Upcoming Graduate Student Spotlight: Jake Schoen!

Help us celebrate Jake!

Image of TOPS student, Jake, smiling next to a statue of Brutus Buckeye

TOPS wants to recognize all of the hard work and accomplishments of the upcoming TOPS graduates by hearing about their individual experiences. This time, we had the pleasure of speaking with Jake Schoen. Below is the interview with Jake.

What is your name?

My name is Jake Schoen.

When did you start TOPS?

I started TOPS in August 2018.

What was your favorite class at TOPS?

My favorite class was Acting 3 because I love acting and monologues.

What is one of your favorite memories from TOPS?

My favorite memory is the escape room from our summer orientation.

How was your overall experience with TOPS? Was it fun, hard, exciting?

It was pretty good.

What will you miss most about college?

My theatre classes and my internships at Navy ROTC and RPAC. I will also miss my involvement with Autism U at OSU.

What was your favorite thing about college?

My theatre classes and Autism U at OSU

What job do you have now?

I am finishing up my work at the ROTC and RPAC and plan to start working again in the fall.

What is your dream job?

I’m still deciding what career path I want to go on.

If you could describe college in one word, what would it be?

Awesome

Congratulations Jake! We are excited to see what your future holds!

Upcoming Graduate Student Spotlight: Matt Connors!

Help us celebrate Matt!

Image of Matt Connors smiling and holding a set of keys in his apartment

TOPS wants to recognize all of the hard work and accomplishments of the upcoming TOPS graduates by hearing about their individual experiences. This time, we had the pleasure of speaking with Matt Connors. Below is the interview with Matt.

What is your name?

Matthew Connors

When did you start TOPS?

August 2019

What was your favorite class at TOPS?

British History

What is one of your favorite memories from TOPS?

My favorite memory was my first day going to a college class, when I never thought I would be able to go to college!

How was your overall experience with TOPS? Was it fun, hard, exciting?

I thought TOPS was very fun. I met new people and had new experiences that I didn’t think I would ever have because of my problems with reading and writing. I am very grateful to TOPS.

What will you miss most about college?

I will miss my teachers a lot because they helped me so much. They helped me with my schoolwork and helped me to decide about jobs and to get a job.

What was your favorite thing about college?

My favorite thing was going to new classes and learning things that I didn’t know. I liked meeting new people.

What job do you have now?

I am working full-time at Ohio State Harding Hospital as a Nutrition Aide.

What is your dream job?

I would like to do food preparation or cook.

If you could describe college in one word, what would it be?

Amazing!

Congratulations Matt! We wish you the best!

Student Spotlight: Meet Alex!

Two images of Alex smiling; the Best Buddies logo is at the bottom of the image

Best Buddies is a “nonprofit organization dedicated to establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, leadership development, and inclusive living for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.” I have been involved with Best Buddies for over 7 years now and my experience so far has been amazing. I have had the opportunity to do a lot of fun things and I am an ambassador and intern now which have helped me develop my leadership, public speaking, and self-advocacy skills over the past few years.

In 2018, I had the opportunity to speak at Oakhurst Country Club Golf Course in Grove City Ohio in 2018. I also got the opportunity to go to Bloomington, Indiana for a weekend at the end of July 2018 for a Best Buddies Leadership Conference to be on the Ambassador’s Track. I got to give a keynote speech at the Gala in 2018. I also got to lead a webinar called Spread the Word to End the Word. I also got to speak at the Miranova 2 Ohio Equities in the fall of 2018.

In May of 2019, I got to speak at The Ohio State House. I got to testify. At the beginning of the school year in 2019, I got to speak at the Best Buddies Information Session to people who wanted to join Best Buddies that are new. As an Ambassador, I have participated in Champion of the Year, which is a contest to see who can raise the most money for Best Buddies, for the past three years.

Being part of Best Buddies led to an internship. I intern virtually and write about what I do for Best Buddies, get more people involved with Best Buddies, and assist with developing their newsletter. I love that Best Buddies has allowed me the opportunity to build on and learn new skills, make and create new friendships that last a lifetime, get more involved in my community.

