WAE Center News

By Howard Charish, JSDD Board Member When I entered graduate school to obtain a master’s degree in social work, the first paper that I had to write was on beginnings. It was a daunting assignment for new students who were filled with excitement, trepidation, unknown expectations and hopeful prospects. Here we were about to craft our professional future and needed to reflect on a topic that was so open ended and vague. Nevertheless, the characteristics of beginnings have been an underlying reflection for me whenever I embark on something new. It certainly comes into play as I think about Rosh Hashana and JSDD. September is filled with beginnings, Rosh Hashana being the foremost. It is a time when we as […]

By Harry Klein, Director of the WAE Center On Thursday, 08/18/2022, the JSDD WAE Center held its first “Annual Awards Ceremony” for members.  The idea for the ceremony came out of the “WAE Center Member Advisory Board” (GiGi, Roberto, Kevin M., Alicia), who wanted to have a gala event. The awards show was a fun way to celebrate the unique qualities of each of our onsite participants.  The board worked directly with the management team to get things in place, including: a red-carpet step & repeat, photographer, bubbly beverages with fancy hors d’oeuvres, and individual awards/certificates for each member.  Members and staff dressed for the occasion, complete with couture dresses, fancy jewels, while the men were dapper in their suits.  […]

From the Desk of Harry Klein, Director, JSDD WAE Center When the Covid-19 pandemic hit the WAE community over 2 years ago, the staff scrambled to figure out how to stay connected with our members. By May of 2020, we were hosting 4 virtual classes per week. This was a huge accomplishment for those of us who had never even heard of zoom before! This new virtual program was named “WAE to Connect”. Fast forward to summer 2022 and this program has grown its class roster to exceed 25 classes a week while including Physical and Occupational Therapies along with 1:1 interactive engagement opportunities.  WAE to Connect, was being managed by myself and Anthonice Lauriston. While working to get the WAE […]

Name: Amelia Mukherjee Title: Physical Therapist How long have you been with JSDD? I started March 2019 Was this the position you started in? Yes What is your first memory of JSDD? Aubrie brought me in for an interview and I loved the beautiful artwork! I spent a lot of time looking at the artwork in the hallways in the old building in West Orange. What has most surprised you about working with JSDD? How many great classes are offered that help promote and incorporate balance, gross and fine motor skills, and activities of daily living (ADLs) such as yoga, tai chi, painting or other artwork, and cooking.  These are all great things, that are fun activities that can help […]

Brad van Eeden-Moorefield, MSW, Ph.D., CFLE Acting Department Chair, FSHD Professor and Associate Department Chair for Social Justice Initiatives Department of Family Science & Human Development    I was thrilled to be asked to contribute a post for Pride month. I thought it would be helpful to share a little about how Pride began and what makes it so important. In doing so, I think it is also important to acknowledge how Pride is one way to help create visibility, safety, and spaces of belonging for the larger LGBTQ+ community and for those at the intersection of LGBTQ+ and Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities (IDD), including those who might be on the Autism Spectrum (ASD). Second, I thought I would share […]