Blog Stories

Because of the pandemic, YAI rethought its traditionally frenetic calendar of springtime events this year to reach the digital sphere. The results, which surprised many, helped deliver new perspectives on disabilities to international audiences.

Not even the pandemic can stop the back-to-school spirit from energizing YAI’s two affiliate schools. Though online learning took parents and students by surprise in March, a summer of preparation has brought focus to virtual learning platforms at the International Academy of Hope (iHOPE) and Manhattan Star Academy (MSA).

“I don’t speak with words, and my friends don’t speak in sign, but they will stand by me and make contact, we gesture to make ourselves clear,” said Luis Mandato, resident at YAI’s Flatbush residence in Brooklyn and a former graduate of the American School for the Deaf (ASD).

Long-term job placements for people with disabilities can yield improvements in their quality of life, according to a 2018 systematic review in the Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation. This unsurprising fact has been a cornerstone of YAI Employment Services’ ethos for many years. But a new focus on job retention and maintaining strong employer relationships is one silver lining of the otherwise catastrophic COVID-19 public health crisis.

Some say the lives of people with disabilities changed forever when President George H.W. Bush signed the American with Disabilities Act on July 26, 1990. Others, including several who have built careers at YAI that span decades, feel that this federal legislation, while groundbreaking, can be best seen as the first step of a still-unfinished journey.

"I’ve always dreamed of showing my art to everyone,” said Heydi de Los Santos, a 48-year old YAI artist from Brooklyn and current artist-in-residence at Summertime, a not-for-profit art studio and gallery in Brooklyn.

For YAI, which operates more than 140 residences across the metropolitan area, containing the virus demanded not only decisive action but amplified support to compensate for upheaval in the lives of people who appreciate a routine. One resident of YAI’s Cobble Hill residence, where eight older adults have lived for more than 20 years, moved from illness back to health with the benefits of both.

The civil and political unrest that has galvanized many Americans against systemic racism has profound implications on the lives of children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). Discrimination based on race and color adds another obstacle to a level playing field – one YAI is mobilizing to address. And while the organization and its base of more than 4,000 employees seek institutional change in the workplace, YAI must also bring the issue, and the need for sustainable solutions, into the lives of the people it supports.

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. The goal of a social story is to illustrate and clarify expectations while building skills such as coping and emotional regulation.

YAI participates in Google Ad Grants program, which provides thousands of dollars of in-kind advertising to non-profits through Google search ads every month. Over the past year, YAI has ramped up efforts on Google Ad Grants to recruit volunteers, attract donors, and increase its visibility when people search for popular topics in the I/DD universe.