Celebrating Developmental Disability Awareness Month with Continued Advocacy
Every March, we pause to recognize Developmental Disability Awareness Month. But awareness alone is not enough. Awareness must lead to action. It must lead to listening. It must lead to change.
At ElevateDD, we believe every person deserves to fully experience all that life has to offer. That belief drives everything we do.
Advocate.
Educate.
Innovate.
We are a trusted source for advocacy, access, and support for the developmental disabilities community. We listen, we amplify, and we work to create real opportunities for inclusion across Ohio.
The Landscape in Ohio
The need is significant.
In Fiscal Year 2025, the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities supported 128,577 Ohioans¹. In our schools, nearly 1 in 6 students (16.1%) has an IEP, representing more than 257,000 K–12 students with disabilities².
Yet gaps remain:
Students with disabilities account for over 51% of out-of-school suspensions statewide².
Only 22.7% of working-age adults with disabilities are employed nationally⁴.
Our Journey: A Small Group of Families to a Statewide Platform
Over forty years ago, a handful of courageous families came together to create what is now the Down Syndrome Association of Central Ohio (DSACO). They were parents looking for connection, resources, and a voice in systems that often overlooked their children.
They testified at the Ohio Statehouse.
They spoke at The Ohio State University.
They built Special Olympics programs.
They created community where none existed.
What started as a grassroots effort has grown into a multi-community platform serving families across Ohio.
Today, DSACO serves more than 1,200 individuals with Down syndrome across 25 counties, offering lifespan programming from diagnosis through adulthood. In last year alone:
100 People with Down Syndrome and their families were supported through Adopt-A-Family (406 individuals receiving gifts)
40 New babies were welcomed into the DSACO family
Over 100 individuals accessed Community Access Funds
85% of families in our DSACO community report an increased sense of belonging
As our community grew, families’ needs grew, too.
From those conversations emerged Learning Aid Ohio, now serving over 6,400 learners, and counting, across the state with more than 200,000+ hours of tutoring so far. Families told us their children on IEPs needed supplemental, individualized support. We listened, and built a statewide tutoring model.
Then we heard from adults who had been left behind in literacy.
Through Adult Literacy Ohio, over 100 adults have been served, receiving nearly 4,000 hours of one-on-one tutoring. A statewide survey of nearly 700 respondents across 77 counties revealed:
94% want to improve their reading skills
88% wish they had learned to read better when they were in school
One adult learner’s mom shared:
“We have been waiting 50 years for an opportunity like this. It was worth the wait.”
That’s not just awareness. That’s dignity restored.
In 2024, we launched ElevateDD: a statewide advocacy platform designed to amplify voices, illuminate unmet needs, and launch innovative solutions. ElevateDD allows DSACO to remain deeply rooted in the Down syndrome community while creating space for broader developmental disabilities advocacy across Ohio’s 88 counties.
Listening as Our Starting Point
We never assume. We ask.
In 2024, 480 families responded to our ElevateDD survey:
79% reported improved well-being
85% reported increased belonging
Since 2020, nearly 90% of Learning Aid Ohio families reported a decrease in stress
In other statewide surveys, Families also told us:
56% said lack of child care impacts their ability to work
Over 70% had to change providers because their child’s needs were not met
Statewide data reinforces these realities. Chronic absenteeism among students with disabilities is 34.3%, and graduation rates, while improving to 69.6%, still trail peers².
When families speak, we respond.
Advocacy in Action
In our first two years, ElevateDD has:
Published a statewide Child Care & Developmental Disabilities report
Advocated for universal changing tables
Participated in the DODD Waitlist Waiver Workgroup
Served on statewide advisory councils
Across Ohio, advocacy efforts have led to:
136 universal changing tables installed¹
Increased DSP wages averaging over $17 per hour¹
Expanded leadership and advocacy training statewide¹
We advocate for authentic inclusion in all of life’s opportunities.
A Call Forward
This year, we are deepening our commitment to listening.
Throughout 2026, ElevateDD will conduct community listening sessions across Ohio, rural, urban, and suburban communities alike, to better understand lived experiences and emerging needs.
We believe meaningful advocacy begins with proximity. It begins by listening.
Because authentic inclusion is built together.
And awareness is only the beginning.
References
Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities. (2025). FY2025 Annual Report.
Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities (OCECD). (2025). 2024 Ohio Special Education Profile Report (Final, May 27, 2025).
U.S. Department of Education. (2024). IDEA Child Count Data.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2024). Persons with a Disability: Labor Force Characteristics Summary.
Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities. (2024). FFY2024 Annual Report.
