June/July 2018
DPI E-Newsletter
Justin Smith, accompanied by his brother and father,
 throws out the first pitch at the Kansas City T-Bones! 
Congratulations, Justin!

Don't miss out on DPI news between newsletters!
Please join us and get social   @DPIKansasCity on Facebook, 
Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.  
We love to share our fun and photos with you.  
Please share with us, too!
Purchase Kansas City Chiefs Tickets
and support Developing Potential!

Developing Potential, Inc., in partnership with the Kansas City Chiefs, are offering game tickets for select pre-season and regular season games for $30, with $10 of each ticket price going to support the services of DPI.  

Tickets are available to the following games:
August 9: vs. Texans
August 30: vs. Packers
October 7: vs. Jaguars
October 21: vs. Bengals
November 11: vs. Cardinals

To purchase tickets, click here and use promo code POTENTIAL.
Thank you to everyone that came and supported DPI
at our July 9 Pizza Ranch fundraiser.  
We raised nearly $500
toward our capital campaign in 3 hours!  
Special thanks to our volunteers for the evening:
Damon Bradford
Jerry Bradford
Megan Bradley
Cienna Brock
Heather Brock
Terri Castro
Sarah Hill
Kenny McIntosh
Keith Nighswonger
Emily Small
Matt Water
Kari Wiss
Ryan Wiss
In the Community:
Developing Poten tial re cipient of
eitas 2018 Healthy Initiatives award!

Developing Potential is proud to have received the 2018 Healthy Initiatives Award from eitas for our array of healthy lifestyle programming.   Healthy lifestyle initiatives at DPI include our nursing supports which allow our staff to administer medications, provide tube feedings, manage catheters, and other nursing supports while also providing articles and information on health and medical topics to our staff and families.  Individuals served engage in  yoga and other forms of exercise, community gardening, healthy cooking opportunities,  personal care lessons, health management programs, and more.  

A number of staff and individuals served were on hand at the annual awards presentation on May 24th at the Hilton Garden Inn.  Thank you, eitas, for this very special recognition. 
DPI Health and Wellness:
Aging with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Did you know that the oldest recorded person in the U.S. was 122? I wonder how they would describe the aging process?

Getting older is inevitable, at least until the fountain of youth is discovered. For individuals having intellectual or developmental disabilities, aging may look a little different and requires health care practitioners who are well versed in the issues of their care. 

There have always been challenges for people with disabilities when it comes to accessing quality health care, however, as this population ages, practitioners must be able to recognize the additional potential for chronic illness that may occur in a person with a disability.  These conditions may be prevented by providing high quality general and preventative health care.

Aliments such as motor impairments (difficulty with movement and posture) and other medical conditions in individuals with disabilities may speed up the "typical" aging process. "Typical" aging is usually accompanied by a high rate of medical and functional problems (arthritis, heart disease) after age 70. However, in some individuals with disabilities, an "aging gap" develops and they begin to show higher rates of medical and functional problem at age 50 or younger.  That's 20 or more years earlier than the non-disabled population.
Basic preventative care recommendations (exercise, healthy diet, smoking cessation) and preventative health screening should be an integral part of the overall health care for everyone. This is a particularly important component of the overall health plan for individuals with disabilities.   The greatest advantage of preventative health screening is identifying and detecting problems early and avoiding serious illness and prevent further functional deterioration.

If you have any questions regarding specific screenings, particularly those suggested for individuals having intellectual or developmental disabilities, please contact Heather Brock, RN to discuss. Heather can be reached at HBrock@DevelopingPotential.org or by calling 816.525.6000 extension 304.
Relationship and Sexual Health Education Course
Hosted by Kansas City Regional Office

The Kansas City Regional Office will be hosting a Relationships and Sexual Health Education course.  Classes will be held July 6 - August 10.  Registration is due by June 30.

Click here for more information on the course.  
Click here for registration and consent form. 
Special Olympic USA 
Summer Games 2018
Way to go, Ali!

DPI is so incredibly proud of Ali as she travelled to Seattle, Washington with her swim team for the 2018 Special Olympics USA games!  Ali swam in the 400 meter freestyle, 200 meter breast stroke, 100 meter individual medley, and the 4 x 100 medley in which she swam freestyle.  She has recently accomplished adding the butterfly stroke to her skill set.

Ali won GOLD in the 100 meter individual medley!
DPI Employment Connections
Employee Spotlight
Casey Hill

Casey is a very talented man.  For several years, he has been making phone calls at a local church to remind its members of upcoming volunteer commitments, wish them a happy birthday or anniversary, and to touch base with those that are currently unable to attend services.  

Casey's caring nature really shines through on these calls and he has made many friends through this service.  

Casey wishes to build upon his skills and use his warm and friendly personality to contribute to an office setting in Lee's Summit or surrounding area.  Developing Potential is working with Casey to support him in fulfilling this dream.  DPI provides support in filling out applications and attending interviews and will provide Casey on the job supports as long as necessary to ensure his success.  Casey is interested in an office where he helps set appointments, makes reminder calls and other related tasks.  He is open to other possibilities, as well.

Employers engaged in DPI Employment Connections report the individuals we serve are dedicated employees excited to come to work each day.  Every business should be so lucky as to have employees that enjoy their work this much!

To find out more about Casey and our other great individuals seeking community employment, contact Angie Clark at aclark@developingpotential.org.
Thank you to the following for donations 
May/June 2018:

Anonymous
Patti Allison
Buffalo Wild Wings
Dennis and Vicki Bullard
Claudia's Closet
Marty Cole
Denise and Wayne Edwards
Bob and Alissa Glaser
Carrol Green
Marcela Holder
Independence Young Matrons
Jonathan Lehr
Dale and Deb Parson
Victor E. Speas Foundation, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee
Ed and Charlotte VanHaele
WireCo World Group
Summer Youngkin

Thank you to Panera Bread for their weekly donations.

Direct Support Professional and other positions available at DPI's
Independence, Lee's Summit and Kansas City locations.
Give Back to DPI Every Time You Shop!
Go to    smile.amazon.com and choose Developing Potential, Inc. as your charity of choice.

Each time you shop, DPI receives a donation.

It's that easy!
Services funded in part by:
DPI is a nationally accredited agency:

 Find out more about Missouri Quality Outcomes
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  Developing Potential, Inc.| info@developingpotential.org | 816.525.6000 | developingpotential.org
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