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Seven very proud individuals received  at the PACT Activity Center, which is owned and operated by the Adair County SB40 Developmental Disability Board. This event marks the third class to graduate from Project STIR at the PACT Center over the past year. Project STIR (Steps Toward Independence and Responsibility) is a curriculum originally created by the University of North Carolina to teach self-advocacy skills and the principles of self-determination to people with developmental disabilities through interaction and role playing. Self-determination is the philosophy that every person, regardless of disability, has a right to influence decisions that affect his or her own life. Students of Project STIR learn communication and problem solving skills during the class which enable them to speak up for themselves more effectively. Graduates of earlier PACT Center classes have demonstrated improved success in finding employment, increasing community involvement and achieving greater independence. Although the Adair County SB40 was the first organization in Missouri to graduate students through the Project STIR curriculum in the spring of 2011, classes are now be taught around the state through Senate Bill 40 Boards and the Division of Developmental Disabilities.



Photo caption: Pictured, left to right: Terry Jo Barnes, graduate; Andy Magruder, PACT Center Activity Coordinator; Kathleen Lowe, graduate; Caitlin Combs, TSU student/STIR teacher; Comissa Darling, Ronnie Bean, Candice Snider, graduates; Deb Wohlers, ACSDDB Executive Director; Trina Price, graduate. Not pictured: Cherrie Sapp, graduate.