An ‘awesome’ experience

FHCD student Cece Gulbrandsen plays adapted basketball.

“I thought this was awesome!” That’s how one fourth grader at the Far Hills Country Day School described the recent visit by Matheny students and staff to the phys ed class at the independent day school in Far Hills, NJ. The students played adapted basketball, rode in both manual and power wheelchairs and tried out special scooters.

It was part of a gym class that included seven students from Matheny along with therapists and teachers. The objective of the program is to encourage interaction between the two groups of students, enabling them to compete in sports as peers.

During a question-and-answer session following the class, the FHCDS students disagreed about which activity was most difficult. One student said, “The electric [power] wheelchair was hardest for me because I couldn’t figure out how to use the joystick.” But other students felt the adapted version of basketball was trickier.

FHCD students Ivan Scotto, left, and Peter Gajewski, right, with Matheny student Niara Holmes.

Alexis Reynolds familiarizes herself with a gait trainer, a walker that supports patients who cannot hold themselves in a standing position. At left is Matheny physical therapist Tara Wach.

We at Matheny are doing our part to ensure that future healthcare professionals understand how to care for and treat people with disabilities. Every year, a group of physical therapy students from UMDNJ visit Matheny to learn about the needs and equipment required by persons with developmental disabilities.

During this year’s visit, the PT students rotated through seven stations dealing with switch access, communication devices, pressure mapping, standing and adaptive tricycles, power and manual wheelchairs, gait trainers and recreational activities.

UMDNJ PT student Melissa Mendez tries out a wheelchair that converts to a stander.

When you see a wave of neon yellow t-shirts at Miles for Matheny, you’ll know you’ve spotted the runners from RDA Fitness in Byram, NJ. According to Michelle Welborn, RDA personal trainer and running coach, there will be close to 25 runners wearing RDA Fitness Running Club t-shirts at the event, including Byram Mayor James Oscovitch and RDA owner Robert Austin. The RDA runners gathered recently for a group photo outside the fitness center.

The 15th annual Miles for Matheny will be held Sunday, April 22, at Liberty Park in downtown Peapack, NJ. In addition to the 5K, activities include five Cycling Courses, a Kids Fun Run and the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk, in which more than 100 wheelchair participants, with walking partners, travel 1.5 miles around downtown Peapack. All funds raised at Miles for Matheny will help support the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry, which provides medical, dental and therapy care to Matheny inpatients and people with disabilities in the community.

Major Miles for Matheny sponsors are the Poses Family Foundation, Affinity Federal Credit Union Foundation, Archer and Greiner, P.C., BP Fueling Communities,WCBS-TV and WCBS Newsradio 880, Partlow Insurance Agency, Peapack-Gladstone Bank and Porzio Bromberg & Newman, P.C.

For more information, or to register, log onto www.milesformatheny.org or call (908) 234-0011, ext. 260.

Grace Burton, far right, and Sonali Pai, second from right, fifth graders at the Mt. Prospect Elementary School in Basking Ridge, NJ, are planning to run in the 5K Race at Miles for Matheny. So they decided to visit Matheny to familiarize themselves with our mission of caring for and treating children and adults with medically complex developmental disabilities.

Burton and Pai were recruited by three members of the Ridge High School track team, from left, Katie Winter, Karly Koelmel and Hannah Broos, who have formed TEAM Kids to raise funds for Miles. During the trip to Matheny, all five visited with adult patient Jessica Evans. As of April 6, TEAM Kids had raised $1,975.

The 15th annual Miles for Matheny is being held Sunday, April 22, at Liberty Park in downtown Peapack. In addition to the 5K, activities include five Cycling Courses, a Kids Fun Run and the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk in which more than 100 wheelchair participants, with walking partners, travel 1.5 miles around town. All funds raised will help support the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry, which provides medical, dental and therapy care to Matheny inpatients and people with disabilities in the community.

Major Miles for Matheny sponsors include: Poses Family Foundation, Affinity Federal Credit Union Foundation, Archer & Greiner, P.C., BP Fueling Communities, WCBS-TV and WCBS Newsradio 880, Partlow Insurance Agency, Peapack-Gladstone Bank and Porzio Bromberg & Newman, P.C.

