Kasich signs bills addressing developmental disabilities

SHARONVILLE — In a room lined people with developmental disabilities, Gov. John Kasich signed into law two bills Wednesday he believes will alleviate some of the burden they and their families face.

“I view those here and that work here as heroes,” Kasich said at the St. Joseph Home of Cincinnati, a facility with equipment and staff dedicated to dealing with children and adults with developmental disabilities. “Life is so short, so for all us that have our faculties, thank the Lord you have them.”

Kasich signed two different bills at the St. Joseph Home in Sharonville: House Bill 483, which is aimed to allow more direct nursing from health care staff among other provisions and House Bill 158, which replaces all phrasing of “mental retardation” in the Ohio Revised Code with “intellectual disability.”

Ohio Rep. Jon Dever also spoke along with several people with developmental disabilities.

Diana Mairose, a 38-year-old lifelong resident of Oakley with Noonan syndrome, was one of them.

Mairose has been advocating on behalf of the developmentally disabled for 14 years. She views the formal removal of the “r-word” as a momentous accomplishment.

“Language is universal. We have to be consistent and have respect. It’s a word we need to stop using all together,” Mairose said.

The other bill signed, HB 483, is the mid-biannual budget bill but has two provisions outlined that presenters believe would benefit the lives of Ohioans with disabilities.

The first aspect is an expansion of early intervention program for children under the age of 3, which one presenter believes maybe the key to her child’s health.

“Ohio has solved the autism puzzle,” said Meghan Griesemer of Columbus whose 3-year-old son Finn has autism. Finn was an early participant of the Play Project, which helps children with autism interact more naturally with their family before adding more gradual social growth.

“I was worried he was lost to us. But this digs into that rabbit hole of autism. This program teaches them to have fun. He’s a happy, healthy, normal boy and I think it’s going to make parents not so afraid,” Griesemer said.

The other provision is an expansion of direct nursing, which means that medical staff that are not nurses can administer medicine as well as other services.

Mairose, who said she’s always “felt very safe and accepted” living in Cincinnati her whole life, thinks this will help those she advocates for feel the same.

“This means people can be more active, see their friends and family and be more involved in their community,” she said.

While these bills are something she calls “a huge accomplishment,” Mairose believes there’s still more work to be done.

“Bills like this are great. But we have to improve our health care vocabulary. We need more health care respect,” she said.