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Tomorrow, Star Inc. will hold its 5th Annual "Walk, Roll and Stroll" fundraiser. As Co-Chairperson of the event, Judy Bosworth is praying the rain will hold out until the afternoon at least. Her daughter Cat's life has improved "a thousandfold" thanks to Star, a foundation devoted to providing the developmentally disabled with opportunities to live full and productive lives. There was no place like Star 30 years ago, says Judy. "When Cat was born, the doctors said to us, 'You know, you don't have to take her home,'" Judy says. "That was the thinking back then - put them in an institution, lock them away."
Cat was born with Down's Syndrome, a condition which ranges greatly in severity. Though this was years before the medical community at large caught up with the concept of early intervention, Judy and her husband Barry felt that by doing everything they could to help Cat right from the start, they could influence her quality of life as an adult. As an example, Judy tells the story of how a friend's advice during Cat's infancy prevented her from developing "tongue thrust," a common condition among Down's Syndrome patients which can cause the tongue to hang out of the mouth.
"My friend worked with the disabled, and he told me that when her tongue started to protrude, we should just push it back in with a finger," says Judy. "It wouldn't hurt her, but it would help the muscles to strengthen. We did, and to this day Cat doesn't have that problem."
Judy was grateful to find a community of like-minded people when she and her family moved to Norwalk, where they discovered Star Inc.
"Cat says the people here are like her family," says Judy, who volunteers at Star along with her husband. "And they really are."
One person in particular at Star who has become an important part of the entire Bosworth family's lives is Executive Director Katie Banzhaf. At Star since 1983, Katie found her calling back in high school when she did volunteer work with the disabled, an experience which inspired her to earn her Master's in Rehabilitation Counseling. After that, she traveled the world as a consultant to companies on employing the handicapped, a job she loved - for a time.
"All of a sudden, I realized I was never home," she says. "Here I was, going all over the world helping people to build strong communities, and I wasn't a part of one myself!"
Katie has certainly found a community at Star, which works with developmentally disabled people of all ages, from infants to seniors, on a number of different levels.
"We do everything from just giving a referral to offering full-time, 24/7 care," says Katie. "Our goal is to support our clients to live the fullest life possible. When I was in school, I was told they would never read or write. Now we're seeing our kids learn how to use computers and going off to community colleges."
The challenge of running an organization like Star, Katie says, is that the definition of a full life varies so much from person to person.
"We have everything from the 70-year-old man who lived in an institution his entire life to the high school grad who's doing so well that her parents tell us, 'We don't want her bagging groceries for the rest of her life.' Everyone is different. We have to pay attention to the individual."
Of course, a great number of resources are needed to maintain this level of specialized care. To that end, Star holds fundraisers like "Walk, Roll and Stroll" at Westport's Sherwood Island State Park. Walkers can choose from two routes, a 5K and a 1.6K, for $30 per person or $65 per family of four. The day-long event will include free breakfast, lunch, music, arts and crafts and more. Walkers, strollers, wheelchairs, strollers, baby joggers and joggers are welcome. Check-in is at 10:15 a.m.; to register ahead of time, call 203-846-9581.
While you're there, don't forget to say hi to Judy, Barry and Cat - all three Bosworths are Walk Co-Chairpersons this year.
"The disabled are people in our community," says Judy. "Thanks to this kind of exposure, there's so much more acceptance now."
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