To the editor:

I do not know where my 14-month-old daughter’s development would be without the Licking County Board of Developmental Disabilities. Please vote on March 6 to renew the 1-mill levy for children like my daughter, Natalie.

Natalie was born with a rare genetic disorder called Jacobsen syndrome. The prognosis was simply, “We don’t know what this entails. É It depends on what exact genes she has missing and science hasn’t brought us that far yet. We can tell you which ones are missing but we can’t tell you what each gene missing is responsible for. This will be a journey for your family.”

I felt so lost and alone in this journey until I met with the professionals from the county’s Help Me Grow program. Natalie has been given the therapies she needs and more personal attention then I could have ever hoped for. We feel like we are their only clients when I know there are many more.

Please keep programs like this in place for our children and to help guide us parents who were given the extraordinary challenge of having a child with developmental disabilities. I truly feel our Natalie would not be where she is if not for the exemplary services of the Licking County Board of Developmental Disabilities.

LaMista Pettet
Johnstown