It’s a December to remember for Holmes BDD

The Holmes County Board of Developmental Disabilities has had a great year and a very busy month of December, and it has made for a memorable time for individuals and staff.

“It was another great year for Holmes DD,” said Marianne Mader, superintendent.

According to Mader, the HCBDD early intervention program, highly rated by families utilizing its services, served 71 children in 2023.

The year also saw HCBDD start Learning Bridge, a new program for 3- to 5-year-olds that served 18 children in 2023. Holmes BDD Early Childhood Department hosted monthly play groups averaging 25 participants each month.

All of the great things going on around HCBDD didn’t go unnoticed by state officials.

The school was awarded the highest rating a special education program can achieve, and the staff educated 30 children in 2023.

The service and support administrators provided service coordination and support to 145 individuals and their families and provided funding to transportation providers so 90 adult passengers could safely get to their day program and employment sites.

Holmes BDD also provided funding to adult day service providers so 65 adults could have meaningful activities to do each day. A multitude of bus rides were provided to preschool and school-age students.

The family support services provided support to 55 families who registered in 2023.

On the sports front, the Bucks basketball team played 20 games in 2023, and six Holmes County bowlers and six track and field athletes competed in Columbus at Special Olympics Ohio’s Summer Games.

In the local community business world, six adults received help from Holmes BDD to obtain and maintain community employment.

Many meals were cooked in the Holmes BDD kitchen, providing students, staff, adults attending GentleBrook and employees at Lynn Hope Industries with nutritious meals.

“The staff at Holmes DD feels blessed,” Mader said.

According to Jessica Martell, the school program has been quite busy over the last two months. In addition to the many daily community outings, the school added quite a few activities to the calendar.

“Squeezing in so many fun things with the holiday breaks always makes the weeks go so fast. We try not to blink because we don’t want to miss a single moment of the fun,” Martell said.

On Thursday, Nov. 9, the whole school participated in a Thanksgiving feast. Many parents joined in the celebration.

“We are very grateful for all the support our families give us,” Martell said. “As always, we enjoyed each other’s company with some very delicious food. Thank you to those who joined us.”

On Dec. 7 Waynedale Southeast Local brought 85 carolers to sing with their students. This proved to be a very popular event that had everyone talking.

“This was the first time we were able to coordinate the schedules for Waynedale to join our December activities, so this was an exciting addition to the calendar,” Martell said. “We even had a little surprise for the carolers when they began to sing ‘Let It Snow.’ We started a snowball fight that soon had more laughter than song being heard. It was a wonderful morning of hosting the students. When I asked the students if they would like to return, it was a resounding yes, and several students have expressed interest in returning in the spring because they don’t want to wait a full year to come back.”

Dec. 12 was quite a busy day, with the West Holmes chamber choir visiting for songs and singing.

“It was a wonderful afternoon with the amazing group of students,” Martell said. “We look forward to their performance every December.”

Then there was the parade of the Holmes-Wayne Electric trucks that brought 10 trucks fully decorated with lights and garland. Santa and the Grinch even made an appearance in the parade.

The parade was followed by the annual Christmas program. The program theme this year was “The Giving Snowman.” The students enjoyed a snowstorm that included a snowball fight and building a snowman. With a little movie magic, the Snowman came to life to share his blessings with the town’s people and animals.

Following a performance, families gathered for sweet treats and visiting in the cafeteria and gym.

“It was a magical night for everyone involved,” Martell said.

In another exciting Christmas celebration, Santa paid a special visit to the early intervention students.

According to Renee Spencer, this tradition has become important to many families. However, for some children it is a time of tears and terror as they are overwhelmed with the crowd, the lights, the sounds and sometimes the smells that often accompany this time of year.

Early childhood’s December play group invited a sensory-friendly Santa, where children could get a photograph but extra care was taken to minimize stimulation so the experience was calm yet still provided opportunities for play.

There was an obstacle course, a tunnel to ride or push a toy through, marshmallow painting, and a Play-Doh station with lightly scented Play-Doh to enhance Santa’s visit.

“Our Santa, Scott Becker, understands the needs of children who have sensitivity differences, and he moved slowly, talked quietly and respected children’s safe space,” Spencer said. “He was a wonderful Santa for our play group.”

Cindy Boals said the Holmes County Bucks basketball team kicked off its season and has been having a blast.

The Bucks opened their season against Ashland County with a win, and the team also has faced Coshocton County, Carroll County and Wayne County.

“We may not have another win to talk about, but we are having fun,” Boals said. “We have three new players who have joined our team this year, and it has been great making new friends and watching them become great team players.”

This year the Bucks will travel to Spire Institute in Geneva, Ohio for the Northeast Regional Tournament the weekend of Jan. 26-28.

In addition to their slate of games with other county DDs, the Bucks have many fun community games scheduled, with most held at Holmesville Elementary School, three games at West Holmes High School and one at Hiland High School.

“We are going to be playing some really tough teams to get us ready for our regional tournament,” Boals said. “Please check out our schedule (at www.holmesdd.org) and come out and cheer the Bucks on.”