Creepy creativity

Adult resident Rasheedah Mahali and her mother Geri Brewer at last year’s Halloween parade.

Halloween is a big day at Matheny. It begins in the morning with a haunted house, designed and built by members of Matheny’s therapy staffs, helped out by Matheny School faculty members and instructors in our Adult Services Department. This year, additional assistance will be provided by members of the Junior Friends of Matheny, who are students at Bernards High School in Bernardsville, NJ, and Ridge High School in Basking Ridge, NJ.

In the afternoon, Matheny students and patients take part in the annual Halloween parade. The costumes every year are amazing, thanks to the creativity of all Matheny staff members. The holiday also provides a great opportunity for visits by family members, many of whom are also in costume. After the parade, costume winners are announced and refreshments are provided by The Friends of Matheny.

The Halloween festivities are coordinated by Matheny’s Recreation Therapy Department, which provides a variety of recreation opportunities and resources throughout the year to improve students’ and patients’ physical, emotional, cognitive and social well-being. Members of the community are welcome to join us.

Friends of Matheny president Liz Geraghty serving up refreshments.

Arts Access artist Jess Evans dances with facilitator Corey Bliss at the opening reception.

Live performances of dance and drama were presented by Arts Access artists at the opening reception for “Reflections,” an exhibit of Arts Access visual art currently on display at the Grounds for Sculpture in the Trenton area. The reception was held on Saturday, September 20; the exhibit continues through November 2 in the Education Gallery.

Arts Access provides individuals with disabilities the freedom to create in the visual, literary and performing arts. In addition to the visual art on display, scarves, neckties and note cards with Arts Access designs are available for sale in the Sculpture Gift Shop.

The Grounds for Sculpture was founded in 1992 to promote an understanding of and appreciation for contemporary sculpture by maintaining a 42-acre sculpture park, organizing accessible exhibitions and interpreting these exhibitions through publications, lectures, workshops and other educational programs.

Ellen Kane, left, and Cheryl Chapin are among the Arts Access artists whose work is on display at the Grounds for Sculpture.

Bella Walton and her mother, Betsy, with Matheny resident Tasha Santiago-O’Keefe.

When Bella Walton was three years old, she sometimes accompanied her mother, Betsy, when she volunteered at  Matheny. Those visits left a powerful impression on Bella and, by the time she was a seventh grader at the Far Hills, NJ, Country Day School, the Peapack, NJ, resident had become a regular weekly visitor to Matheny. She is now a senior at the Pingry Upper School in Basking Ridge, NJ, and she still comes every Monday to Matheny to spend some time with the students and patients.

“We talk or go outside if the weather’s nice,” Bella says. “It feels great to be able to brighten up someone’s day. Sometimes we’ll pretend we’re in a haunted house or at Disneyland.”

There have been many special memories during the years she has volunteered, but one particularly memorable moment occurred last month on one of her Monday night visits. Music therapist Megan Chappius was conducting a group sing-along in one of the Matheny dining rooms, and one Matheny resident requested “The Time of My Life” from the movie Dirty Dancing. As soon as Chappius started playing the song on the piano, everyone became very excited and started singing along very loudly and excitedly. “We were all singing and dancing,” Bella said. “It turned out to be a big performance.” The song is a Matheny favorite, according to Chappius, “so everyone usually gets amped up to sing it.”

Bella will be going off to college next fall, and she will miss coming to Matheny, but she plans to return for visits during her holiday breaks. She is one of a number of Matheny volunteers from high schools in the area. (Besides Pingry, the schools include Bernards, Ridge, Immaculata, West Morris Mendham, Morristown–Beard, Bridgewater–Raritan, Watchung Hills, Voorhees, Mount St. Mary Academy, Randolph, Delbarton and Marlboro Memorial.) The high school students usually visit with specific residents or serve as recreation assistants. Matheny students and patients like the same music, games, sports and movies as everyone else. For those who take the opportunity to discover each person’s individuality, the rewards are great. For more information about volunteering, contact the volunteer services office at (908) 234-0011, ext. 282.

