Ohio Developmental Disabilities Council
8 E. Long St., Suite 1200, Columbus, OH 43215

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
David Zwyer
(614) 466-5205 v/tty
(800) 766-7426

Bellefiare JCB Receives $50,000 Grant

The Ohio Developmental Disabilities Council (ODDC) recently awarded Bellefaire JCB in Shaker Heights $50,000 in funding for the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Guidelines project. The purpose of the one-year statewide project is to oversee printing, distribution and marketing of the ASD Guidelines. The guidelines will promote a better life for individuals with autism and pervasive developmental disorder (ASD/PDD) and their families.

Autism is a developmental disability that typically appears in the first three years of life. Although autism is now the third most common developmental disability, more prevalent than both Down syndrome and childhood blindness, it remains one of the least understood disabilities.

In response to increasing needs for knowledge and information to provide supports for children with ASD/PDD, ODDC provided staffing for the Autism Guidelines Task Force. The task force developed guidelines to help providers and families make informed decisions about children and young adults with ASD. The guidelines provide recommendations, based on current knowledge about “best practices,” to parents, service providers and educators for assessing needs and delivering appropriate services and supports.

Bernadette LaGuardia, co-director of Education and Prevention Services at Bellefaire JCB, will oversee the project. Bellefaire JCB is a nonprofit agency committed to quality of life for children, youth and families through an array of child welfare, behavioral health and allied health services. In Fall 2000, Bellefaire JCB founded Ohio’s first chartered nonpublic school specifically for children with autism: The Monarch School. Bellefaire JCB brings to the project knowledge of services for children with ASD/PDD along with experience in advocacy and marketing practices.

The ODDC is one of a national network of state councils committed to self-determination and community inclusion for people with developmental disabilities. ODDC receives federal funding to help carry out its mission of developing new and better ways of advocating, increasing capacities to assist people, and making needed changes to systems.

ODDC consists of members appointed by the Governor. Members are people with developmental disabilities, parents and guardians of people with developmental disabilities, representatives from concerned state agencies, and nonprofit organizations and agencies that provide services to people with developmental disabilities.

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