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March 11, 2019 |  By: Jenny James

Social media campaign starts for developmental disability awareness

Iowans with developmental disabilities are encouraged to share their journey during March as part of Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. The Iowa Developmental Disabilities Council is using social media to share stories, videos and other information on the topics of education, employment, and community living. Executive director for the Iowa Developmental Disabilities council, Brooke Lovelace, says it's important to highlight the contributions people with disabilities are making in Iowa.

"We're all people first, no matter what type of background or what type of abilities you do have. That's important to keep in mind.  They're all people first before you can attribute anything else to a characteristic of the person."

Lovelace was disappointed last week when Walmart announced it would transition its traditional in-store "greeters" to being customer hosts, noting the move could disproportionately affect workers with disabilities. She says finding a job that allows independence when you have a disability can be challenging.

"But we still hear stories that employment is still really low for the folks with developmental disabilities.  I think that if people were more part of their communities and the more that people get to know people, the more their fears will go away."

The Iowa council will share their stories this month as part of its social media campaign on Facebook and Twitter at #DDAwareneness19..