For more information or to register, log onto www.milesformatheny.org; to support TEAM Kids, click on Search for Participant and type in the team name.

Christina Renna assists Matheny student India Jones in a game of adapted basketball.

Volunteering at Matheny has meant a great deal to Ridge High School student Christina Renna of Basking Ridge, NJ. “It has helped me understand the diversity of my community and has allowed me to enrich the lives of individuals with disabilities,” she says.

Since the majority of Matheny students and patients are full-time residents, volunteers are needed days, evenings and weekends to serve as recreation assistants, classroom aides and just friendly visitors. Matheny’s volunteer office strives to place helpers in positions that meet both their interests and availability. Matheny’s students and patients are everyday people who 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 and a volunteer application, contact the volunteer services office at (908) 234-0011, ext. 282.

A typical Dawg Pound display in Matheny’s rotunda area.

The Dawg Pound was launched in 2009 to sharpen practical work skills of Matheny patients and students. With startup funds of $5,000 provided by The Friends of Matheny auxiliary group and Village Office Supply of Somerset, NJ, the Dawg Pound participants were able to build a display kiosk and purchase inventory, which includes coffee mugs, water bottles and a variety of Matheny apparel items.

The operation is divided into three departments: marketing, finance, and sales/inventory. Teamwork, budgeting, effective advertising and customer service are all skills that have been learned by those working in the Dawg Pound, which was named after the Matheny teams’ mascot, the Bulldog. In addition to selling merchandise to Matheny employees, Dawg Pound participants sometimes set up shop at special events out in the community.

East Coast staff members, John Schnyderite, left, and Andy Fresco recently visited with group home resident Chet Cheesman at Matheny’s Adult Learning Center in Hillsborough.

A big thank you goes to East Coast Media, a community sponsor at Miles for Matheny, the fundraiser and community event being held Sunday, April 22, at Liberty Park in downtown Peapack, NJ. The Hillsborough, NJ-based printing and graphics company donated design work for all promotional materials utilized to promote the event. East Coast also prints Matheny Matters, Matheny’s newsletter, and hosts our website, www.matheny.org.

Miles for Matheny features several activities including a 5K Race, five Cycling Courses, a Kids Fun Run and the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk in which more than 100 wheelchair participants, with walking partners, travel 1.5 miles around town. All funds raised help support the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry, which provides medical, dental and therapy services to Matheny inpatients and to people with disabilities in the community.

For more information or to register, log onto www.milesformatheny.org or call (908) 234-0011, ext. 260.

Julie Gordon with Scott in his classroom.

For example, speech-language pathologist Jaclynne Dietrich has taught him to choose symbols. “We give him two choices,” explains Dietrich, “and he will grab one of the symbols. In art class, he will select a color. Just before lunch, he will select food.”

Dietrich also created a communications book that Scott can take home with him so that he can make choices by selecting picture symbols when he isn’t in school. “I’ve seen tremendous improvement in his communication skills,” Julie says. “We feel like we’re moving toward something.”

The Gordons, who live in New Providence, NJ, with Scott’s twin siblings, 8 1⁄2-year-old James and Whitney, have formed a team, That’s How Scott Rolls, to raise money for Miles for Matheny, the annual fundraiser and community event being held Sunday, April 22, at Liberty Park in downtown Peapack. As of March 26, That’s How Scott Rolls had raised $2,288.

The Gordon family will be walking with Scott in the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk at Miles for Matheny, which  also features five different Cycling Courses, a 5K Race and a Kids Fun Run. All funds raised will help support the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry, which provides medical, dental and therapy care to Matheny inpatients and to people with disabilities in the community.

Major Miles for Matheny sponsors are:  The Poses Family Foundation, Affinity Federal Credit Union Foundation, Archer & Greiner P.C.; BP Fueling Communities; WCBS-TV and WCBS Newsradio 880; Partlow Insurance Agency; Peapack-Gladstone Bank and Porzio Bromberg & Newman P.C.

For more information or to register, log onto www.milesformatheny.org; to contribute to That’s How Scott Rolls, click on Search for Participant and type in the team name.

Eight-year-old Ryan O’Connor with teacher Karen Dakak.

Several Matheny students recently visited the HealthQuest Fitness center in Flemington, NJ, to experience a “Jacques Cousteau” lesson that included science, language arts, health, physical education and mathematics. Among the activities were:

• Learning about the habitats of animals and plants and ways that humans might harm those habitats.

