At the state-wide Down Syndrome Conference held this past August in Orlando, the Florida Developmental Disabilities Council was presented with the Lynda Pollack MD Advocate Award, named for Dr. Pollack, an Orlando-area pediatrician and geneticist well-known for her advocacy efforts on behalf of babies with Down syndrome.

In presenting the award, Amy Van Bergen, Executive Director of the Central Florida Down syndrome association, sponsor of the conference, thanked the Council for its statewide advocacy efforts on behalf of persons with disabilities, calling the Council “an organization that advocates on all of our behalves daily.” “In fact”, said Ms. Van Bergen, “its stated mission is to advocate and promote meaningful participation in all aspects of life for Floridians with developmental disabilities.”

But anybody can have a good mission statement, said Ms. Van Bergen. “It’s for what the Florida Developmental Disabilities Council actually does that we honor them today. Just this year, the Florida Developmental Disabilities Council:

• Hosted Developmental Disabilities Awareness Day in Tallahassee
• Funded a 2-day intensive Self-Advocacy Institute Training that created a toolkit for more than 10 grassroots self-advocacy groups around the state
• Published alerts and legislative updates and met with lawmakers on key issues related to our loved ones with developmental disabilities
• Provided funding to multiple family and advocate events like our very own Florida Down Syndrome Conference, another for Spina Bifida and one focused on aging and disability- to name just a few
• Offered four FREE Wrights Law Education workshops around the state
• Hosted the annual “You Make a Difference Awards” for Florida educators who promote best practices in inclusion
• And trained dozens of family members in the nationally recognized “Partners in Policymaking” program. “

Ms. Van Bergen said that while many of those attending the conference may not be aware of what the Council is doing behind the scenes—in the legislature, the education system, the healthcare system, and with agencies that work with individuals with developmental disabilities and their families - everyone can be assured that the Council is advocating every day on behalf of all of all Floridians.
 

Andrew Daire, (right) board member of the Down Syndrome
Association of Central Florida, presents the
Lynda Pollack MD Advocate Award to Dennie Hill, (left)
Special Projects Manager, who received the award on
behalf of the Council.