By Olivia Minnier with Submitted Photos

At a home in Delaware County, a tween boy laughs and bounces on the couch. His parents look on smiling and checking in with him often. The house is filled with the noises of pets, giggles of Shepherd and his parents talking; all the markings of a calm household.

Shepherd Jenkins, a 12-year-old Delaware County resident, has blossomed into his own since moving with his family to Delaware County from West Virginia.

“We moved here for Shepherd so that he could get better services, schools, and resources for him,” said mom, Joy Jenkins. “He had always gone to a full-time ADA clinic in West Virginia since he was three, and we were very very happy with it, but he was going to age out at the end of the fifth-grade year,” Joy and dad, John Jenkins said.

Joy and John didn’t feel comfortable sending him to a different school that was available in West Virginia and knew of another family that had moved to Delaware County in Ohio.

They said the move also made sense because Shepherd was in the NICU at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and the family would frequently come here for appointments and to visit family.

Shepherd has made quite a progression in the period he has been receiving waiver services with DCBDD. He is also involved with swimming, equine therapy, Special Olympics, and other activities. 

“Now he’s able to swim independently, because he wasn’t able to swim before, and is also involved in equine therapy,” said Joy.

Another achievement is that Shepherd now socializes much more and has improved tolerance for crowds and large gatherings since being enrolled at a public school for the first time.

“He had a very hard time socializing. We didn’t think he could tolerate a public school, but he’s so tolerant now because he’s used to being in that public school environment and has done really well,” said John.

Joy and John said that the family can go out to eat together and do things in public as a family now, which hasn’t been possible since Shepherd was two months old.

“We had to have someone watch him. Now, all of the time he’s like, ‘restaurant, restaurant,’” John said.

Not only is Shepherd more tolerant, but he also has friends at school and through the various activities he is involved in.

“He has so many peer groups he’s involved with. We were so happy when he got invited to birthday parties,” said Joy. “We never thought that would have been possible,” she said.

Going forward, Joy and John said they’re currently working on life skills with Shepherd and he’s learning how to make his bed, practicing setting the table for dinner, and becoming overall more independent. Something they never thought would have been possible even just a few short years ago.

“It’s been so wonderful watching him blossom into his own person,” said Joy.