Becoming part of the Matheny family

Larry Thornton helps out at a Matheny Hoops for Heart fundraiser for the American Heart Association.

By Larry Thornton

At first, I started volunteering at Matheny one day a week. During this time, I focused on learning each of the students’ names and getting an understanding of their medical conditions. Additionally, this gave me an opportunity to establish a working rapport with the administrators, teachers and staff who make this incredible facility possible. As time went on, my assistance was utilized beyond the classroom, which provided me with a greater knowledge of the medical center and school and increased my desire to help.

My many experiences at Matheny—including a pep rally, a student talent show and a graduation ceremony, as well as my time in the classroom—provided me with a greater understanding of the myriad services and opportunities available to Matheny’s children. As I sat in the beautiful arts center, I remembered reading one of the articles in a newsletter about the facility. The headline said: “The Therapists and Caregivers at Matheny View the Students as Capable Children with No Predetermined Limits on their Achievements.” This article was based on the comments of a Matheny parent, Julie Gordon, and highlighted The Matheny School’s conviction that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to learning. The events I witnessed truly exemplify the wisdom of Julie’s message.

By the end of June, I was volunteering three days a week and, for the first time, I was filling my retirement void. As I volunteer at this amazing place, what strikes me most is  the school’s goal to enhance the emerging skills of each student. This is achieved through the loving care provided by the devoted staff in a creative, upbeat and positive environment. I can truly say that miracles happen every day at Matheny.

(Second of two articles)

Yasin on the job selling baked goods to help the animals.

Matheny adult patient Yasin Reddick is an animal lover. So when he decided to hold a bake sale to raise money for a charity, the Humane Society was a natural choice. “He went through a list of charities,” says Meghan Walsh, a Matheny recreation therapist, “and chose the Humane Society because he really likes animals and wanted to help in any way that he could.”

Reddick planned the bake sale for about a month. He would independently ask staff members and peers for baked donations, and he baked his own homemade dog treats. Reddick raised $205. “It made me feel great and happy,” he says, “because it helped the animals!”

The Humane Society, the nation’s largest animal protection agency, helps animals by advocating for better laws to protect them, providing animal rescue and emergency response, and investigating cases of animal cruelty.

A sign promoting the fundraiser.

Larry Thornton and Matheny teacher Margaret “Peggy” Zappulla.

By Larry Thornton

I retired in December 2008 after 47 years in the packaging and display industry. When retirement approached, I had no idea what it would mean for me. There was travel, golf, gardening and the luxury of reading many books. However, the transition from working daily to a life of leisure was not easy.

After moving to Peapack-Gladstone in December 2011, I familiarized myself with this picturesque rural town and, with the help of the town library, learned of the world-renowned medical and educational center located in the heart of town. Upon discovering Matheny, I set up an appointment with Gail Cunningham and David Curcio, who run Matheny’s volunteer services program. Gail and David graciously met with me for more than an hour and provided me with an extensive tour of the beautiful facilities that are perched on one of the highest elevations in Somerset County. As I left Matheny that Friday morning, my first thoughts reflected amazement. The citizens of New Jersey, and especially Peapack-Gladstone, should be proud to have such an incredible medical and educational facility for children and adults with medically complex developmental disabilities. Matheny has been a part of the fabric of our community since 1954.

I started volunteering at Matheny in March 2013.  Sean P. Murphy, principal of The Matheny School, kindly gauged my interest in science and introduced me to Margaret Zappulla, one of Matheny’s teachers. I knew from the first day that a completely new challenge confronted me, as this environment was so different from what I did each day during the 47 years of my career. I was in a quandary as to how I would be able to contribute and help these young adults who could not communicate or verbalize.  By the second day, my perception changed. I looked beneath the surface and saw a whole new and exciting world. I took time to reflect on how it would be for me not to be able to express myself or to walk. How does one deal with these conditions without feeling frustration? Therein lay the problem for most of these students and residents, who have so much to say and yet face ongoing obstacles to communication.

(First of two articles)

Eileen Murray, greeting Arts Access writer Jenny Durr at Full Circle 2013: Reflections, the 20th anniversary celebration of the Arts Access Program.

Eileen Murray, director of Matheny’s Arts Access Program, will be receiving Morris Arts’ “Outstanding Professional in the Arts” award at the organization’s Celebrate the Arts event on March 27 at the Morris Museum’s Bickford Theatre in Morristown, NJ. Murray is receiving the award because of her “outstanding accomplishments, commitment and contribution to encouraging and fostering the arts in our community.”

