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Spotlight On
November 1, 2003
Organization name: Atlanta Alliance on Developmental Disabilities
Founded: 1956
Contact Person: Carey Sipp, Marketing Director
Address: 1440 Dutch Valley Place, Suite 200, Atlanta, GA 30324
Phone: 404-881-9777
Fax: 404-881-0094
E-mail: carey@aadd.org
URL: www.aadd.org
Mission:
The Atlanta Alliance on Developmental Disabilities seeks to build communities of acceptance,
support, and opportunity for children, individuals, and families living with developmental disabilities.
Vision:
Strong communities encourage and support all people to:
Make informed choices
Actively participate
Live in safe and positive environments
Grow and develop
Access and utilize resources
Achieve health and wellness
throughout their lives.
Background:
What is known today as the Atlanta Alliance on Developmental Disabilities (AADD) actually began in 1952 when a group of
parents gathered around a living room coffee table to share their common concerns. They were focused on the unmet needs of
their children with mental retardation. They knew their children could learn - yet the schools were not serving their
children. They knew their children were persons of value - yet they were being hidden away and isolated. Some of these
parents were anguishing over the fact that the only place their children could get services was in an institution - and
many were feeling a great sense of separation because their children were living hours away in large institutions.
These parents had dreams for all of their children, including those children with disabilities. And so, in 1956 this group
of parents incorporated and started a school for children with mental retardation - and that was the official beginning of
what is now known as AADD.
AADD started with one small school; it is now a complex agency providing a variety of services - and through a variety of
efforts, building strong communities of support, advocacy, and opportunity for persons with developmental disabilities.
Over the years, and with the help of key supporters, AADD has led the way in advocating for systems and policy change
including, in particular, leadership on three landmark pieces of state legislation:
- Mandatory Education Act (1968), ensuring education for all children;
- Mandatory Community Services Act for People with Mental Retardation (1972), which decreased the number of people
served by institutions and made it possible for more people to be served in their own communities;
- Metabolic Screening Act of 1978, providing post-natal screening for metabolic disorders. This mandatory test has
prevented more than 5,000 Georgia babies from having mental retardation or other developmental disabilities.
The organization also served in a leadership position through the years in helping to create the Georgia Special Olympics;
the Bobby Dodd Institute, which addresses the needs of adults with disabilities to achieve economic self-sufficiency through
employment; the Tommy Nobis Center, a private, not-for-profit community rehabilitation program providing comprehensive job
training and employment services to youth and adults with obstacles to employment; and Partners in Policymaking, providing
the opportunity for 35-40 people with disabilities, parents, and family members to attend a series of leadership training
seminars that cultivate an understanding and use of tools for self-advocacy. This program now has some 400 graduates
throughout the state.
Current Program:
Today AADD's programs include:
Georgia Family Support - providing direct service support to more than 117 individuals with developmental
disabilities and their families. GFS makes stability possible by helping individuals and families manage their households
and finances, supporting people in accessing community resources including medical care, and communicating with teachers
and employers.
Supported Employment - helping more than 20 individuals with developmental disabilities maintain steady employment
in a variety of jobs. Through individualized community-based job development, training, and ongoing coaching, AADD helps
people with developmental disabilities fulfill dreams of making a contribution, paying taxes, and even owning a home.
Recreation - enabling more than 1,700 people with developmental and other disabilities to enjoy a wide variety of
recreational opportunities, from bowling and swimming to softball and boating. AADD's recreation department helped to
provide almost 20,000 hours of therapeutic recreation in 2001-2002. AADD's recreation department works through some 68
different churches, recreation departments, leagues, camps, and other sources.
Public Policy and Advocacy Department - championing improved services for persons with developmental disabilities,
and monitoring legislation while working for better home and community support through campaigns such as "Unlock the
Waiting Lists!" The department also sponsors community and parent education seminars, and works with key stakeholders,
community leaders and decision-makers.
Health and Wellness - sponsoring three programs geared toward helping teens make better choices, preventing
preventable developmental disabilities, and supporting pregnant and parenting teens.
- The AADDolescent Matters program helps more than 1100 sixth, seventh and eight-graders learn about staying
healthy, increasing self-esteem, making good decisions, and avoiding risky behaviors that could lead to disabilities.
- The Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Awareness and Education program points out that Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is
100% preventable and 0% curable. Called "child abuse that lasts a lifetime," FAS remains the leading known
environmental cause of developmental disabilities. It is estimated that 50,000 babies are born in the U.S. each
year with some degree of alcohol-related effects.
- The third program, Project Future, helps almost 50 pregnant and parenting teens a year to have healthy
babies, complete their education, and avoid subsequent pregnancies. It also helps these young mothers provide good
parenting and track the development of their children.
Funding Needs:
AADD is funded by private donations, grants from foundations, The United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta, government contracts,
and Medicaid fees.
Needs are varied. Cash donations as well as gifts of stocks, bonds, and property are welcomed. We encourage donors to
remember AADD in their planned gifts. Further, we encourage gifts of time and goods by having volunteers adopt a family for
a year to support them through back-to-school needs, holidays, birthdays, summer camp, and other programs.
We also receive funds from profits on the sale of donated used clothing and household goods. (Please see our
Web site, www.aadd.org, to arrange for pickup of donations.)
Scholarships for camps, recreation, and training programs are needed. We also ask for gifts that can be given directly to
those we support: toiletry kits, food, and store gift cards as well as funding for printing, transportation, and equipment.
Jobs and job leads are invaluable for the supported employment program. Connections to leaders in faith communities are
important to our Interfaith Disability Network. Volunteers are needed in the sports and recreation program, to help make
possible the many tournaments and activities supported by AADD and its community partners.
AADD hosts breakfasts and luncheons several times a month for those in our community who would like to know more about our
many programs and services. These one-hour introductions are free; we ask that you simply call Carey Sipp at 404-881-9777,
ext. 228, to make a reservation.
Every month, the "Spotlight On" highlights the activities of a different 501(c)3 nonprofit organization serving the Southeast region defined as Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, with a special emphasis on Georgia. The selection of organizations for the "Spotlight On" is based on criteria such as programmatic interests, geographic focus, and size, to ensure the broadest possible representation of the region's nonprofit sector.
If you'd like to see your NPO in the "Spotlight,"
e-mail a description of your organization, following
the above format, to atweb@fcncenter.org,
with "Spotlight Submission" in the subject line.
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