At ATCO there is a service called Community Inclusion that brings event opportunities for members of the community to go to. This weekend they are preparing to go to Columbus to participate in the qualifier for the summer Special Olympics.
Some Athenians will head to Columbus this weekend in hopes of scoring some strikes.
A group of 13 will make the trip in order to compete in the Special Olympics state qualifier there. It’s only one event sponsored by the Community Inclusion program, which offers social opportunities to people with disabilities.
“(Members are) seeing more people in the community like themselves and knowing that it’s OK to have a disability and be yourself,” said Jesse Stock, the Community Inclusion specialist at Advertising, Training, Career and Opportunities.
ATCO, through Athens County Board of Developmental Disabilities, oversees the program.
The group will compete in a doubles bowling tournament. The team with the best score at the end receives a medal.
Almost every Ohio county will have representatives competing in the Special Olympics, Stock said.
ATCO, which has existed since 1969, provides resources to more than 150 adults in Athens County. Community Inclusion program members say they enjoy the variety of social events that they participate in.
Member Derek McKee attended the recent Circleville Pumpkin Show.
“My favorite part about it was riding the round up, the hay ride,” McKee said. “Pretty much all of the festivals are my favorite, but the Pumpkin Festival is my favorite.”
McKee said he has met a lot of friends and discovered a love of music through the Community Inclusion program, which led him to become a member of the Athens County Community Singers.
Member Ica Queen said that the Community Inclusion program has helped her come out of her shell, so to speak.
“When I was growing up I never got to do things like that … I have come a long ways, and I’ve met a lot of new people and I have a lot of support,” Queen said.
Queen is especially keen on singing country music songs during karaoke.
The program is funded by its members, though Stock can sometimes score discounted tickets to events.
“Throughout history, a person with a disability … may not get as much opportunity socially to interact with peers or their community,” Stock said, “Having changed that model allows them to be a part of the community.”
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