My name is Dena Russell, and I am the mother of twin 6-year old boys, both diagnosed with PDD-NOS (Autism Spectrum Disorder) and ADHD. I am also the Moderator of the Hoboken Special Needs Parent Group (HSNPG). Being born and raised in Hoboken, I wanted to give my children all of the wonderful opportunities and experiences I had while growing up. While impressed by the educational options for my children in Hoboken, I was hit with the realization that the special needs community in Hoboken does not have any real voice in this amazing town! The HSNPG was born out of this realization!
The purpose of the HSNPG is to bring together parents and caregivers of special needs children with the professionals who provide services to us in one supportive forum. Our main objective for the HSNPG is to provide networking opportunities for our members so we can give and receive advice, refer therapists and specialists, discuss educational concerns, explore fundraising opportunities, develop special needs recreation programs, and most importantly, share our experiences.
We currently have a HSNPG Resource Directory of professionals on our board which is accessible to all of our members. We have collaborated with Hoboken Boot Camps to form a special needs “bootcamp” exercise program and also collaborated with the Hoboken Public Library to create special needs story time. We coordinated free presentations to our members by Kalac & Barger, a law firm specializing in special needs children and their families, started monthly support groups for our members, and participated in a “MOM EXPO” providing parents and caregivers with a variety of information for special needs children. And come September, we will be doing monthly presentations to our members for their special needs children in the areas of financial and will planning, yoga, massage, behavior management techniques, psychiatric testing, dental care, and many more.
The HSNPG also supports Autism Speaks, and have formed “TEAM HOBOKEN” to walk, fundraise, and honor all the children who have Autism Spectrum Disorders. We would love to support any other organization which has touched our members and will participate in walks and assist with fundraising. With over 70 members and many successes in only the few short months that the HSNPG has been established, I am hoping that all parents of special needs children in Hoboken as well as the surrounding areas will join us. Our website will be up and running shortly, but for now, you can join the HSNPG by visiting: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HobokenSNPG.
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ReplyDeleteThis is a much needed group as the Hoboken Public Schools are in my opinion: inadequate, unqualified and in most cases too lazy help kids with special needs. From my experience at school meetings student case mangers will smile, nod, lie to your face and in the end do nothing to help your child. They are work averse, despite all the posters and "talk" about caring. The IEP's are a joke. Everyting is generalized so the school is protected by providing minimum care. I would strongly urge Hoboken Parents, BEFORE the school year begins to purchase the book on how an appropriate IEP should be written: http://www.amazon.com/Writing-Measurable-IEP-Goals-Objectives/dp/1578611490
ReplyDeleteDon't sacrifice your child's development because of the school's incompetence.
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