Tim Macko is like most 28-year-olds trying to figure it out as his parents try to figure it out.
“His younger years were great,” John Macko, his father, said. “We were there trying to help him grow and get through school. Then he became a rebellious teenager. And now he's doing great, just like a lot of kids.”
But Tim is not like a lot of kids and John is not like a lot of fathers.
Within weeks of his birth, Tim was diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Mild ID, ADHD, and Shaken Baby Syndrome, and removed from the home and put into foster care by Delaware County Children Services.
About a year later, John Macko and his wife, dealing with the struggles of not being able to have children of their own, turned to adoption and met 18-month-old Tim.
“It was not a problem at all,” John Macko said of the challenges of raising an adopted child with developmental disabilities. “The school systems and the Boards are there to support you. Olentangy had a really nice program and great teachers. I didn't even need to think about it. He was in a good program and they took care of him.”
Tim was served by the Delaware County Board of Developmental Disabilities until 2013, when John’s career forced the Mackos to relocate from Delaware County to Lucas County.
“They’ve helped me find multiple jobs,” Tim recently said of the LCBDD.
Tim is currently a House Manager at Helping Hands of Ohio.
“I think he likes that one a lot,” John Macko said of his son’s newest job. “He enjoys it, he helps people out that are kind of similar to him though he might be more high functioning. He also loves to drive and I think that's just part of it.”
Tim helps individuals served by Helping Hands with everything from getting groceries to going to work to spending time at the mall.
“Working with people with special needs has been better for me,” Tim said. “I like being around others and giving back. I have a disability myself and it’s kind of cool working with other people with developmental disabilities and helping them with stuff that they can’t do.”
From Early Intervention to Special Olympics to Employment Navigation, from Delaware County to Lucas County, John Macko says Boards of DD have been instrumental in the success of his son.
“Without the Board, it would be exponentially more difficult. Without a doubt,” he said.
Neither the Macko family nor Tim could control their fate nearly 3 decades ago. But through dedication in the home and at public schools and agencies, they do control their destiny.
“For what he’s had to go through,” John Macko said, “Tim has really turned out to be a phenomenal kid.”
Tim Macko is the embodiment of what we strive for with the individuals we serve here at the Lucas County Board of Developmental Disabilities. We are driven by our mission to Improve LIFE so that individuals with developmental disabilities reach their full potential. Tim continues to not only maximize his potential but help pay that forward as well.
“I can do stuff that I haven’t always been able to do in the past,” Tim said. “And now I feel like I’m helping other people.”