Opening a Door to the World

For much of her life, Tori’s world was small and familiar, shaped by the routines of home and family. Tori, who has Down syndrome and has been attending the Easterseals Adult Day Services (ADS) program in Hagerstown since 2023. Before enrolling, she lived her entire life at home with her parents, attending school until she turned 16 and then spent all her time at home. While well cared for, Tori led a sheltered and isolated life.  

As her parents aged and developed health issues, Tori’s brother and his wife Angie reached out to Easterseals for support. Tori adjusted well to ADS and enjoys coloring and socializing with her peers each day. 

Tori now lives with her brother and sister-in-law. Angie says she has noticed that Tori “seems really happy since she’s started attending Easterseals. She’s more verbal and calls Easterseals ‘school’ and looks forward to attending every day. She has friends now and that means a lot to her and to us.” Asked what might happen if the Easterseals day program was unavailable, Angie says, “That would be devastating. One of us would have to stop working to be able to stay home with Tori. I’m not sure we could manage if that happened.” 

The result would be emotional as well as financial for the family. “If Easterseals wasn’t available, Tori would be very unhappy,” Angie adds. “She would lose all of her friendships and just be miserable. As a family, we just wouldn’t be able to manage.”