-Written by Alex Rogers, TOPS Student

Source: “About (Ohio).” Best Buddies International, 26 Oct. 2020, www.bestbuddies.org/ohio/about.

SABE Seeks Input on 2020 Election

Logo for SABE GoVoter Project

Self-Advocates Becoming Empowered’s (SABE) GoVote Project has opened a survey to learn about the voting experience of people with disabilities.

Whether you voted by mail-in, by absentee ballot, in-person early voting or on Election Day, the SABE GoVoter Project wants to know if you had any problems or questions about your voting experience.

This includes your experiences with registering to vote, getting information about candidates, the attitude of poll workers and issues to casting your ballot.

Source: The Ohio Developmental Disabilities Council. “Council Connection.” Nov. 2020.

Community Service: TOPS at COSI

Image of TOPS students and mentors at COSI.

As part of the partnership with COSI and Children’s Hunger Alliance teaming up to feed lives and minds of Columbus Children they have partnered to distribute grab-and-go meals and a new COSI “Learning Lunchbox,” which is a resource kit filled with hands-on science activities for children in need in the Columbus area.  https://cosi.org/zoo/item/learning-lunchboxes

Seven TOPS students and two mentors attended a community service event on October 23rd, 2020 to assist with the assembly of science kits to support the COSI “Learning Lunchbox.” Student’s traveled in small group car pools and worked with their masks on. They were provided gloves and a socially distanced work station for this in-person event.  We were able to take a quick moment to catch the group posing for a photo for you all.  Thank you to COSI for allowing us to come and volunteer, and thank you to the TOPS Students and mentors for your service!

“Students had a lot of fun making science kits and listening to Halloween music.  Molly and Alex from COSI were great!”
~Lauren B., Mentor

So happy to hear the students had a great time, we really enjoyed hosting them and they really helped out!
~ Molly, COSI

To learn more about the learning lunchbox project, please visit:  https://cosi.org/zoo/item/learning-lunchboxes.

REMINDER: Get out and VOTE tomorrow!

Voting Checklist

  1. Find your polling place
  2. Learn what’s on your ballot
  3. Find out what you need to bring with you to vote
  4. Go vote on November 3rd!

Image of the words "Election Day is November 3rd"

Voting In-Person on Election Day

Know your polling place location and bring your proof of ID to vote. The General Election will be held on Tuesday November 3rd, 2020. Learn what will be on your ballot ahead of time to know more about which candidates are running and where they stand on important issues; you can bring your printed and filled in guide from Vote 411 with you into the voting booth to help you remember which votes you want to cast!

Polling Place Accommodations

Ohio polling places should provide touch screen voting machines and have audio adaptations for assisting the blind. There are also adaptations for voters with lack of muscle control.

If you have a disability you may also have assistance by two election officials (of different political parties) or by the person of your choice (except employer or union agent). Poll workers are urged to accommodate voters with disabilities in any way they can.

If the polling place is not accessible for you, when possible you may vote curbside. In these cases, two poll workers will take a voting device to the you.

For more information, you can utilize the American Association of People With Disabilities (AAPD) resource.

Source: “Election Information You Need.” VOTE411, 2020, www.vote411.org/.

On Top of the World: Meet Austin!

 

More than anything, Austin Shirk wanted to be a Buckeye.

Austin putting a sterilization rack back on the belt in Central Sterile Supplyl

From his home in Allen, Texas, he’d cheer for the football team alongside his parents, Dina ’88 and Dave ’92, and he often went to games when visiting Ohio relatives. As he grew up, he dreamed of taking college classes at Ohio State, making new friends and finding a good job.

But his prospects for higher education seemed remote to Austin and his parents. Austin is among millions of people in this country with an intellectual or developmental disability, less than a quarter of whom go on to college after finishing high school, according to Think College, a national nonprofit working to raise that percentage.

