ADEC Celebrates Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month

A Big Step for our Nation:

Laws, federal funding, and changing attitudes have done a great deal to improve the lives of people with disabilities and their families. A significant step toward these changes was a proclamation by Ronald Reagan in 1987 that declared the month of March the “National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month.” By designating these days of action and awareness, President Reagan urged “all Americans to join me in according to our fellow citizens with such disabilities, both encouragement and the opportunities they need to lead productive lives and to achieve their full potential.”

ADEC Supports Choice and Possibility:

In 1952 a group of parents in Elkhart County came together to create what would eventually become ADEC. Their goal was to guarantee that their children with developmental disabilities could have fulfilling lives and opportunities in their community. The bravery and perseverance of those children and their families, allows ADEC, 70 years later, to proudly and happily celebrate Developmental Disability Awareness Month for the entire month of March 2022.

This month, with our “I Choose” campaign, we have highlighted and celebrated some community members who are making the most of their own choices and possibilities. They are leading productive lives and striving to achieve their full potential by choosing their own paths, whether it’s expressing themselves through art, finding meaningful employment at a job of their own, or even deciding how and when they are going to hang out with their friends for some basketball. Just like with basketball, no one person can do it on their own – It takes a community.

You Can Make a Difference:

As we celebrate March Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, we are reminded of what it took to get here. From the grass roots vision of ADEC’s founding families to legislative upheaval, incredible changes have helped make our community more inclusive for all. But we still have work to do. Further inclusion and possibilities for individuals with disabilities comes through education and action. Check out the links below to learn how you can be involved and make a difference:

Advocate – Click Here

Your voice can make a different by speaking up for important issues at our local, state, and national levels. ADEC is a chapter of The Arc of Indiana, an organization that advocates for our community members with intellectual disabilities and their families. You can access their wide range of resources to help advocate for the rights and choices of our neighbors with disabilities.

Donate – Click Here

When you donate to ADEC, you give the gift of choice and possibility. Your support ensures that programs like ADEC’s summer camp for children with disabilities and employment skills training for transitioning adults continue to as resources in our community. Your generosity helps fulfill the vision of ADEC’s founding families – that their children and our neighbors with disabilities would experience fulfilling lives as contributing members of our community.

Volunteer – Click Here

When you support ADEC through volunteering opportunities, you help build lifelong relationships with your neighbors with disabilities. You can choose to support programs by sharing your personal talents and interests or engage in a fun ADEC event to bring more awareness and support.