Every March, communities across the country recognize Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, a time dedicated to celebrating the lives, contributions, and potential of people with developmental disabilities. This year’s national campaign theme, “We’re Here: Then, Now, Always,” highlights the long history of people with disabilities being part of our communities and reminds us of a simple but powerful truth: people with developmental disabilities have always been part of our communities, and always will be. The campaign encourages us to reflect on the progress that has been made, recognize the work still ahead, and commit to building communities where everyone belongs.
For organizations like Day Spring, that message isn’t just a slogan. It’s a story lived out over decades.
And few people embody that story more than Gladys Ford. Gladys is the mother of one of Day Spring’s residents and one of the organization’s founders. More than 30 years ago, she and her husband Jack helped create a community where adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities could live meaningful, connected lives.
As we reflect on Then, Now, Always, Gladys’ journey helps tell the story of how far the disability community has come, and why the work continues. Gladys and the early founders of Day Spring were part of a movement that shifted the conversation from “Where will they go?” to “How can we help them thrive?” Their work helped create opportunities that didn’t previously exist, and today that same mission continues.
Then: When the Next Step Didn’t Exist
When Gladys Ford talks about the early days of Day Spring, she doesn’t begin with buildings, funding, or programs. She begins with a simple question that many parents once faced:
What happens next?
After Gladys’ daughter finished school, the path forward suddenly became unclear. For families across the country, graduation often meant the end of structured opportunities for growth and independence. Once education ended, the next chapter simply didn’t exist.
“There was such a desperate need at the time for some place or some activity for people with mental disabilities to go after graduation from school,” Gladys recalled. “There had to be a next step...Somewhere for them to grow and mature and do the things their brothers and sisters were doing as much as possible.”
Instead, many adults with disabilities found themselves isolated at home, with limited chances to continue learning, working, or building friendships. Gladys remembers watching the lack of progress slowly take hold.
“We could see the boredom come on, and with the boredom, the lack of progress. They couldn’t just sit at home,” she said.
Rather than accept that reality, Gladys, Jack, and a group of parents and community leaders decided to act. Looking back at early writings preserved by her husband, Gladys shared a reflection from the organization’s earliest days:
“Dayspring was formed in an atmosphere of the need, hope and determination. The need was that of parents who realized they could not indefinitely care for their children and the need for the residents to realize their potential."
“Rather than being immobilized by the immensity of the problem… the founders decided to at least be a part of the solution.”
In 1994, that determination became Day Spring, an organization founded on hope and the belief that adults with developmental disabilities deserved more than limited options.
From the beginning, the founders envisioned something deeper than housing alone. “The hope was that the residents might enjoy the benefits of an extended family,” Gladys explained.
Now: A Community That Opens Doors
One of the most meaningful moments for Gladys came when the first residents moved into their new homes. For many, it was their first real taste of independence. “They had a place of their own,” she remembered. “They had a room of their own and a life of their own.”
Residents began forming friendships, building routines, and discovering a sense of belonging within the community.
But something else happened that surprised the founders. Soon after settling in, residents began asking if their friends could join them.
“There were so many people who were looking for the same thing,” Gladys said.
What started as a solution for a small group revealed a much larger need.
Today, Day Spring has grown into a vibrant community serving adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities through residential support, life enrichment opportunities, community engagement, and programs like the College for Living, where students gain the skills needed for greater independence.
Looking back, Gladys herself is amazed at how much has grown from those early beginnings. “At the time we were thinking in terms of housing and supervision,” she said. “But it has grown into so much more.”
Residents now pursue jobs, friendships, and personal goals that once seemed out of reach. And for Gladys, the most powerful lesson has been how much society can learn from people with disabilities.
“They have much to teach us… in loving, in caring, and in realizing what really matters.”
Always: The Work Continues
Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month reminds us that the presence and contributions of people with disabilities have always been part of our communities—and will always continue shaping them. The theme Then, Now, Always reflects a story that is still unfolding.
The early advocates who founded organizations like Day Spring helped shift the conversation from segregation to community, from limitations to opportunity. Their work laid the foundation for the progress we celebrate today.
But their vision was never meant to end with one generation.
At Day Spring, that belief continues to guide everything we do. We believe that people of all abilities should have the opportunity to live fulfilling lives—lives filled with independence, connection, and purpose. Our residents are not defined by limitations but by their talents, passions, and contributions to the community around them.
We're proud to continue the work that began with a small group of parents who believed that their loved ones deserved more.
More opportunity.
More independence.
More belonging.
When asked if she is proud of what Day Spring has become, Gladys doesn’t hesitate. “I am,” she said. “Very much so.”
What began as a group of parents searching for the next step for their children has grown into a community where individuals can build lives filled with belonging, purpose, and independence.
But the heart of the mission remains as simple today as it was in the beginning.
“This work matters because people matter,” Gladys said.
And because of people like Gladys, who chose to act when change seemed impossible, the story of Then, Now, Always continues to unfold.
During Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, we are reminded that progress does not happen by accident. It happens because people like Gladys see a need, believe in a better future, and choose to build it.
Then. Now. Always.
