MILFORD – While many said she would never be able to accomplish half of what she already has in life, at 20 years old, Justine Dyer doesn’t let much – if anything – stand in her way.

“She’s just fabulously successful,” Dyer’s mother, Betsy Dyer of Surry, said Tuesday. “She’s just grown into an incredible, wonderful, productive, contributor to life.”

Justine, who was born with Down syndrome, has a busy social calendar and a strong work ethic.

“We’ve heard many times in her life that, ‘oh, she’ll never be able to do that,'” Betsy Dyer said. “I have always focused on the end goal of Justine becoming as independent as she could be. I really follow the belief that you set a goal and you achieve the goal, and if things get in the way, you eliminate them from the equation.”

Justine is quick to rattle off the variety of activities she enjoys and has no problem keeping track of what she has on her plate. In addition to spending time with her boyfriend, Justine competes in Special Olympics swimming events, enjoys downhill skiing, sailing, kayaking, going to the movies and bowling, and works at the day care she once attended as a child.

“She has a lot of really cool activities that she really likes to be involved in,” Betsy Dyer said.

A 2006 graduate of Orono High School, Justine lives in Orono with a roommate who also has special needs and their live-in roommate companion.

Since graduating from high school, Justine continues to work toward her goal of becoming involved in the child care field by working at Green House Nursery School and Child & Family Center in Milford – the same preschool she attended as a child.

“There were a lot of folks who didn’t even believe she’d be able to work in this type of environment,” Lynn Faerber, director of Green House, said. “We’ve always been proud of Justine.”

Justine and Faerber first crossed paths when Justine began attending Green House at age 2.

“Green House is an amazing place,” Betsy Dyer said. “They were instrumental really in kind of providing me with a foundation about what a mainstream, inclusive-type program could do for Justine. We were able to advocate for that throughout her school career and when she went to school she was so much more prepared than she may have been.”

Green House is licensed as a mainstream preschool, but includes children with special needs.

“I think she also provided those other kids, the kids who didn’t have disabilities, with as much positive growth as they did for her,” Betsy Dyer said of her daughter’s time at Green House as a child.

Faerber remained involved with the Dyer family throughout Justine’s school career.

“Lynn Faerber is just an exceptional person who goes far above and beyond what she has to do or needs to do for everybody. She sees the good and potential and can see outside the box,” Betsy Dyer said. “We’ve run into minor roadblocks along the way and having people on the team that can think outside the box has been really wonderful.”

When her daughter was 3 years old, Betsy Dyer quit her job as an accountant and went back to college to obtain a master’s degree in communications disorders.

“I didn’t provide the therapy for Justine, but it definitely gave me a much different perspective and knowledge base on how to help her,” Betsy Dyer said. “We were able to provide that much more carryover for her at home and in the community.”

With the help of Maine Vocational Rehabilitation Associates job coach Ashley Hogan, 22, of Old Town, Justine has been able to work in the day care field in an environment where she was comfortable with co-workers who really understood what inclusion is about.

She is responsible for getting the children ready in the morning, including getting the water pitcher filled for snack time, and making the list of the children’s names to organize bathroom time.

In the morning, she plays with the children, reads them books and helps with arts and crafts.

“It’s not like it’s fluff stuff,” Faerber said.

Recently, Justine helped the children dip their hands in blue or green paint as they came in to make a handprint poster with their names.

“What’s really cool is that most of the kids relate to her very well,” Faerber said. “Some will do things for Justine that they won’t do for others.”

Three days a week, the 4- and 5-year-old age group attends the preschool from about 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Then on Tuesdays and Thursday the 3-year-olds fill Green House in the morning.

Justine typically is soft-spoken, but the children aren’t afraid to remind her if she needs to speak up so that they can hear her directions when she leads a morning activity.

“What’s really wonderful about this situation is that Justine can be independent in many ways,” Betsy Dyer said. “She’s able to practice the skills she needs to be practicing in a very appropriate environment for that. We’ve seen wonderful gains in her language skills, in her intelligibility, in her self-confidence, and in her happiness. She’s very happy and very proud of herself, as are we.”

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