Perkins School for the Blind Transition Center

Social Skills Intervention: A Key Piece of the Employment Puzzle

For the one-year period between April 2020 and March 2021, unemployment rates for people with disabilities in New York State averaged 16.2 percent, an increase of 8.9 percent over the prior year, according to the state Department of Labor’s Division of Research and Statistics. This rate is...

Matching Interests Key to Successful Employment for People with Autism

From my perspective, people with autism need to find ways to get into work that they can enjoy with great happiness. I managed to enjoy working at a childcare center because it was a place that matched my interest in working with children. So maybe if people with autism find jobs that are...

Making a Case for the IEP Diploma When It Comes to Employment

I was the girl who was afraid of her own shadow. I was afraid of a lot of things. I was afraid about what people might think. People always doubted me. I was too nervous to speak in front of people. I would never go on stage. I was afraid to do anything. A school social worker once told my...

Tenants Celebrate Two Years of Independent Living in New Residential Model for AHRC New York City

When AHRC New York City asked different departments to identify perspective tenants with intellectual and other developmental disabilities (I/DD) for 12 new Bronx apartments, it was uncertain about what to expect. But what is abundantly clear after two years is that a partnership among AHRC...

“Infinite Solution Finders:” AHRC New York City’s Educational Advocacy Guides Parents of Students with Disabilities

Rosemeri Linares embraced the challenges and the need for knowledge when she found out her son Adrian was on the spectrum. “Adrian was diagnosed with autism a little before he turned two. I had to quickly learn all the things that come with having a child with a disability,” she recalled. “I...

AHRC NYC Artists Dive Deeper Into Art and Self-Expression With Guidance From MoMA Educators

With Autism Awareness Month just beginning and Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month just ending, AHRC New York City is proud to recognize The Museum of Modern Art, just one of our wonderful community partners, which is raising the profiles and enriching the lives of artists throughout AHRC...

AHRC NYC-Pace University Partnership Boosts Middle High School Students’ Confidence, While Parents See a Future

As the pandemic continues to wreak havoc with everyday life, it has provided an opportunity for parents of students with autism to get a glimpse of their children’s future. Twenty-one AHRC New York City Middle/High School (MHS) students are working virtually with undergraduate students from Pace...

Marco Damiani, CEO of AHRC New York City, to Receive NCE Lifetime Achievement Award

Marco Damiani, CEO of AHRC New York City, has been announced as the recipient of The Arc’s 2020 NCE Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award. This prestigious national honor recognizes an individual whose lifelong work has significantly contributed to the mission, core values, and positions of...

Siblings Realize They’re Not Alone: AHRC NYC Sibshops Unveil Common Challenges

Lori Jacobs recalled a conversation with her younger son Seth, whose brother Ian has high-functioning autism and mood disorders. “Seth said, ‘Promise me I won’t have to take care of him when I grow up. And please, promise me you have a plan for him,’” Lori said. This wasn’t the type...

Displaying Courage, AHRC NYC Staff Support People with I/DD in Group Homes and Remotely with Technology

Months into our response to the COVID-19 epidemic, we have suffered heartbreaking losses and struggled through many challenges. Through it all, our staff’s extraordinary devotion, caring and tireless efforts to support people with disabilities, their families, and each other, has been...