JEFFERSON CITY – The Missouri Developmental Disabilities Council (MODDC) has awarded $85,000 to fund an 18-month project, that started in November 2024 to Tonal Range Media Tonal Range Media will support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families to share their stories and experiences in each of Missouri’s 114 Counties and St. Louis City. Each story will be published on a website and in print at the end of the project. Stories will be used for advocacy and awareness of successes, barriers, and lived experiences of Missourians with I/DD.
Each storyteller identified will receive training and resources to share their experience and learn techniques to overcome barriers.
By allowing people the platform to share their stories, we directly learn about their issues and related emotional impacts. This helps educate our state’s decision-makers about critical public needs in the disability community. Missouri laws and policies need to consider the disproportionate barriers they may present to people with disabilities.
Tonal Range Media is run by Nicole and Elizabeth Obrey. Nicole has a deep connection to the vast world of Intellectual Developmental Disabilities (IDD), as she was diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum as a child. She has experienced the struggles that many IDD individuals face in terms of restrictions in the professional work field. She strives to create stories that not only bring delight, but inclusivity and awareness.
Tonal Range is currently identifying people with I/DD and/or family members in all counties in Missouri. If you are interested in participating in this project find out more information here: https://bit.ly/MissouriStorytellingProject .
The Missouri Developmental Disabilities Council (MODDC) is a federally-funded, 23-member, consumer-driven council appointed by the Governor. Its mandate under P.L. 106-402, the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act, is to assure that individuals with developmental disabilities and their families participate in the design of, and have access to, needed community services, individualized supports, and other forms of assistance that promote self-determination, independence, productivity and integration in all aspects of community life. To learn more or to get involved, visit www.moddcouncil.org.