ABLE, Inc

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Weaving Lives Together: The History of ABLE The story of ABLE, Incorporated is a story of weaving. A weaving is a pattern intricately constructed by bringing many varied threads or filaments together to create something new. ABLE, Incorporated has also been one of many weavers bringing the lives of children, parents, families and friends together to make a beautiful, but never-ending tapestry. To share the story, we need to go back to the beginning to those who started this weaving. Prior to the 1960 ’s, parents of children with disabilities found themselves with few options to provide support for their children. To send them away or to keep them at home were their choices. In 1966 a group of these parents formed the Dickinson Association for Retarded Children, now known as The Arc of Dickinson, Incorporated Five years later, parents in Bowman formed their own ARC, now known as ARC, Little Missouri, Incorporated, sharing their concerns and visions with parents in Dickinson. The weaving had begun. These threads would find strength in each other and provide a strong foundation for this loom of life. Recognizing that any efforts would require financial support, The ARC of Dickinson created the ARC Aid Thrift Store in 1968. The Bowman ARC followed suit and opened their own Cedar Chest store in 1976. Since these stores ’ inceptions, they have provided hundreds of thousands of dollars for the development of new programs. It Starts With Education The first thread the ARC used was the “Thread of Education. ” Education through the public schools was not available to those who were labeled trainable, retarded children. To fill the void, The ARC of Dickinson founded the Anchorage School, which was housed in the Episcopal Church. In Bowman, the School of Promise was started in 1971. However, The ARC recognized that the constitution stated that education “shall be open to all children of the State of North Dakota. ” Since public education continued to exclude children, in 1972, The ARC of North Dakota filed their first lawsuit, “The Right to Education for ALL Children. ” Four of the children named in this suit were from the Dickinson area. The court findings stated that 73 percent of the children with special needs in the state were not enrolled in public education. Therefore, it was ordered that public schools were to maintain, administer, supervise and operate schools and classes for the education of children who were retarded and/or handicapped. The ARC of Dickinson supported the schools by providing grants for equipment for the special education classrooms. Building Community Supports The ARC of Dickinson was also concerned about providing social opportunities. In 1966, The ARC of Dickinson, in cooperation with the ARC of North Dakota, began a camping program. This program was later turned over to Camp Re-Creation in Richardton. The Youth ARC was founded in 1970 to provide a “big sister, big brother ” program for other recreational activities. Along with this was the development of a transportation system for community access. Special Olympics began in 1972 and continues today.

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