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Column sidebar: JRC quality services specialist says David Liscomb an eminent advocate

Watertown Daily Times - 4/22/2018

April 22--WATERTOWN -- David E. Liscomb speaks softly but carries big weight when it comes to advocating for the rights of the disabled. One person who can attest to that is John D. Leo, quality services specialist at Jefferson Rehabilitation Center.

Mr. Leo has also been adviser of the North Country Self-Advocates (founded by Mr. Liscomb) since 2006 and he's traveled with Mr. Liscomb to Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and dozens of times to Albany for disability-related events.

"I've seen David speak to groups of 10 people to 250 people and move them to tears every time," Mr. Leo said. "He's able to relate his experiences and bring out the emotion of those experiences and share them with other people."

He also excels at speaking for his peers, Mr. Leo said.

"David can articulate what people with disabilities need just about better than anybody I've ever met," Mr. Leo said. "He can put that in a nutshell for the common person better than anybody."

Mr. Leo is also impressed with how Mr. Liscomb has fought for himself over the years, such as being put in an institution when he was a young child.

"Nobody knew any better back then in the 1950s, '60s and before," Mr. Leo said. "He fought to get out of there. He was improperly placed. The state thought he had psychiatric issues, when really what he had was a seizure disorder. He wasn't treated with the proper type of medicine."

To the community at large, Mr. Leo said that Mr. Liscomb exemplifies diversity.

"We don't measure people by the color of their skin, their age of their IQ," Mr. Leo said. "David shows that people with a lower IQ or with a seizure disorder can not only take part in their community, but be a value to their community."

self-direction

Mr. Leo said the "self-direction" program of the state Office for People With Developmental Disabilities has benefitted people like Mr. Liscomb. Agencies such as JRC and the Disabled Persons Action Organization partner with the state to run local programs.

While in his 30s, Mr. Liscomb moved into a home on Winslow Street in Watertown; a supervised residential setting that was the first community residence JRC operated. He then progressed to a "supportive apartment" that provided, on the average, 15 hours a week of support from JRC. He then moved on to be largely on his own.

With self-direction, clients can choose services, the staff and organizations that provide them and a schedule that works best for them.

Clients can choose if they want an agency to help them self-direct (agency-supported self-direction) or if they'd like to manage their own OPWDD-approved budget and staff with help from a fiscal intermediary and support broker.

Self-direction can provide guardians of the disabled with choices, Mr. Leo said.

"Moms and dads who have kids who are 18 or 19 with disabilities face the choice of, 'Do I want to put my son of daughter in a JRC-supported house? Now there's an option: 'We can get our own budget and hire our own staff.'"

Mr. Liscomb would like to see more people seek out self-direction.

"If they find there's a way to grow and excel, that's the way to go," Mr. Liscomb said. "I knew that managed care was not for me."

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