“STLDD is trying to make that roadway for families not so complicated and confusing. That there’s going to be someone there with them along the way to open doors and guide them in their journey and maybe even hand off to the next person.”

Nate Head

Today’s guest is Nate Head, the Director of Agency and Community Relations for the St. Louis Office of Developmental Disability Resources. Nate sat down with Staci to discuss how Navigate STL Schools received a grant from them to create informational videos, and ways that STLDDR helps support families and individuals with developmental disabilities.

• Nate’s K-12 education
  • Nate grew up in a small, rural town in Monet, Missouri. 
  • The school system was a good system with the community being heavily invested. 
  • He had a great relationship with teachers. 
  • His mom and uncle were teachers in the school system.
    
• What is Staci’s K-12 education?
  • Staci grew up in Toledo, Ohio, and was too smart for public school and was put into the Gifted and Talented program. 
  • She graduated school a year early, and had a full academic scholarship to Ohio State University. 
  • At University, she learned she wasn’t actually smart. Nobody taught her how to study, how to learn, so the first semester was really difficult.
    
• Navigate STL Schools applied for a grant through the STLDDR
  • “Navigate will be working in conjunction with STLDDR to produce a series of social media videos that are going to help parents figure out how to navigate the education system and some of the community resources as a family with a diagnosis.”
  • These videos will be on Facebook and our Website and will range from “what is an IEP” to “how do we help our child navigate.”
  • This will be one of the first times that all of this info will be brought together in an accessible platform.
  • Staci and Nate had met, Nate had prior knowledge of Navigate STL, and they discussed the struggles that each entity was facing. STLDDR knew it wasn’t getting the reach it needed, and Navigate can help with that.
    
• How do you think this partnership will help improve STLDDR’s impact?
  • If the videos can point to the resources available, help the school administrators, direct people to organizations to in-home supports, etc, the impact will be huge.
  • Putting the videos on your feed in common language can help break the first contact barrier and get parents to feel comfortable.
    
• What are the changes you have seen in the attitude towards people with disabilities?
  • 70, 80 years ago, it was common for people with developmental disabilities to be placed into a separate institution.
  • Over time, parents started to recognize that they could take on the responsibilities and provide a better life for their children.
  • Advocacy for people with developmental disabilities started very grassroots with parents in church basements. 
  • Community-based systems are now recommended. If a family wants to keep the individual home, then it becomes about “let’s build a network around this family.”
    
• What is STLDDR?
  • STLDDR is a city, local, tax supported funder.
  • The office has been around since the early 80s. 
  • The annual program budget is around $6.5 Million, which is supporting 40 agencies, 80 programs, and they’re reaching over 1300 individuals directly.
  • What’s really great about the St. Louis region is that we are a very resource rich community. With St. Louis County, St. Charles County, and Jefferson County right there, and they all started working together to streamline.
    
• St. Louis City and St. Louis County have two very different approaches to special education. In St. Louis County, they have the special school district, in St. Louis City, it just depends. With these videos, we can highlight each system for parents. With STLDDR, are you streamlining more services? Is this a hub that parents can use?
  • All of the grantees are working well together. 
  • For example, The Family Navigators in the St. Louis region is a really strong network.
  • “Really trying to make that roadway for families not so complicated and confusing. That there’s going to be someone there with them along the way to open doors and guide them in their journey and maybe even hand off to the next person.”
    
• Where can people find you?
  • Find us at www.stldd.org
  • Funding announcements will be made available on our website in November/December.