Lorena Ceron, MSW-LCSW, Facilitator
Aleasea Arbubakrr, Community Engagement

New Jersey Regional Day School at Newark (NJRDS) has a rich history of parental connection an engage­ment. Parents are the essence of our children’s lives giving them roots to grow and wings to fly. Our students are classified Multiply Disabled/Autistic and have a myriad of challenges. Subsequently our parents cope with a multitude of emotional, mental and cognitive impairments facing their children everyday. Our parent involvement program has stemmed from the needs of the parents, focusing on providing understanding of their child’s condition, and to render tangible tools to augment independ­ence and learning.

The empirical evidence suggests that training programs for parents of learning disabled children can greatly reduce the child’s noncom­pliance behaviors. The Parent Enrichment program focuses on preparing parents to become effec­tive change agents for their chil­dren. We believe in the value of partnership based on mutual re­spect and trust. Our parents are best served by utilizing their valuable time to provide support and guidance that will enhance the parent-child relationship. Our Pro­gram consist of the following:

• Monthly PTO Meetings
• Monthly Parent Training work­shops
• “Parents Helping Parents” Sup­port Group
• Behavior Management Men­tal/Health and Medical Team Response
• Individual Counseling/Family Counseling
• Off-Site Workshops
• Computer Training
• Advocacy
• Home Visits
• Information
• Referrals
• Trips