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THE BERNARDS-RIDGE CONNECTION
SEPT/OCT/NOV 2015
MATHENY MEDICAL AND EDUCATIONAL CENTER 65 Highland Ave., Peapack By: Sanford Josephson Director of Public Relations & Development Members of the Junior Friends of Matheny (students at Ridge High) celebrate at the Matheny Prom with a Matheny adult resident. The Matheny Medical and Educa- tional Center, located in Peapack, NJ, is a special hospital for children and adults with medically complex developmental disabili- ties… A special education school providing academics, combined with functional life skills, for students, ages 3-21… A compre- hensive outpatient center meeting the healthcare needs of people with all types of disabilities in the community… A medical institution dedicated to developing ways to train healthcare professionals, therapists and educators in how to work with persons who have developmental disabilities. Matheny’s main campus in Peapack is home to 101 children and adults with devel- opmental disabilities. Its five group homes, located in Somerset and Warren counties, provide a residence in the community for an additional 30 adults. Many of the children and adults currently at Matheny, in addition to their primary diagnoses, have a long list of associated clinical conditions such as vision and hearing deficits, seizure disorders, men- tal retardation and dysphagia, with resulting aspiration problems. While the great majority of Matheny patients have cerebral palsy as their primary diagnoses, Matheny also has patients with spina bifida, Lesch-Nyhan disease (LND) and a wide range of uncommon conditions including Rett syndrome, Angelman syn- drome, Cornelia De Lange syndrome, Wolf- Hirshorn syndrome and 4Q Deletion syn- drome. Lesch-Nyhan Disease is a rare x- linked recessive disorder associated with cognitive impairment, high levels of uric acid in the blood, kidney involvement and the hallmark symptom: severe and involun- tary self-injurious behaviors. Matheny is recognized as the leading source of infor- mation on care issues regarding LND. Matheny is also committed to spread- ing its expertise into the community. For example: • Matheny provides services for public school students with special needs in order to help school districts better man- age the challenges of special education. • Matheny’s award-winning Arts Access Program has been adapted by other organizations such as The Arc of Mercer County in Ewing and Jewish Services for the Developmentally Disabled in West Orange. • Matheny also visits local schools to demonstrate its adapted physical edu- cation program. During these visits, Matheny students play adapted sports with children at the school they are vis- iting. Using specialized equipment, they demonstrate adapted versions of sports such as bowling, hockey, and wheel- chair relay races. The students at the local school then have an opportunity to try out the special equipment in a fun environment, enabling the two groups of children to compete as peers. Matheny also has very strong volunteer support from the community. The Friends of Matheny and The Junior Friends of Matheny are very active volunteer organi- zations which hold various fundraisers. Since so many of Matheny’s students and patients are full-time residents, volunteers are needed days, evenings, and weekends. For more information on the volunteer pro- gram, call (908) 234-0011, ext. 282. Matheny’s Arts Access Program enables people with disabilities to create fine art, assisted by professional artist-facilitators. The annual celebration of Arts Access, Full Circle 2015 Perspectives, will be held Satur- day, November 7, from 3-6 p.m. in the Robert Schonhorn Arts Center on the Matheny campus. For more information, call (908) 234-0011, ext. 442, or 765. Matheny Provides Medical Care and Special Education For Children, Adults with Wide Range of Disabilities Volunteers from Janssen Pharmaceuticals in Raritan help a Matheny student make a mask for a special luau event.!
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