• Using props and objects to develop spatial and coordination skills.

• Using equipment to see and feel some of the things Jacques Cousteau did during his times of exploration.

• Developing and refining gross motor skills.

HealthQuest is a family fitness, wellness and athletic facility. In addition to aquatics, it offers dance, gymnastics and martial arts. The visit there by Matheny students is an example of how skills and behavior learned in school are practiced during interactive trips to various community resources.

Eight-year-old Patrick Conmy with his mother, Kerry.

Sussex/Passaic Community College nursing student Mitchell Klein, center, reviews a patient’s chart with Matheny nurse Carrie Fordham, left, and Sussex/Passaic CC nursing instructor Linda Zenkert.

To help ensure that there will be  a steady supply of nurses trained in the care of children and adults with special needs, we sponsor nursing programs at three area schools: Sussex/Passaic Community College in Newton, Raritan Valley Community College in Branchburg and Warren County Community College in Washington. These nursing students are also a source of recruitment for Matheny’s nursing department.

Nursing at Matheny is a rewarding experience. Our focus is on maintaining patients’ wellness so they can benefit fully in our therapy, education, recreation, community and fine arts programs. Because Matheny’s patients’ needs are complex, our nurses have to be competent in a broad spectrum of practice applications.

Karen Deland received her award from WDHA's Terrie Carr.

Matheny School teacher Karen Deland was one of 18 New Jersey teachers honored on March 13 as part of WDHA/WMTR’s Teachers Who Rock class of 2012. Deland received her award from WDHA midday personality Terrie Carr at a special banquet held at Ravello Elegant Weddings & Banquets in East Hanover, NJ. The awards were presented because the Greater Media radio stations feel excellent teachers aren’t receiving adequate recognition for their important contribution to society.

Deland first taught at Matheny in 1979, leaving in 1980 to accept a teaching position in the Franklin Township Public School District in Quakertown. After earning a law degree and raising a family, she returned to Matheny in 2009 and was named Matheny’s Educator of the Year in 2010.

The keys to her success, she says, are flexibility and patience. “You have to be flexible in all aspects,” she says. “You just kind of have to roll with it. Nothing is set in stone.”

From left, Matheny administrative assistant Betty Schoonover; curriculum coordinator Linda Mullin; vice principal Sean Murphy; Karen Deland; Karen’s husband Steve Deland; and principal Sheryl Gavaras.

Cory Mazen with Matheny adult patient Brad Goldman.

As an education major at Arcadia University in Glenside, PA, Cory Mazen and her class visited Melmark, a Berwyn, PA-based agency that serves children and adults with a broad range of developmental disabilities. “My heart melted for the students there,” Mazen recalls. “It opened my mind to the other side of education. After I graduated in 2010, I had to find a school like Melmark closer to home.”

“Home” was Mendham, NJ, where Mazen grew up, graduating from West Morris Mendham High School in 2006. She now teaches second grade at the Bedwell Elementary School in nearby Bernardsville, NJ. “I discovered Matheny,” she says, “ran in the 5K at Miles for Matheny last year and made a personal donation. This year I have a webpage on the Miles for Matheny website, and I’m trying to raise money. I would love for people to support me and Matheny for everything they do. It’s a great cause.” As of March 19, Mazen had raised $350; her goal is $500.

Miles for Matheny will be held Sunday, April 22, at Liberty Park in downtown Peapack. All funds raised will help support the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry, which provides medical, dental and therapy care to Matheny inpatients and to people with disabilities in the community.  In addition to the 5K, there are five different Cycling Routes, a Kids Fun Run and the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk in which more than 100 participants in wheelchairs, with walking partners, travel 1.5 miles around town.

Major Miles for Matheny sponsors are: The Poses Family Foundation; Affinity Federal Credit Union Foundation; Archer & Greiner P.C.; BP Fueling Communities; WCBS-TV/WCBS Newsradio 880; Partlow Insurance Agency; Peapack-Gladstone Bank; and Porzio Bromberg & Newman P.C.

For more information or to register, log onto www.milesformatheny.org. To donate to Cory Mazen’s webpage, click on Search for Participant and type in her name.