Seeing beyond disability

YAI supports people of all ages with intellectual and developmental disabilities in achieving the fullest life possible by creating new opportunities for living, loving, working, and learning. YAI is a network of agencies with programs that empower and enhance the lives of thousands of people we support and their families.

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Services

Browse all YAI Services

WOW Arts - YAI Arts Without Walls Day Habilitation

Without Walls (WOW) is an art program that provides opportunities for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in New York City to channel their creativity and become working artists....
Community Habilitation - NYC

Trained specialists provide individualized skills training in the home and the community. Focus is on a person's strengths and critical skills for development, including building skills and...
CSIDD (formerly NYSTART)

Crisis Prevention and Response Providing crisis prevention and response for people (ages 6 and above) with intellectual/developmental disabilities who present with complex behavioral and mental...
Neurology

Neurology focuses on the treatment of diseases affecting the nervous and neuromuscular systems, including the brain and spinal cord.
Primary Care

Primary care providers focus on Internal Medicine, Family Practice, and Pediatrics.
10 Pins Bowling

A weekly program held in Rockland County for adults (21+). It offers the opportunity for participants to socialize and bowl in a non-competitive environment. It takes place at a local bowling alley...
Family Reimbursement

Funds can be provided to families for services and goods that are not reimbursed through existing programs or funding streams.
Transition To Independence: Life Skills

Transition program for ages 17-21 on the autism spectrum. Includes Yoga & Mindfulness, Life Skills, and Kitchen Skills.

News & Stories

YAI Frontline Staff Train in Person-First Technology

Sarah Shanderson is passionate about using smart technology, often turning on her lights from her smartphone and counting her steps with her Fitbit. Now she is sharing her zeal for tech with people served by YAI with the goal of empowering them to live safer, healthier, and more independent lives.

Tiffany Pendola: iHOPE's New Leader Hits the Ground Running

The International Academy of Hope (iHOPE) has had a clear and unique vision ever since it was founded in 2013. With a remit to educate young people with traumatic brain injuries and other brain-based disorders, iHOPE offers one of the nation's only curricula designed to optimize the latest expertise in educating people with brain injuries.

Quarantining With Full-Time, Around the Clock, 24/7 Support

When Jeff Burke started a new job at YAI as a Floater in March of 2019, he was optimistic for the year ahead. His job required him to fill in at whatever program needed extra staff. He’d find himself in Brooklyn one day and in the Bronx the next. But there was no way to predict that by March of the following year, he would contract the novel coronavirus that had begun to hit New York.

Upcoming Trainings

Visual Supports for Behaviors and Skills Building

Visual Supports for Behaviors and Skills Building Caroline Dunn, LMSW, Coordinator and Emily Gabel, LMSW, Supervisor, YAI LINK

Navigating the System for People with Developmental Disabilities

Learn about eligibility & access to services through NYS Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) Workshops are open to all

Talleres Educativos Gratuitos: Planeando para el futuro y tutela legal

Planeando para el futuro y tutela legal Paola Martinez-Boone, MSW, Senior Advocate, NY Lawyers for the Public Interest (NYLPI)

COVID-19 Updates

COVID-19 Database

A searchable and growing database of resources around COVID-19, people with I/DD, caregivers, and staff.

Caregiver Tips

Navigating how to explain COVID-19 to someone with I/DD and the swift changes to everyday life can be overwhelming. At YAI, we believe that the people with I/DD should be treated with dignity, respect, and honesty. We recommend that caregivers take a calm and matter-of-fact approach to explain what COVID-19 is and how to prevent it.

Using Social Stories to Support People with I/DD During the COVID-19 Emergency

Social stories can be used with adults and children; they are a tool to help provide directions and examples of appropriate ways to respond to social situations. Learn more about them here and access social stories we have gathered about COVID-19 and working to try to stay healthy.