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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#467886" vlink="#96607D" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>Ohio, Two good reads.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>Suzanne<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>///<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><b><span style='font-size:20.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Aptos Display",sans-serif;color:#156082;mso-ligatures:none'>University Circle Police Department hires blind police ambassador<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><b>Spectrum News 1<br>August 26, 2025</b><b><o:p></o:p></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>CLEVELAND \u2014 Kenny Foderaro has been blind since birth, but that hasn\u2019t stopped him from following his dreams.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>Foderaro sings and plays the piano; he even got to perform in Israel with an international band. Now, he\u2019s the newest member of the University Circle Police Department.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>\u201cIt was so great when I got sworn in,\u201d Foderaro said. \u201cThey have a big courtyard, which was perfect because all of my friends could come and watch me get sworn in as a police ambassador.\u201d<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>Foderaro was officially sworn in as University Circle\u2019s newest police ambassador at the Cleveland Sight Center. As a police ambassador, Foderaro hopes he can help police officers connect with those who are blind or visually impaired.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>\u201cI believe it\u2019s so important that policemen know that people have disabilities and that we do exist,\u201d he said. \u201cWe may need their help at times, and I want to make sure I\u2019m able to teach them what it\u2019s like.\u201d<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>University Circle Police officer Jeff Ridler asked Foderaro to join the department. The two first met 28 years ago.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>\u201cIt started back in 1997. I was running an adapted aquatics program in Parma, and Kenny and his family were one of the first ones to sign up for the program,\u201d Ridler explained. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>After losing touch over the years, Ridler was on assignment at the Cleveland Sight Center when he ran into Foderaro. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>\u201cI couldn\u2019t believe he was there on the same day that I was,\u201d said Ridler. \u201cLife has certain ways of bringing us all back around together to where we need to be at certain points in time. This is where both Kenny and myself need to be to help others.\u201d <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>Ridler said the addition of Foderaro will help the department better serve the entire community. Ridler and Foderaro attend public events in University Circle with other officers so they can emulate how the two interact when they encounter somebody who\u2019s visually impaired. Ridler said he will also create a presentation for the agency. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>\u201cWe need to be better equipped to understand the challenges that he has or someone like him has,\u201d said Ridler. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>Foderaro jumped at the chance to help his friend. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>\u201cThis has got to be something special,\u201d Foderaro said. \u201cTake the opportunity to listen very carefully so we can serve you guys better, hopefully as much as you guys will be serving us too.\u201d<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>Along the way, Foderaro hopes he can continue to be an inspiration to those around him. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>\u201cTo be an inspiration is an honor; it\u2019s one of the most important things anybody could be,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not always easy to serve the community. It\u2019s not always easy for me at all, but if we take it one step at a time, we can be an inspiration to everybody.\u201d<o:p></o:p></p><div align=center><table class=MsoNormalTable border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width="100%" style='width:100.0%;border-collapse:collapse'><tr><td style='padding:3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt'></td></tr></table></div><div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:115%'><hr size=1 width="100%" align=center></div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><b><span style='font-size:20.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Aptos Display",sans-serif;color:#156082;mso-ligatures:none'>Non-speaking teen with autism \u2014 once thought to be intellectually disabled \u2014 accepted at MIT<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><b>Ideastream Public Media - WBUR<br>August 26, 2025</b><b><o:p></o:p></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>When Viraj Dhanda <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/15ItneA3gvw8TnCtXVHEMFkuN3JFcVWdL/view" target="_blank">begins his freshman year</a> at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he\u2019ll be the university\u2019s first-ever <a href="https://nationalautismassociation.org/" target="_blank">non-speaking student</a> with autism.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>Diagnosed with autism at age 2, Viraj Dhanda was mistakenly thought to be intellectually disabled for the first 14 years of his life, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/young-man-brilliance-unlocked-by-fathers-persistence/" target="_blank">his father, Sumit Dhanda</a>, said. Viraj Dhanda also has apraxia, a neurological condition that limits muscle movements and motor skills. The condition is <a href="https://as.virginia.edu/study-reveals-unexpected-literacy-autistic-people-who-cannot-speak" target="_blank">not uncommon</a> among people on the autism spectrum. Viraj Dhanda communicates using text-to-speech assistive technology, typing on his tablet with one thumb.