Other Critical Programs & Services
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In addition to creating new initiatives, we must also raise sufficient support for ongoing critical needs within the YAI Network. These are existing programs that provide vital, necessary services to people with developmental disabilites. Because these programs receive little or no government funding, private support is urgently needed to maintain them. Support raised through the Campaign for a Place of Hope will ensure that we can continue to provide these services, which make a tremendous difference in the lives of children and adults with developmental disabilities.
Examples of critical programs and services
Premier HealthCare was established in 1996 by the YAI Network to fill the critical need for healthcare for people with developmental disabilities. Premier offers comprehensive health and dental care to people of all ages with developmental disabilities. The practice offers a unique, patient-centered approach in which every patient is served by a team of doctors who work together to provide the best, most appropriate care.
Premier’s staff is trained and experienced in working with patients with developmental disabilities, and is sensitive to our patients’ fears, anxieties, and special needs. Medical and support staff speak a host of languages and create a warm, comforting environment. Every patient and family is treated with dignity and respect.
Premier HealthCare is committed to providing the best care possible to people with developmental disabilities and serves as a national model. But Premier’s patient-centered care is extremely costly for the organization, and many of Premier’s programs are not supported by the government. Private funding is crucial in order for Premier to continue to offer the excellent care that its patients need and deserve.
The New York League for Early Learning at the YAI Network is committed to giving babies and children with developmental delays and disabilities the best possible start in life. Through therapy and educational services for newborns through five-year-olds, and support services for their families, the New York League works to give children with disabilities the brightest possible futures.
In addition to their educational curriculum, the schools offer occupational therapy; physical therapy; speech, language, and feeding therapy; counseling; nutritional services; and applied behavior analysis therapy from an inter-disciplinary team of expertly trained professionals. Other specialized programs, including art and music therapy and adaptive physical education, which are not funded by government, help many children who are nonverbal and lack social skills to take the first steps toward communication, social connection and interaction. These programs can make the crucial difference in a child’s life that enables him or her to become engaged with family, friends, classmates and the world.
Yet many of these services, which are so critical to children’s development, receive no government funding. Thus in order to offer these highly effective programs, the New York League for Early Learning must rely on private support.
