 Kelsey Boldman of Blue Creek, Ohio was the recipient of the “Adams County Ohio Valley Outstanding Student Award” in May 2022. This is significant because years ago, Julia Boldman, Kelsey’s mother, was told her daughter “Wouldn’t be capable of anything”. Kelsey proved the naysayers wrong and has demonstrated her many abilities.
While a student at West Union High School, a special education coordinator suggested to Julia that Kelsey connect with services from Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD). In 2018, Vicki Grozier, OOD Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor, began to work with Kelsey and the team supporting her.
Kelsey has Down syndrome and is non-verbal. She speaks with a mix of verbal expression, a communication device, and sign language created by Kelsey and her family. She made clear her goal was a job in food service.
Kelsey participated in Pre-Employment Transition Services for an early start in exploring career interests. With support from professionals at the Shawnee Family Health Center, including Julie Cadwallader, Tyron Ellis, and Jeremiah Nesbitt, Kelsey learned more about career paths and worked on her plan for the future.
In 2019, she participated in OOD’s Summer Youth Work Experience and considered options with continued support from the Shawnee Family Health Center. As part of the exploration, she toured various workplace settings. The final tour was at the Shawnee State Park Lodge where Kelsey “lit up” because she knew right away that she wanted to work there. When the general manager asked participants if they had any questions, Kelsey pointed to a question on a prepared list. She asked, “What is your agency’s mission statement?” and seized her opportunity to make an impression.
Her desire to work was even stronger after she started participating in the Ohio Valley Career & Technical Center’s culinary arts program. There Kelsey gained knowledge and skills in food production, dining room service and operations, hospitality fundamentals, and catering and banquet service operations.
In 2021, Kelsey again participated in the Summer Youth Work Experience and got hands-on experience as a dishwasher at Shawnee State Park Lodge. Within one week, she not only mastered handling the industrial dishwasher but also showed others how to do it properly. She never missed a day of work. When she returned to the position in the summer of 2022 for a final work experience, Kelsey remembered what she had previously learned and handled the job well.
Kelsey was in tears on her last day of the work experience at the lodge because she wanted to keep doing the work she enjoyed. Before the day was up, Kelsey was offered a permanent position!
With two months on the job at the lodge permanently, Kelsey is thriving in her position. Julia and Vicki both shared how proud they are of Kelsey’s progress.
If you or somebody you know has a disability and would like to work, visit OODWorks.com or call 800-282-4536.
 October has been recognized as Down Syndrome Awareness Month since the 1980s. It is a time to celebrate people with Down syndrome, raise public awareness about the condition, and advocate for the acceptance and inclusion of people with Down syndrome.
Dr. Laura Cifra-Bean, a general pediatrician, Medical Outreach Director for the Down Syndrome Association of Northeast Ohio, and mother of a child with Down syndrome, recently shared her thoughts on the importance of Down syndrome awareness. Read the spotlight from the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities.
 Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD) Ohio College2Careers is pleased to offer a Career & Internship Spotlight on Wednesday, November 9, 2022 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.
The event, which is open to all college students and recent graduates, will feature four OOD Employer Partners who will provide information about their company and internship and career opportunities. Attendees will have an opportunity to engage in a live Q&A with the employer. The event will take place as a Microsoft Teams Live Event. You can view the training through your web browser, and you do not need to have Microsoft Teams to participate.
- 1:30 p.m. – Hall of Fame Village
- 2:00 p.m. – UnitedHealth Group
- 2:30 p.m. – Sauder
- 3:00 p.m. – Akron Children’s Hospital
Please respond here to let us know you will be participating. More information, including a link to join the Spotlight event on November 9, can be found on the Career & Internship Spotlight webpage.
OOD is committed to providing access and reasonable accommodation in its services, activities, and programs in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and other applicable laws. To request an accommodation based on a disability, please contact Chris Glover at chris.glover@ood.ohio.gov by November 2, 2022.
 Disability Studies at the University of Toledo offers an undergraduate major, minor, an online graduate certificate, and a variety of affiliated graduate programs including a 4 + 1 MBA Program and a 4 + 2 Juris Doctor. Disability Studies students have gone on to work in allied health, higher education, nonprofit management, elected offices, and studied in graduate programs including nursing, economics, disaster planning and management, as well as law school.
Learn more about the programs at the University of Toledo Disability Studies webpage.
The Communication Disability Law helps reduce potential confusion and supports the safety of Ohioans who have challenges communicating.
A video explains the Communication Disability Law, which allows individuals with a medically diagnosed communication disability, who drive or who are regular passengers in a vehicle, to voluntarily enroll in a database that connects to the Law Enforcement Agencies Data System (LEADS). The law enforcement officer is then aware that the driver or a passenger in the vehicle may have difficulty communicating and can approach the vehicle with awareness to help avoid a situation that could become harmful to either the individual with a communication disability or to the officer.
"This has been a game-changer for individuals with communication disabilities,” said Kevin L. Miller, Director of OOD. “By opting in, a communication disability is flagged for law enforcement, but exact disabilities (e.g., deaf, hard of hearing, cerebral palsy, autism spectrum disorder) remain private.”
The video gives step-by-step instructions on how to register. Individuals interested can take a verification form to a physician, psychiatrist, or psychologist to validate a communication disability. Completed forms should be submitted to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. For additional information, visit the Communication Disability Law webpage.
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