Arts Access, which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, gives people with disabilities the freedom to create in the visual, literary and performing arts. Murray, a working artist for 30 years, joined the Arts Access staff in 2001. She was named director in 2011.

Morris Arts, located in Morristown, is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1973.  Its mission is to “engage and build community through the arts.”

Every year, Verve, a restaurant and bistro in Somerville, NJ, celebrates Mardi Gras with its special Mardi Gras Carnivale. This year, the “Five Days of Fun” will run from the evening of Thursday, February 27, until “Fat Tuesday,” March 4. There will be music, bidding on Mardi Gras masks, prizes, gaudy decorations, cheap plastic trinkets and Verve’s food specials representing the cuisines of New Orleans, Venice and Brazil.

For the third year in a row, Verve will donate a portion of its Mardi Gras proceeds to Matheny. And the newest addition to the festivities will be a Gumbo Cook-Off on Sunday, March 2, 2–7 p.m. So throw your beads at 18 East Main St. in Somerville! But first, call (908) 707-8655 to make reservations, and be sure to mention Matheny.

Brad King demonstrated the two types of wheelchair securements utilized by Matheny.

Passengers seated in wheelchairs in a moving vehicle are 45 times more likely to be injured in a crash than someone in a regular seat. That’s why the way a wheelchair is secured is critically important. That was the take-home message from a session on wheelchair safety during a School Choice night held by Matheny for families of our students and patients. The session was presented by Brad King, Matheny director of transportation; John Reck, director of assistive technology; and Cindy LaBar, director of physical therapy.

King emphasized that it’s very important that families, bus drivers and operators of bus companies are all properly educated in wheelchair safety. “Every wheelchair,” he said, “should be secured using four wheelchair tie downs, and the individual should be secured with a properly fitting vehicle-mounted lap and shoulder belt.”

Reck pointed out that many injuries of passengers in wheelchairs are not the result of crashes. They are caused by things such as abrupt turning maneuvers or hard braking.

Maria Fischer.

The role of parents in special education cannot be overestimated. That’s the opinion of Maria Fischer, an attorney with Hinkle Fingles & Prior, a law firm that specializes in representing people with disabilities. Speaking at a recent School Choice night at Matheny, Fischer pointed out that parents “do not care about staffing or budgeting problems. They only care about their child’s needs.”

It is mandated, she said, that parents have the right to be at every IEP (individualized education program) meeting. The IEP is a written plan that details a child’s special education program for the year. The IEP is developed at a meeting attended by members of the child study team, the child’s teacher and the parents. The purpose of that meeting is to identify a child’s educational goals as well as the program of services, supports and related service necessary to help a child achieve those goals. Appropriate placement is also determined at IEP meetings.

“Districts cannot exclude you,” Fischer stressed. She added that IEP goals should be, “measurable, objective and specific.” If a district indicates it wants to move a child back from a special placement, Fischer recommended that parents refuse to sign the IEP. “That gives you 15 days,” she added. “And if you invoke a ‘stay put,’ the old placement stays in force while you’re fighting with the district.”

“Parents should not sign the IEP until they are satisfied that it contains everything their child needs to make educational progress,” she added. “If parents don’t agree with the IEP, they should write a letter to the child study team that describes the changes that are desired.”

Peggy Zappulla helps a non-verbal student make choices.

Matheny teacher Margaret “Peggy” Zappulla has been chosen as one of the “Teachers Who Rock” by New Jersey radio stations WDHA 105.5FM and WMTR 1250AM. Zappulla’s nomination was announced by both stations on the morning of January 31, and she will be honored at an awards banquet in April.

Zappulla, “is not your typical teacher,” says Sean Murphy, principal of the Matheny School. “She is always aspiring to reach new heights, and some of her biggest contributions have been on our technology committee where she successfully rolled out initiatives to have assistive switches distributed to every student in the school.”

Another contribution: getting her students to grow a vegetable garden. It started with corn last year and will expand to several other vegetables this coming spring. Last year, the class planted corn seeds outside, made a compost pile and watered the seeds. “You should have seen the look on their faces when the corn had grown about three inches long,” says Zappulla. “Wow.”

Working with students with special needs “is a fulfilling experience,” she adds. “If you have a goal in life, nothing should stop you from achieving it. I have a responsibility to give my students with the encouragement, tools and support to help them reach their goals.”

