further than their cold brew custom
-roasted coffee served up in a delightful glass mug and capped
off with a tin lid and straw. Just $10. An excellent Father’s Day gift!

795 College Avenue
Lancaster, OH 43130
Contact Us
Temple Custer Montanez, Editor
www.FairfieldDD.com
Administration ...................................................... 740-652-7220
Superintendent ..................................................... 740-652-7220
Services and Supports ......................................... 740-652-7220
Family Support Services ....................................... 740-652-7220
Department of Quality .......................................... 740-652-7235
Forest Rose School .............................................. 740-652-7225
Early Intervention/Birth to 3 ............................... 740-652-7225
Opportunity Center ............................................... 740-652-7230
Art & Clay on Main/Square 7 Coffeehouse ......... 740-653-1755
JobFusion ................................ 614-835-2700 or 740-652-7235
Transportation ...................................................... 740-652-7228
Pickerington Regional Office .. 614-835-2700 or 740-652-7235
Volunteer Opportunities ....................................... 740-652-7220
Our Mission
To bring about a vibrant community
where people lead fulfilling lives and
make meaningful contributions.
Superintendent
Board Members:
Mark Weedy, President
Theresa Nixon, VP
Linda Barber, Sec.
John R. Pekar
Robert Competti
Sharon Scruggs
Sharon Murphy
Elizabeth Burwell
If you run into a wall, don’t turn
around and give up. Figure out
how to climb it. - Michael Jordan