Oct. 19—Services for people with disabilities have evolved greatly over the past few decades, and St. Joseph organizations are making an effort to help them increase their independence.

This week's United Way campaign theme is "individuals with disabilities," and Specialty Industries is a key aspect of that in St. Joseph as a business that has been employing disabled people for 50 years.

Rushville, Missouri, resident Danny Pyles has been working at Specialty Industries for almost 30 years, and he said having the opportunity for regular employment is a valuable resource to people with disabilities.

"It's a perfect environment, you know, you get all sorts of different people that you can relate to," he said. "Everybody's got medical issues and, you know, and I try to work with them, try to boost their spirits up ... It's the kind of person I am."

Specialty Industries CEO Byron Myers says working with the employees has had an effect on him as well, as their positive attitude often rubs off on him.

"As someone who has the opportunity to work with our special population, it is most rewarding, you know, because often I'll show up to work every day, pull up in the parking lot and see employees that are happy to be here," he said. "They're excited to see me every day, you know, unlike you and I where it's like, 'Oh, it's Monday, it's Friday coming,' right? We could learn so much about how they approach life."

That's a characteristic that transcends Specialty Industries.

Kim Cordonnier, children's program director for United Cerebral Palsy of Northwest Missouri, describes her students in much the same way.

The preschool program includes children with a variety of disabilities, such as physical ones like cerebral palsy, as well as children without disabilities, which helps improve how they interact, Cordonnier said.

"It makes a huge difference that kiddos with and without disabilities are both learning from one another," she said. "And kiddos that are typical developing, they really get the chance to know, you know, 'Just because this child may do things differently than me, we're still the same. We're still friends and can do all the same things, just (a little differently).'"

The significance of those interpersonal relationships also shows in a more social setting, as opposed to at school or work.

Specialty Industry employees often attend events together as well, like baseball games or theater shows, which fosters the relationships between coworkers, Pyles said.

"It's more like our work family, you know, that's what I think about," he said. "All these people, they are like work family to me, that you can go to, you can vent, you know, and they'll listen to you."

That's important for UCP, as well, because the preschool program is aimed at improving how students interact and learn after moving to higher grades, Cordonnier said.

"What we really work toward is helping children gain independence so that they can be in the regular ed classroom as much as possible when they move on to kindergarten," she said.

Alex Simone can be reached at alex.simone@newspressnow.com. Follow him on Twitter at @NPNOWSimone.