Being a teacher in a large community, it is hard to connect to parents and the community. New Jersey Regional Day School amazing community connections and business partnerships for our students to transition skills they learn at school to jobs they can do in the real world. But what resources are there for the parents when the students leaves my school? What about when students aren’t at school, like on the weekends, or during holidays? What about parents whose school isn't a great resource like NJRDS? There are so many amazing things happening every day in New Jersey for kids with special needs. This part of the vlog will be dedicated to providing parents with connections to other community connections.

New Jersey Regional Day School

I am very happy at all the community outreach New Jersey Regional Day School does. We are very fortunate to have a group of dedicated individuals that create and foster connections to student learning both in and outside the classroom. Community connections include: Chatham Hills Nursing Home, NJ Community Food Bank, Essex County Environmental Center, Kathleen’s Closet, Goodwill Industries, East Side High School, Newark Leadership Academy, and St. Vincent’s Academy in Newark.

---

Nassan's Place is a local Newark community organization to help support families for children with special needs. They host parent meetings (and provide child care!), sensory friendly movie nights and host a plethora of events and fundraisers throughout each year.  This amazing organization is run by parents with a special needs child, so the inspiration comes from the heart, and everything they do is donation based.

---

Parents Of Autistic Children

POAC is the largest autism organization in New Jersey, and they run solely based on donations and grants. None of their amazing workshops cost any money, they have wonderful activities throughout New Jersey, and the professional and parent involvement in the entire program is phenomenal.

---

---

Local Events: 

• POAC Passaic County: The 4th Friday of each month at Saint Anthony of Padua Parish Center.
  • 101 Myrtle Ave (2nd Floor). Passaic, NJ.
  • Time: 6-8 PM.
  • This is a bilingual support group.
  • To register, click here and choose "Passaic County Parent Support Group" (They welcome any and everyone in or around the area) or call Lauren (973) 777-6816.
  • Dinner is served for those who want to participate.

---

Autism NJ

2016 was the first year in my entire teaching career that I have not gone to the Autism NJ Conference, and I am a little sad about it. Autism NJ has the most amazing connections and brings together so many positive, dedicated people to the field of special needs programs. They have parent scholarships to attend the conference, and have year-round workshops, fundraisers, and a plethora of great resources for families with special needs children.

---

Autism Speaks

Autism Speaks is another great organization dedicated to helping children and families connect to professionals, businesses, and other special-needs friendly individuals. There are many fundraisers and special events that anyone can get involved in.