Prom fills special need for kids from 31 schools

By JEANNE STARMACK

starmack@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

It was their night.

Special Needs Prom

Gallery

Hundreds of special needs students from The Valley attended a prom Friday in Youngstown.

For teens with special needs from 31 schools in Trumbull, Mahoning and Columbiana counties, the prom at St. Mary’s Assumption Social Center Friday evening was the place to be.

The dance floor was packed with dancers in all styles of clothes from tennis shoes to tuxes, from short to long dresses and shoes to bare feet.

Anything went as far as dancing, stylewise, also, as long as you just got out there and did it.

It was the 19th Special Needs Prom, hosted by Canfield High School. And it was in high gear.

Everyone, yes everyone, was out there on the floor — oh wait — Adia Joy, 17, was watching from an aisle between the tables with a shy grin on her face.

Why wasn’t she dancing? Wasn’t she ready to go out there?

Uh, no, she laughed.

She was determined to wait for her favorite song. It had to be “Problem,” by Ariana Grande, before she would put her feet to the floor.

Adia was one of 14 teens from the Trumbull County Career and Technical Center who were there, all as friends, to enjoy the prom.

They are all in class together, though there were a few dates “here and there,” explained their teacher, Kathy O’Brien.

It was a major event for them, she said, to come to the prom, which attracted around 300 people.

“Oh my goodness, you couldn’t believe it,” she said. “The girls going out and getting their dresses ... they got a lot of donated dresses.”

Marlena Timmerman, 19, of Austintown, looked very pretty in a green dress with a princess tiara. She’d always wanted a tiara, she explained, and figured the prom was a good excuse. Her outfit was completed by a wrist corsage of white carnations “Daddy” got her.

Friends Kaitlin Lewis, 17, and Matt Rovder, 18, both of Austintown, were having a great time.

She was dancing a lot, though he was being “a little lazy,” she said.

“You want to dance some more now?” she asked him.

“Maybe later,” he said.

“He’s a good dancer,” Kaitlin said. “Me and him are the best dancers!”

And the music?

“They played Justin Bieber a little while ago!” she said.

Does Matt like Bieber?

He considered that for a moment. “Nah,” he said.

Sometimes, being great friends is about connecting on some level despite different likes and dislikes. “We have fun together!” Kaitlin said.

Prom organizers were Alicia Muzina and Carrie Miller, intervention specialists at Canfield High School.

DJ Justin Hite provided music, and photographer Robert Senn took prom pictures. Barry Swoboda took videos for students at no charge.

Rob Kale was the decorator. Classic Bakery donated a cake. Gold Cross Limousine donated use of a limo to pick up Canfield students.

Students at the Mahoning County Career and Technical Center cosmetology class styled Canfield girls’ hair and make up. Cupcakes were donated by Sugar Showcase; Das Dutch House; Clarencedale Bakery; Giant Eagle, Canfield; and Sparkle Market on Western Reserve Road.