Employees, entrepreneurs with developmental disabilities are integral to Springfield
March 18, 2025
- March is Developmental Disability Awareness Month, established by President Ronald Reagan in 1987.
- Despite facing higher unemployment rates, people with developmental disabilities possess a wide range of abilities and talents, contributing significantly to their communities when given the opportunity.
- Gabe Siemens, a young man with a developmental disability, thrives in his job at Chuck E. Cheese, demonstrating the potential of individuals with disabilities in the workforce.
- Joseph Giordano, who has Down syndrome, runs his own bag brand at the Upside Down Mercantile.
- Initiatives like the Upside Down Mercantile not only empower individuals with disabilities but also challenge societal perceptions, fostering a more inclusive and understanding community.
Gabe Siemens is known for his enthusiasm and hard work among his coworkers and managers at Springfield’s Chuck E. Cheese, where he’s been since 2018.
“I worked at Walmart and Cici’s before,” Siemens said. “I like this job a lot better.”
At Chuck E. Cheese, he makes cotton candy and is a character performer, which are his favorite things along with seeing all the kids having a great time. Guests love having him there as much as he loves being there — his manager explained that there are some regulars who ask for him by name.
Siemens, who has a developmental disability, is an integral part of the Springfield party place.
March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, which “highlights the importance of fostering a society where people with disabilities are empowered to contribute to their communities,” according to the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities. The awareness month was established in 1987 by President Ronald Reagan.
Organizations like Arc of the Ozarks and Down Syndrome Group of the Ozarks believe that everyone has a place in the Springfield community.
Supporting folks who need it; pushing back against stigma
The Arc of the Ozarks’ employment program, which Siemens has worked with since 2014, helped him secure the Chuck E. Cheese job as well as others he held before. In 2024, the employment program served 122 people, according to Emily Smasal, director of community connections and employment solutions at Arc of the Ozarks.
The program not only helps people apply and interview for jobs in the community, but also offers continuing support through job coaches when it’s needed.
Historically, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities have been either under-employed or unemployed, according to the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Low societal expectations and a fundamental misunderstanding of the range of abilities has led to discrimination, placement in low-wage programs and few opportunities to advance.
“National statistics indicate that persons with developmental disabilities experience significantly higher unemployment rates than their peers without disabilities,” said the Missouri Developmental Disabilities Council’s page on employment.
Developmental disabilities encompass a wide spectrum of conditions that are usually present at birth, which affect a child’s growth and development, according to the National Library of Medicine’s MedlinePlus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about one in six kids between the ages of 3 and 17 have one or more developmental disabilities, which can include ADHD, learning disabilities like dyslexia, autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, physical disabilities like blindness or deafness and conditions that can impact both physical and mental abilities like Down syndrome.
Inclusion and representation can help to break down myths and open the public’s eyes to the fact that like everyone else, people with developmental disabilities also have a range of abilities and talents.
“It’s important for individuals with disabilities to be working in the community because representation matters and inclusion matters,” Smasal said.More: Springfield man’s cookbook focuses on accessibility with straightforward recipes, videos
Scott Kirby, executive director of Down Syndrome Group of the Ozarks, echoed Smasal. When DGSO first began expanding its post-secondary education opportunities, the group networked with employers but “it was due to limited understanding of (folks with Down syndrome’s) abilities by area employers.”
“That’s not a knock on area employers,” Kirby said. “It’s just that we don’t know what we don’t know a lot of times.”
He also emphasized the importance of “true inclusion” — rather than hiring someone with a developmental disability “just to make ourselves feel better about hiring them.”
“True inclusion is letting them come into a job interview, speak on their own behalf and tell what they’re capable of doing, giving them a chance to do that in the job — whatever the job might be — and holding them accountable just like we do everybody else,” Kirby said.
An opportunity to dream
In October 2023, DSGO launched the Upside Down Mercantile, a boutique shop that now features 16 brands created and managed by people with Down syndrome. Located at 203 W. Commercial St., it’s modeled after thrift and antique malls: Each business pays a small floor fee to display their items and DSGO takes a small percentage of sales.
The boutique is meant “to provide our adults with Down syndrome a way to engage with the community, grow in their social skills, dream about things they’re sometimes not allowed to dream about — I mean, owning their own business, running their own product line.”
While DSGO may help them get started and guide them through some of the more intricate aspects of owning a business, the people with Down syndrome are the ones who make the decisions for the brand.
Joseph Giordano works with his mom to run JOGO, which includes running bags, cross body bags, hiking backpacks and more. Giorando is never without his hip bag, said Upside Down Mercantile store manager Chloe Jones, which inspired his brand. The name comes from the phrase “Joe on the Go” and features a joey — a baby kangaroo — in the logo.
Running JOGO has helped Giordano gain independence and learn to do things by himself. Once a week, he comes to the shop to work with Jones. When he’s there, he sells his product, does inventory and helps clean the shop.
“I tell my mom (when we’re low on stock)” so she can order more, Giordano said. “I will try to get my work done by myself when I’m here the whole day.”More: They started a coffee trailer for their son. It’s helping Ozarkers with disabilities, too
Kirby explained that the visibility of Upside Down Mercantile is helping change the community’s perception of people with Down syndrome.
“The store’s been amazing for our families, but I think it’s just as amazing to watch the community come in and go, ‘Wow, they can do this?’ And, again, that’s not a negative. That’s a positive thing. That’s raising awareness,” Kirby said, adding the more that the community realizes what people with Down syndrome are capable of “the more we flip that narrative upside down and show what (people with Down syndrome) can do.”
By creating a place where people with Down syndrome can thrive, it also sets an example for others with Down syndrome or other developmental disabilities.
“Families can come in, people that are visiting, can come in and say, ‘Oh, I can do this.’ It doesn’t have to be exactly this, but it’s a springboard for hopes and dreams for their own future and what it might look like,” Kirby said. “That’s worth more than anything.”
This article was originally published by The Springfield News-Leader.