Centenary student Jessica Mistrey learns how to use switches to help a nonverbal student communicate.

Centenary College in Hackettstown, NJ, is known for its innovative approach to teaching special education methods—including the use of assistive technologies—to tomorrow’s teachers. Centenary, in fact, was one of the first colleges with education programs in New Jersey to provide a dual certification program for general education and special education students.

The Matheny School integrates technology into every program it has, and Sean Murphy, Matheny’s principal, is on the advisory board of Centenary’s Education Department. So, because of the close relationship between the two schools, Centenary education students often visit Matheny to learn about the latest developments in assistive technology and to get some hands-on experience.

Brian Dragotto of Millstone, NJ, is a student at The College of New Jersey and a participant in Ortho Clinical Diagnostics’ Co-op Program. As a volunteer at Matheny, he helped resident Natalie Tomastyk, right, with the cookie mix project. At center is adult instructor Rose Sherman.

Students in Matheny’s Adult Services program are hard at work, creating decorative cookie mixes that will be displayed in mason jars. The filled mason jars will be sold at an internal fundraising event to support Matheny’s self-sustaining community garden.

The Matheny adults were assisted in this project recently by a group of college students who are currently part of the Co-op Program at Raritan, NJ-based Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, a division of Johnson & Johnson. The students spend approximately six months at the company, gaining practical business experience. Ortho serves the transfusion medicine community and laboratories around world as a provider of solutions for screening, diagnosing, monitoring and confirming diseases early, before they put lives at risk.

The cookie mix project is an example of activities in Matheny’s Adult Services program designed to instill a sense of self-respect and self-expression among  adult residents and adult day health services patients.

From left, Dion Alston, Amy Dietrich and Cindy Shanks.

A collection of functional pottery and sculpture works made by Matheny students and patients was exhibited at Peapack-Gladstone’s annual Art in the Park event, held Sunday, September 14, in Peapack’s Liberty Park. Two of the Matheny ceramic artists, Dion Alston and Cindy Shanks, attended the event, along with their instructor, Jodi Miguel.

“We were very warmly received by our hosts, Deborah Ludtke, Jane Simon and Janice Dolan,” Miguel said, “and the participating artists, Dion and Cindy, really enjoyed meeting the attendees, all of whom were extremely friendly and supportive. The best part for me was bringing Dion and Cindy to meet the other potters from Bull’s Eye Pottery and Michele Hill Pottery. We were able to view and feel their work and talk about ceramic processes and glazes. It was a fun day for everyone!”

One of the visitors to the Matheny exhibit was Gladstone resident Amy Dietrich, who is a member of P-G’s Historic  Preservation Committee. “I am inspired by the art of the Matheny students,” she said, “and excited to see them as part of this year’s event.”

Cindy and Hannah LaBar.

Cindy LaBar, Matheny’s director of physical therapy, is also the parent of a child with a disability. Her eight-year-old daughter Hannah was born with a rare chromosome anomaly. LaBar’s experience with Hannah has helped her understand “what families of our students and patients are faced with.”

In an article she wrote for the July/August 2014 issue of NDTA Network, the magazine of the Neuro-Developmental Treatment Association, LaBar outlined several key points for parents of children with disabilities to keep in mind:

• “Find balance between therapy goals and family time.”

• “Maintain open, ongoing communication with your child’s school team and within your family.”

• “Integrate physical and academic functional skills into your daily routines at home.”

• “Place importance on skills and have expectations for your child.”

• “Be creative and create a positive, peaceful environment for your child and family while having fun!”

LaBar acknowledged in the article that, during the first year of Hannah’s life, “I forgot one very important thing: I was her mom first, not her therapist. I struggled tremendously to find a balance. I have often thought how ironic it is that I specialize in helping children just like Hannah learn to move. I have wondered why it is that my work and personal worlds are so similar. I wonder why Hannah was chosen to be with our family. Of course, I cannot fully answer any of these questions, but I do feel confident that Hannah has included me in her journey so I can help other families find this balance that I have been searching for.”

Madison Junior students help celebrate Hat Day.