As for finding a good job, “We were having a heck of a time getting anyone to give Austin a chance in Texas,” Dina said. Though her son enrolled in independent living and job training programs, they didn’t lead to jobs. Instead, he languished on waiting lists.

If local programs could not help Austin, the Shirks decided, then they would move on. They began searching for an alternative and could hardly believe it when their quest led to their alma mater.

Ohio State had created a program in 2011 called Transition Options in Postsecondary Settings, or TOPS, to provide personalized support to students with intellectual or developmental disabilities. The program is designed for students who want to learn life skills and find a job that matches their abilities and talents — all while experiencing the university’s vibrant academic and social life.

Austin had a chance to be a Buckeye.

He couldn’t fill out the TOPS application fast enough, and the Shirks waited nervously for the call. Then it came: He was in. “It was a big accomplishment, a big step to get into TOPS,” Austin said.

A world of firsts awaited Austin when he arrived in Columbus in 2014. While he was excited to be on campus, it was a big adjustment, and he would be living in his own apartment for the first time. Austin, who loved auditing classes with more “typical” Ohio State students, discovered a special interest he didn’t know of: “I enjoyed earth sciences, especially the lectures, labs and hands-on activities,” he said.

Based on that, his job coaches found him internships with the Nisonger Center Dental Program and a private dental clinic in Columbus, where he assembled instrumentation trays and sterilized equipment.

After completing the TOPS program in 2016, Austin went to work at the Wexner Medical Center where he supports the Central Sterile Supply department. His position pays a fair-market wage with full benefits, including retirement benefits and health insurance. “I love my job,” he said. “It’s worth going through the [challenges that accompany] being in TOPS.”

His manager, Jen Smith, is similarly delighted.

“Austin is so eager to learn new tasks, and he gets along with everyone,” Smith said. “I’ve never seen one human being get along so well with everyone.” It’s not just that Austin is nice; his contributions make the entire team more effective. “He can handle tasks that were taking our clinical staff away from production,” said Smith, who hopes to create another job with TOPS. “We would have two of Austin if we could.”

In helping students find their way as young adults, TOPS changes lives for entire families.

“I am so excited about Austin’s job,” Dina Shirk said. “When we got his diagnosis at age 10, the doctor said, ‘If I were you, I would teach him a few things and forget everything else.’ We never went back to him, and Austin has so exceeded those expectations.”

Source: MacLellan, Erin. “On Top of the World.” The Ohio State University Alumni Association, Ohio State Alumni Magazine, 2017, www.osu.edu/alumni/news/ohio-state-alumni-magazine/issues/march-april-2017/on-top-of-the-world.html.

 

Upcoming Webinar Series: Support for Aging Caregivers

Hamilton County Developmental Disabilities Services is offering several webinars in October and November on future planning for families who have an older caregiver. Register today for any of these FREE webinars.

Trusts and STABLE Accounts – What Families Needs to Know
October 27, 2020
6:30 – 8:30PM

The Future is Now
Four part series held on November 10, 12, 17, and 19
6:00 – 7:30PM

Source: Orange and turquoise flyer for Aging Caregiver Webinar; all details described in post. “DD Council Connection – September 2020.” Ohio Developmental Disabilities Council, Sept. 2020, ddc.ohio.gov/News/Newsletters/DD-Council-Connection/DD-Council-Connection-September-2020.

Disability Rights Ohio Releases Plain Language Voter Guides

Logo for Disability Rights Ohio

Be prepared for Election Day on Tuesday, November 3, 2020 by learning about your rights as a voter with a disability. Disability Rights Ohio (DRO) has released a new set of plain language guides with helpful information for voters with disabilities. The series includes:

These guides are available on DRO’s website.

Important dates to remember:

Source: “DD Council Connection – September 2020.” Ohio Developmental Disabilities Council, Sept. 2020, ddc.ohio.gov/News/Newsletters/DD-Council-Connection/DD-Council-Connection-September-2020.