Matheny student Ryan O’Connor makes music with a bottle, held by Zach Green as personal care assistant Mulu Yihune looks on.

“Welcome to the amazing Junk Jam show!” Zach Green, one of three musicians who make up the Junk Jam Band, welcomed Matheny students to a high energy, interactive and enlightening performance of music created by homemade instruments. The idea is to entertain while delivering messages about recycling, environmental consciousness and social accountability. “We’re trying to inspire everyone to take care of the planet,” Green said.

The band members produced drums out of tires and buckets, and Green played a “milk jugaphone,” a reed instrument made out of a milk bottle. The Matheny students not only enjoyed the concert, they got a chance to try out some of the instruments as well. The Junk Jam members get their motivation from a quote by Victor Hugo, prominently displayed on the band’s website. It reads: “Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.”

Matheny student James Wild plays on a drum made out of a bucket.

Claire Scott and the display of DVDs she helped collect for the Second Chance Shop.

Claire Scott, a junior at West Morris Mendham High School in Mendham, NJ, who wants to major in business when she goes to college, has already shown that she has a flair for capitalism. Scott, who is active in her high school’s Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) chapter, spearheaded a drive to collect DVDs that could then be sold at the Second Chance Shop, a thrift shop in Gladstone, NJ, run by The Friends of Matheny to raise funds for the students and patients at Matheny.

Scott first heard about Matheny from a fellow Mendham resident, Kathleen Mangliado, who teaches in the Randolph Township Schools. Her DVD project was coordinated through Brenda DeRogatis, the teacher at West Morris Mendham responsible for FBLA.

Since September, Scott has volunteered on Saturdays at the Second Chance Shop and will take a break at the end of February so that she can run track. She has enjoyed working at the shop and particularly likes it when some of the DVDs that she helped collect are sold. Although she has never been to Matheny, Scott hopes to bring members of the girls’ track team to visit this spring.

The Friends of Matheny has raised more than $3 million for the students and patients at Matheny since the auxiliary group’s formation in 1983. The Second Chance Shop is located adjacent to the Gladstone United Methodist Church on Jackson Avenue in Gladstone. The shop is open Mondays from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Tuesday thru Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m; and Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Donations of items in good condition are accepted on Mondays only.

Jack O’Connor, second from right, presents a $700 check to his brother Ryan. Others pictured are, from left: Matheny School principal Sean Murphy, student Jacob Rolaf, teaching assistant Kristin Barone, Ryan and Jack, student Sara Hoffman and her nurse Nancy Winder.

When Jack O’Connor turned 12, he decided to use his birthday to help the Matheny School, where his younger brother Ryan is a student. So, he told his friends at the Immaculate Conception School in Annandale, NJ, to give him money that he would, in turn, donate to Matheny. His friends came through, and Jack visited Matheny recently to present a check for $700.

Ten-year-old Ryan, who was born with a very rare chromosome deletion, has been a student at Matheny for 7 ½ years. His mother Debbie says Matheny is “a safe environment made up of amazing people who give everything so that our children have a life that, as a parent of a special needs child, I never would have thought possible.”

Rick St.Pierre, right, presents a check for $2,100 last year to Sandy Josephson, left, Matheny director of marketing and public relations, and Steve Proctor, Matheny president.

For the third year, the Verve Bistro in Somerville, NJ, has selected Matheny as the recipient of funds raised in connection with its annual Mardi Gras celebration. This year, however, there is an added twist: On Sunday, March 2, two days before Fat Tuesday on March 4, Verve will hold a Gumbo Cookout. This will add a day to the celebration, which begins on Thursday night, February 27.

A portion of the proceeds from the five-day event, including funds raised from the auctioning of Mardi Gras masks, will go to Matheny. Many of the masks on display will be made by Matheny staff members, students and patients. However, anyone can contribute masks. Just drop them off at Verve, at 18 Main St., by February 19.

Last year, Verve donated $2,100 to Matheny. Since opening in the late 1990s, Verve owner Rick St. Pierre has given back to the community. He was named Somerville’s Citizen of the Year in 2011 and was given the Somerset County Business Partnership’s Economic Vitality Award in 2008.

To make reservations during the Mardi Gras celebration between February 27 and March 4, call (908) 707-8655 and be sure to mention Matheny.

Some of last year’s masks.