Group works to help disabled, educate public about their issues
Maricopa Unified School District board member Torri Anderson shares her concerns about how to get developmentally disabled people in Maricopa the services they need.
Developmentally disabled people face challenges that don’t often reach mainstream discussion, but one group that came to Maricopa last week is trying to change that.
About 15 people, including parents and prominent members of the community, attended an event Wednesday night at Elements Event Center hosted by the Arizona Developmental Disabilities Planning Council.
The council’s goal was not only to inform the audience about challenges faced by those with disabilities but to ask questions, discover Maricopa’s specific needs and to gather ideas. The council aims to help those people find employment, make sure they are included in society and to empower them.
Maricopa, like many rural communities, doesn’t have an abundance of resources for the developmentally disabled.
Torri Anderson, a board member for the Maricopa Unified School District, said a lack of federal funding is a major problem in the schools. But she also said there are avenues locally for disabled people to gain employment.
“Our schools and our communities have some incredible job placement programs,” she said.
One of the problems children with developmental disabilities face is their parents aren’t always strong advocates, said Ceylan Gentilella, owner of Desert Sun Performing Arts dance studio in Maricopa.
It isn’t because those parents don’t care, she said, but many of them may not be fully informed about their child’s abilities or — especially in households with two working parents — the parents might not have the energy to relentlessly push to get answers and to get their child more involved in activities.
Gabby Potter, a mother to a child in the autism spectrum, said parents need to be proactive.
“We have to be the voice for our kids,” she said, adding parents also need to teach their children to advocate for themselves.
Erica McFadden, senior management research analyst for the Morrison Institute for Public Policy at Arizona State University, said parents and employers need to understand that developmentally disabled people are often more than capable of fulfilling all types of jobs.