Although the calendar still says summer, there is a fall feel in the air. The Matheny School is back in session, and adult patients have begun class schedules.

Evening and weekend recreation activities are open to all registered volunteers who would like to help. In addition, a few volunteers are needed to assist with our computer lab on Monday and/or Wednesday evenings. Other volunteer activities include being a classroom aide or just a friendly visitor.

If you are not already registered as a Matheny volunteer, contact the volunteer services office at 908.234.0011, ext. 282, or email volunteers@matheny.org. Matheny’s volunteer services office strives to place helpers in positions that meet both their interests and availability.

We need your help, and we think you’ll find the experience rewarding and enjoyable.

A Pingry student assists in the classroom.

Matheny resident Bryan Desatnick enjoys time in the pool with his father Lloyd and sister Sarah.

The annual Matheny Picnic is a day when students and patients can get together with family and friends to enjoy a stress-free day of visiting and recreation, along with a barbeque buffet prepared by Matheny’s culinary staff.

Fortunately, the weather on Sunday, September 7, cooperated, and not only was there no rain, but it was warm enough to keep the outdoor swimming pool open.

Michael Taurozzi, a Matheny student, is surrounded by family members, from left, grandmother Elaine Brunner, father John Taurozzi, grandfather Jack Brunner, stepmother Karen Muckenthaler and stepbrother Randall Muckenthaler.

Table of school supplies collected by Matheny students.

Students at the Matheny School face special challenges, but that doesn’t stop them from finding the satisfaction that comes from helping others.

The Roosevelt Elementary School in New Brunswick, NJ, is located in a low-income area, with many of its students living below the poverty line. It is a port-of-entry school for new immigrants, and the school’s Youth Services System provides after-school recreation, tutoring and homework assistance.

With that in mind, Matheny School students mounted a campaign to collect school supplies from Matheny employees that would, in turn, be donated to Roosevelt’s YSS program. The drive was an unqualified success! Doing some math, with the help of manipulatives (objects such as blocks that are used to help students learn math concepts) and calculators, Matheny students determined that the supplies collected included 52 packs of pencils, 75 glue sticks, 176 markers and 65 notebooks.

Long Valley Middle School students, from left, Zach Miller, Matt Blount and Mark Boiko visit with Matheny student Jamil Jones.

“This has been really fun!” That’s how one student from Long Valley Middle School described his weekly visits to Matheny this summer. About 14 LVMS students have been coming to Matheny once a week since July in an initiative started by Marie Peppas, a member of St. Luke’s Parish, where all the boys in the group belong and have been life-long friends.

The group helped out at Matheny’s swimming pool and with classroom activities, and they even did some weeding on the grounds. Most importantly, the students struck up friendships with some of Matheny’s students and patients. They plan to continue their Matheny visits after school starts, but will probably reduce their frequency to monthly.

Volunteers from the community are needed at Matheny during weekdays, evenings and weekends. Individuals can serve as recreation assistants, classroom aides, tutors or just friendly visitors.  For more information, call (908) 234-0011, ext. 282, or email volunteers@matheny.org.

From left, Centenary students Rachel Edwards of Phillipsburg, NJ, Nicolle Siebens of Frelinghuysen, NJ, and Joseph Jiles of Camden sing a rousing rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”

Every semester, Centenary College in Hackettstown, NJ, conducts a day-long community service project for all incoming students. It’s called Community Plunge, and it offers students the opportunity to explore communities around the college by volunteering for one day.

Matheny is always on the Centenary list, and this year a group of incoming freshmen participated with Matheny students in an adapted baseball game. Most Matheny students are in wheelchairs, so the Centenary students wheeled them down the base paths and helped them bat and field as well.

Some of the Centenary students, such as Amber Spere of South River, NJ, are special education majors. “I enjoy being in this environment,” Spere said. “I always wanted to be a teacher, and when I started to interact with the special education students in my high school, I decided to major in special education. I find it so rewarding.”

Amber Spere of South River, left, with Matheny teacher Darlene Tammara and student Kimberly Alarcon.