Byesville Rotary learns about GCBDD then and now

Pictured: Kelly Brown, Superintendent of GCBDD; Ashley Crawford, Pr for GCBDD; and Chuck Fair, President, Byesville Rotary.

Guernsey County Board of Developmental Disabilities (GCBDD) is celebrating almost 60 years of service to Guernsey County. Kelly Brown, Superintendent of the GCBDD, explained that in the 1950’s, parents were told that disabled children would not thrive. Many children were warehoused in institutions which were woefully understaffed and were able to provide only the basics of shelter, food and clothing. This type of environment insured that the children did not thrive.

Kelly stated that in 1957, a group of parents and interested people in Guernsey County established the Guernsey Council of Retarded Children with the object of raising funds to provide special classes for disabled children. The first class consisted of 8 children. The original organization was authorized by the Guernsey County Child Welfare Board.

Om 1969, an adult program was added to provide training to disabled adults. By that time, the Guernsey Council of Retarded Children was supporting 3 classes of school aged children. The adult classes attracted 44 students from Guernsey and Noble Counties. Each adult student paid tuition in order to attend class.

Kelly went on to say that as needs changed, additional services were requested. Kelly pointed out that a major change in thinking about working with disabled person also took place. Caregivers began to demand that the disabled should not be just warehoused in large wards, They wanted their disabled loved ones to be more engaged and prepared to deal with normal activities of life such as learning how to find a job, hold down a job, live as independently as possible, and develop to the highest degree possible.

A big step was taken in 1972 when the board established the Golden Rule School. As times and services changed, the name of the Guernsey Council of Retarded Children also changed to the Guernsey County Board of Developmental Disabilities.

Brown and, Ashley Crawford, newly hired to provide PR for the GCBDD, pointed out that in October the organization celebrated National Disability Employment Awareness month. They shared some interesting facts about how well disabled persons do as employees. Currently the GCBDD has 22 disabled persons employed by businesses in the local community. Disabled people develop into flexible employees who have better than average attendance rates. Their performance on the job is typically average or above average and so are their requests for sick days.

Connect with Byesville Rotary at: www.Byesvillerotary.blogspot.com or https://www.facebook.com/pages/Byesville-Rotary/256548047818283. The club meets 7:30 am, Tuesday at the Stop Nine Senior Center at 60313 (GPS use 60299) Southgate Road, Byesville. Walk-ins are welcome at the club’s meeting.