LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — The United Disabilities Services Foundation or UDSF in Lancaster provides services statewide to support those living with disabilities. Under the foundation is the Adult Enrichment Center, which works with adults who have intellectual and physical developmental disabilities to reach their goals.
March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, designated officially by President Ronald Regan. The month seeks to spread knowledge of the challenges those who have disabilities face and the achievements they reach despite their struggles.
"The focus of our program really is to provide a place for folks with developmental disabilities to come, have a chance to socialize, engage with peers, participate in hopefully educational activities," Jared Berry, the program manager for the center, said.
Berry says community integration opportunities, recreational activities, and a focus on volunteering provide a space for these adults to feel included and have involvement as much as possible.
Luis (who would prefer to only go by his first name), can attest to the works of the center as he has been a participant for three years.
"I do have friends that are obviously not similar to me but I think it's beneficial for me to really coincide with people that are similar to me," Luis said.
He is now 30-years-old and has been living with an intellectual disability for his entire life. Through services provided by the center and other programs, Luis is now living independently and working.
Luis is proud of how far he has come and hopes people, especially during this month of awareness, can move away from stigma and come into a place of understanding, acceptance, and love.
"I feel when people think or hear intellectual disability, or any disability at all, they feel like we're completely different to them or from them," he said.
According to the CDC, developmental disabilities begin at the developmental period of one's life and continue throughout their life. Some include ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, and more. About one in six children aged 3 to 17-years-old have one or more developmental disabilities.
Though rights for those with disabilities weren't given officially until 1990 (the Americans with Disabilities Act), historic leaders and professionals began bringing the importance to light as early as the 1800s.
According to National Day, Jean-Étienne Dominique Esquirol, a psychiatrist in France, set up a compassionate asylum for those labeled as "insane." Social reformer Dorothea Dix stood up for those with disabilities in the mid-1800s by advocating for those who were in poorhouses, jails, and asylums.
Oftentimes, one may hear the term disability and think someone is incapable but no, Berry says you'd be surprised just how capable a person with these particular conditions can be and how they can prove these negative assumptions wrong every day.