The Franklin County Board of Developmental Disabilities is continuing its partnership with We Thrive Together, a nonprofit organization that offers an array of online programming for people served by Ohio county boards. FCBDD has extended its countywide subscription so that all We Thrive Together programs are free to Franklin County residents until the end of …

Not long after he hung up his cap and gown last year, Ryan Alimo headed off to a new day program. He had loved being at West Central School and was disappointed when the coronavirus pandemic stole some of his time there. Moving on – without his beloved teacher Miss Donna – was a big, …

Families and people with developmental disabilities who want to learn more about the benefits of remote support have plenty of options for trial runs in Franklin County. The Franklin County Board of Developmental Disabilities and other disability-services organizations are providing both information about remote support and opportunities to try it out – including an offer …

The phone for CP Parent Columbus still rings, and Lynne Fogel answers, generous as always with her time and knowledge about raising a child with cerebral palsy. “With most of the calls, it’s a new diagnosis. Or a family who thought they had it all figured out, and then they move to a new stage,” …

As an Ohio State University graduate, biomedical engineer, certified Americans with Disabilities Act coordinator and entrepreneur, Jen Schlegel has long used technology to help her go where she wants to go and do what she wants to do. Some of her assistive devices are simple enough to work by way of duct tape or Velcro. …

For too long, Tyrone Gladney says, he kept to his comfort zone. He avoided big risks, but he wasn’t having much fun. “I was sick, I was depressed, I wasn’t happy,” Gladney said. “I had high blood pressure, headaches, was eating all the wrong foods.” When he decided to make some changes, his providers – …

As she walked into the school auditorium for a Black History Month program, Raya Smith’s eyes lit up. “You’re going to sing today,” her teacher told her. The notion might have seemed strange to Raya’s Columbus Alternative High School classmates. Up to that moment in late February, they had never heard her utter a word. …

After 10 years of retirement, Jeff Birr was bored. But not so bored that he wanted to return to the corporate “rat race” that had left him exhausted, stressed and in poor health. The former vice president at a tech company recently became a part-time bus driver for the Franklin County Board of Developmental Disabilities. …

Each March, advocates work together to raise awareness about the many ways people with and without developmental disabilities come together to form strong, welcoming and diverse communities. The following essays from two perspectives – a senior citizen who has developmental disabilities and a church striving to be neighborly to everyone – help show how inclusion …

As a world-class athlete in the Paralympic sport of boccia, Cornelius “Chubby” Oatis knows plenty of ways to keep busy and active. Still, when he lost his day job during the pandemic, Oatis never considered stepping away from the working world. “I feel that with a job, you have chances,” he said. “You have chances …