Every July, Disability Pride Month celebrates the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which sought to promote inclusion, equality and reduce discrimination toward people with disabilities.

“A wide-sweeping, structural change happened with the signing of that bill,” explained Luke Gogliotti, the Children’s Initiatives Intellectual and Developmental Disability (IDD) Clinical Specialist at Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network (DWIHN).

The ADA was a landmark civil rights law that helped reduce discrimination and improved access for millions of Americans, yet challenges and hurdles remain for people with disabilities.

According to Gogliotti, Disability Pride Month is important because it brings awareness to some of the barriers that people with disabilities face daily while also celebrating their achievements and accomplishments.

“Awareness is a starting point,” Gogliotti said. “But the ultimate goal is that awareness creates action.”

During Disability Pride Month, people can focus on their day-to-day life and how they can improve things for people with disabilities.

“Whether it’s the language you use in your daily interactions, the policies you have in the workplace or even just being an ally to the population in general, small changes can make a big difference,” Gogliotti said.

For DWIHN, awareness and inclusion go hand in hand with providing support and services that help individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities live as independently as possible.

The organization is responsible for providing behavioral health services to people with Medicaid in Wayne County.

“If members qualify based on the Michigan Mental Health Code definition of intellectual or developmental disability, we provide behavioral health services from birth to death,” Gogliotti explained.

DWIHN’s person-centered services focus on skill development, independence and community participation, helping individuals access employment, education, housing and meaningful connections with their communities.

“It’s really important that people with intellectual or developmental disabilities are fully engaged in our society and have access to these supports,” Gogliotti said.

For those looking to receive services, they would start by calling the DWIHN Access Center at 1-800241-4949. A specialist will conduct an intake screening and connect them to a support coordinator who will refer them to services.

A primary IDD service offered by DWIHN is Community Living Supports (CLS), which provides community-based assistance designed to build independence including daily living skills such as personal care, dressing and eating independently.

CLS staff take members out in the community to work on skill development while promoting social engagement.

One of the most intensive services DWIHN offers is Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), which Gogliotti explained is the gold standard treatment for children with autism, along with respite services that focus on providing assistance to caregivers with speech, occupational and physical therapies.

DWIHN also offers the Children’s Waiver and Habilitation Supports Waiver, both of which focus on putting additional supports in place for members with higher needs.

With an emphasis on comprehensive and holistic care, DWIHN is now able to offer Intensive Care Coordination Wraparound (ICCW) for at-risk IDD members with multiple systems in place.

“Maybe they have difficulties with the juvenile justice system or the welfare system,” Gogliotti said. “Wraparound seeks to bring all of those systems together to work toward assisting a member in achieving their goals.”

The DWIHN Access Center is available 24/7. For more information or to get connected to services, call 1-800-241-4949 or visit www.dwihn.org/programs-services/intellectual-developmental-support.