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>\u201cI hated being labeled mentally disabled. People thought I was behavioral because I flopped on the floor, used my body to communicate, but what was I supposed to do?\u201d Viraj Dhanda said. \u201cI couldn\u2019t sign or speak, and I was desperate for the world to know that I had a fully functional brain.\u201d<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>After his initial autism diagnosis, Viraj Dhanda received some therapies and interventions, but they were all based on the notion that he had an intellectual disability. Then, when he was 10, his babysitter suggested he use an augmentative and alternative communication device, a box with buttons labeled \u2018yes\u2019 and \u2018no.\u2019<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>Viraj Dhanda started using the communication device to request his favorite TV shows, then a breakthrough came right before his 13th birthday when he was watching a show called \u201cSuper Why!,\u201d where animated characters spell out words. In this episode, the word was \u2018waterfall.\u2019<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>\u201cBefore it gets spelled on the screen by the superhero, he says the letters that he can \u2014 A-T-E-R \u2014 and then a light bulb goes on in me,\u201d Sumit Dhanda said. \u201cOh my God. We had this entirely misdiagnosed.\u201d<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>Viraj Dhanda remembers that moment too. He said he was trying to send a message to his father.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>Sumit Dhanda said that from there, Viraj Dhanda was reassessed and correctly diagnosed as having non-speaking autism with above-average intellectual capabilities. His father explained that the apraxia leaves him unable to speak.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>\u201cSpeech and language are two different centers of the brain. So, you can have language without having speech because speech is a motor function,\u201d Sumit Dhanda said, \u201cand this is where I think the therapist community at large often fails these children.\u201d<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>Viraj Dhanda started using a large letter board, pointing to individual letters to spell out his thoughts. With the help of his father, he then started working on smaller and smaller devices until he found success on a tablet that could verbalize his thoughts.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>Dhanda said he doesn\u2019t think that Viraj\u2019s situation is unique, and that other non-speaking autistic children could also be more capable than people realize.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>\u201cThere\u2019s something there. It could be the mind, but the limitation is often the body,\u201d Sumit Dhanda said. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to presume that your child has the ability to think.\u201d<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>By the time Viraj Dhanda was reevaluated, he was ready for college-level math courses and enrolled at Fusion Academy in Newton, Massachusetts, where he flourished with personalized lesson plans and one-on-one instruction.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>\u201c<span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>\u200a</span>It felt liberating,\u201d Viraj Dhanda said. \u201cThe simple dignity of being able to speak was enough for me.\u201d<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>Viraj Dhanda then decided to apply to MIT, even though \u201cDad said I had no shot,\u201d he joked.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/15ItneA3gvw8TnCtXVHEMFkuN3JFcVWdL/view" target="_blank">Video</a> his father shared with <i>Here & Now</i> shows the moment Viraj Dhanda learned he was accepted.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>\u201cYou got in!\u201d his father screamed. \u201cOh, my goodness!\u201d<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>Viraj Dhana plans to take a gap year before starting college. He said he looks forward to meeting his fellow classmates on campus.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>\u201cI would love to have others reach out. I am just as normal as you, except I can\u2019t speak,\u201d Viraj Dhanda said. \u201cIf you are patient, we can hang together.<span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'> Suzanne M. Hartfield Turner</span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>National Federation of the Blind of Ohio, Vice President<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>Ohio Legislative Director<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>Cleveland Chapter, President<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:24.0pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>The National Federation of the Blind advances the lives of its members and all blind people in the United States. We know that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. Our collective power, determination, and diversity achieve the aspirations of all blind people.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:12.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#333333'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>P: (216) 990-6199<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>W: NFBOhio.ORG<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal>Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ohiosblind/photos/"><span style='color:#0563C1'>https://www.facebook.com/ohiosblind/photos/</span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>