Man Receives State Award
Frank Guyett Award
Hard work and determination have paid off in a State-wide award for Frank Guyett.

Senator Catharine Young came to Jamestown on July 11 and presented Frank, 24 with a New York State Senate Achievers' Award. The awards annually recognize individuals with disabling conditions throughout New York who have made great accomplishments despite the challenges they face. Frank was selected as the 2008 representative from Senator Young’s district, which covers Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, and Livingston counties.

''The Achievers' Award is an honor that recognizes the triumph of individuals over sometimes daunting physical challenges and is bestowed on those whose efforts serve as an example of courage, personal excellence and achievement for our entire community,'' Senator Young said.

Frank, who participates in TRC's "Alternatives" Day Habilitation Program on Jones & Gifford Avenue, has a cognitive disability, a pervasive developmental disorder and autism. He also has a severe expressive disorder that limits his ability to communicate. Throughout most of his life, he used grunts, hand gestures and sign language to communicate. Frank, 24, struggles with sign language because he has difficulty manipulating his fingers and differentiating small movements of the hands. Thus, only the people closest to him — his family and staff members — could understand him. Frank is a social young man who wants to interact with others, and it was frustrating for him to not be understood.

Frank obtained a Dynavox speech-generated device in 2000 and learned to communicate effectively with it. However, the Dynavox was cumbersome, required Frank to use both hands to hold and was impractical for use in some social situations because it interrupted the normal give-and-take of conversation. It also required regular maintenance, and Frank was unable to communicate whenever the device was away being repaired.

Two summers ago, Frank obtained a new speech-generated device. Lightweight, Frank can hold it in one hand and operate it with the other. The new computer allows Frank to build his vocabulary and link pages to enable conversational turn-taking.

Working weekly with Speech Therapist Maureen Anderson, Frank has made tremendous progress. He is able to ask/answer questions, state his likes/dislikes, talk with his peers, call people by their names, and talk about what is going on in his life.

''The big thing is that we knew Frank had the potential to grow,'' Maureen said. ''Frank has really struggled with a lot of frustration in communicating. Before the personal computer, Frank was not able to answer questions. Now he's able to do that and communicate in so many more ways.''

Since obtaining his new communication device, Frank has joined a local 4-H Club that accepts adults with developmental disabilities as members. At last year’s Chautauqua County Fair (at which Frank received several blue ribbons for his projects), Frank was able to answer the judges’ questions himself, without having to rely on staff to communicate for him. This year, he went one better: with support from Maureen, staff at his Day Program, his 4-H leader, and his family, Frank put together on his computer a presentation on how the device has changed life. He spent months working on his presentation, creating supporting posters and other visual aids. In March, Frank gave his presentation to 4-H judges, operating the entire program himself. He received another blue ribbon.

Frank is proud of his achievements with his communication device. Being able to communicate with others has made him more independent. Though as a member of the Future Strivers group at his Day Hab program he participates in many community-based activities, staff members hope Frank will be able to engage in more community activities now that he can communicate more effectively. Perhaps, Frank even will be able to obtain a job.

Learning to better communicate is just one aspect of what one of Frank’s staff members termed his rite of passage. In April, he moved from TRC's adolescent Individualized Residential Alternative on Orchard Road in Busti, where he had lived for years, and into an IRA for adults on Fairmount Avenue in Jamestown. He is adjusting well to his new home life.

As proud as Frank is of himself, family and staff are more proud of what he has been able to accomplish. “Frank is just a very friendly person,” said his Service Coordinator, Trevor Ellis. “He likes attention, he likes to help people, he is truly concerned with other people’s feelings, takes pride in his appearance, and just an all-out great guy to know. I’m really happy for Frank, and I’ll do whatever I can do assist him in excelling even further in life, even though Frank is the one that’s done the hard work to get to where he is today.”

Deanna Rice, TRC's Resident Benefits Clerk, and her husband, Jim, are Frank's guardians. They are excited about the changes they've seen in Frank and are thrilled he'll be receiving the award.

"We've noticed the big change in him since he got the new communication device. He'll voluntarily say words that he wouldn't even try before," Deanna said, giving credit for Frank's progress to Maureen and his Day Hab staff. "We're very proud of him for how far he has come."

Frank is the fourth TRC service recipient to receive a Senate Achievers' Award. The others were Henry Wesley (2002), Courtney Spence (2003) and Brett Covert (2004).

Because he was unable to travel to Albany to receive his award at the Senate's annual Disability Awareness Day on May 6, Senator Young came to Jamestown to give Frank his award. Dozens of people were on hand for the ceremony, including people from 4-H and the Cornell Cooperative Extension.

When he received his award, Frank was able to do something he couldn't have done a few years ago.

He was able to say, "thank you."

NOTE: Listen to Frank’s award ceremony on “Share the Vision!” TRC’s bi-weekly radio show, when it airs from 11:30 to noon Saturday, August 30, on WJTN 1240AM in Jamestown.












Serving persons with disabilities and other social and economic disadvantages, and their families, in Chautauqua County, New York