Blog Stories

What drew me to Nursing? I was hospitalized when I was eleven. Next to me was a five year old boy. He was badly burned over his upper body and had difficulty using the call bell. I became his voice. The nurses were so kind though I’m sure I drove them crazy with the frequency of calls. They actually thanked me and made me feel good about helping him. Then in High School I volunteered to go on visits in the community with the Nursing Sisters. When we would enter the patients’ homes, I saw such a...

I have two relatives who I have great respect for, who are both nurses and always spoke of the satisfaction they felt in taking care of people. I always enjoyed taking care of people and thought that becoming a nurse would afford me a greater opportunity. As a nurse I know that I have helped people and their loved ones overcome many obstacles in their lives. In my career I have worked in many different fields of nursing from hospital nursing to nursing homes to private duty to where I am now...

What attracted you to nursing? I fell in love with nursing because of my mom. She is a retired Registered Nurse. She worked in the local hospital in the community in which I grew up. She was a constant source of support to our neighbors and anyone who needed her. We would often be in our local supermarket, mall, gas station etc.. and someone would come up to us and say to her “Hi do you remember me?” She would always respond “You look familiar” and they would tell a story of how my mom impacted...

Starting in March, the YAI Westbury Long Island Employment Services program has been partnering with the Microsoft Store at Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City to participate in private courses to introduce the people we support to technology to enrich their personal and professional lives. Through this initiative, YAI has been able to collaborate with the Microsoft Community Educators in selecting and tailoring Microsoft's curriculum for people with I/DD. Examples of courses that YAI...

Proper alignment of bones and joints is essential for stabilizing body motion during standing and walking. People with ASD have a reduced perception of their body movement or shift relative to their own postural orientation and equilibrium. At the clinic we often hear of issues such as fatigue, awkwardness, clumsiness and instability of their foot, ankle and hip joints. When we assess people with ASD at our P&O clinic (“P” for Prosthetics and “O” for Orthotics) it becomes clear that foot...

Kathy T., who resides at Glenwood, has always expressed her desire to travel and one day be able to go on a cruise with her family. Using person center thinking tools, staff members met with Kathy to walk through the process of obtaining a passport. Staff reviewed all the steps with Kathy, which included the passport application, getting a money order for payment, documentation to establish identity, and getting passport photos. Once Kathy understood everything, she and her support staff...

The students at Manhattan Star Academy wanted to give back to the community, and New York Therapy Animals has been volunteering at MSA for the past two years. It seemed like a natural next step that the proceeds from MSA's Valentine's Day dance-a-thon would go to support New York Therapy Animals. The dance-a-thon raised over $700! The students recently gathered to present the check to Nancy George-Michalson, Executive Director of New York Therapy Animals. The students were also excited to see...

Sexuality refers to the total expression of who you are as a human being. Our sexuality begins in the womb and ends at death. (Freud, 1986) Everyone is a sexual being, babies, children, teens, adults and the elderly. Sexuality is therefore experienced throughout the developmental lifespan. So why is social-sexual education for people on the autism spectrum and with other developmental disabilities (DD), still taboo? The American Academy of Pediatrics states, “Sexual development is a...

A wise man once said, “A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.” For Erika Heyliger, this quote embodies her experience working at YAI. While being a DSP is challenging, she also thinks it's one of the most rewarding fields she's ever been in. She loves knowing she's having a positive impact on the lives of other people. In fact, the people she supports motivated Erika to go back to school and pursue an M.S.W. at Adelphi University's School of Social...

Back in 2015, Wendy L. began her journey toward employment. DSP Lorraine Myers and Supervisor Petal Morris worked with Wendy to procure an internship at CVS. After successfully completing the interview and hiring process, Wendy's internship lasted from January 2016 through June 2016. At the end of her internship, she was interviewed again and was hired as a stock clerk! After this accomplishment, Wendy set her sights on her next goal. She asked staffers Siddiqua Alleyne and Licha Leonce to be...