914.617.8161

914.617.8161

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Operation First Aid
  • Giving Cupboard
  • Meet Our Dreamers
  • How You Can Help
  • News!
  • Shop
  • Meet The Board
  • More
    • Home
    • About Us
    • Operation First Aid
    • Giving Cupboard
    • Meet Our Dreamers
    • How You Can Help
    • News!
    • Shop
    • Meet The Board
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Operation First Aid
  • Giving Cupboard
  • Meet Our Dreamers
  • How You Can Help
  • News!
  • Shop
  • Meet The Board

"Through The Extended Family Sean has increased his focus while he works, learned new skills, developed camaraderie with the group, and contributed to the community. I highly recommend The Extended Family!"    -Jerry Bourkney

Reality of Life for Adults with Developmental Disabilities

  • 85% of Adults with Developmental Disabilities are Unemployed
  • Even more don't have a home of their own
  • Studies show a disturbing increase of isolation, psychotropic drugs, suicide, incarceration, and homelessness
  • Parents are forced to quit jobs to stay home with their adult child
  • Aging adults find themselves in emergency situations because parents can no longer care for them
  • Every parent lies awake at night terrified about their child's future 


Our desire at The Extended Family is to help exceptional adults have the opportunity to create a life filled with purpose, a life of greater personal power.  

Every young adult with I/DD deserves an opportunity to live a life filled with hopes and dreams, friendships, a sense of purpose, meaningful engagement, love, self-respect, confidence. 


The Extended Family provides a community based approach to address the needs of young adults who struggle with isolation after aging out of their academic settings. Some of the issues TEF addresses include:


  • What happens to individuals who are unable to participate in a traditional work environment?
  • How can we create opportunities for these young adults to explore and reinforce their capabilities so they may achieve their untapped potential?
  • As young adults age out of the educational system, how can we continue to develop and reinforce their social skills?
  • How do we make them feel VALUED members of the community?


TEF works to create a social and entrepreneurial environment that reinforces both creative and social skills in a setting that focuses on what participants CAN do rather than on what they cannot.

Meaningful engagement

The Extended Family meaningfully engages exceptional adults who rely on qualified support by providing a sanctuary for learning skills, community integration, camaraderie, and a sense of belonging where personal interests, passions, and unrecognized intellectual abilities are revealed.


The primary goals of TEF’s Meaningful Engagement model are:

  • To provide ongoing skills-based classes for adults with I/DD, within an environment that stimulates and challenges them, and is customized to their individual abilities and needs through Adaptive Solutions.
  • To nurture each participant’s ability to take on new roles, learn new skills, and contribute towards the development of new creative ideas.
  • To provide opportunities for peer socialization and support.
  • To develop opportunities for participants to serve as program ambassadors, engaging with members of the larger community to share their skills and create positive attitudes towards people with I/DD. 


​Participants actively engage in ideation, decision making, and problem solving to create and develop new creative ideas. Everyone is included in every aspect of the process. An adaptive plan is created for each individual ensuring the full participation of everyone. 


​At the heart of Meaningful Engagement (ME) is an environment of inclusion, collaboration and teamwork within a no-pressure, non-hierarchical ​structure, resulting in a keen sense of ownership, responsibility, and pride.


And most of all, we have FUN!
 


Copyright © 2022 The Extended Family - All Rights Reserved.

info@theextendedfamily.solutions

914.617.8161

The Extended Family is a 501(c)3 organization.

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Operation First Aid
  • Giving Cupboard
  • Meet Our Dreamers
  • How You Can Help
  • News!
  • Shop

This website uses cookies.

We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.

Accept