My heart is warmed, and my efforts are worth while! Thank you!

My heart is warmed, and my efforts are worth while!  Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!

The house tour in Short Hills that you supported sent 4 Millburn Township district professionals to the state's official autism conference, put on by Autism NJ.  The conference is usually in October and provides a wealth of information directed at individuals providing specials services, including parents, educators, healthcare professionals, etc.  What I love about Autism NJ and their main conference, is that the valuable information provided is not ONLY focused on Autism, but it relates to many other types of special needs.  I found the conference to provide very useful information that I access everyday, for all of my children.  The conference spans over two days, and one night. The house tour paid entirely for the conference on both days and the one night hotel stay.  

Four very deserving and important district professions, just sent me this beautiful card:

My heart is warmed, and my efforts are worth while!  Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!  

Thank you so much to all that supported this effort and made this happen.  For certain I want to acknowledge, Brynn Alberici, Events Coordinator with Autism, NJ for facilitating, and all that she does with Autism NJ;  Jennifer Sowa, Millburn's new Director of Special Services, for following through and making sure that this happened for our district;  Peter Uzzolino with Acres Title, for his continuous support & pep talks, and providing a generous donation;  Guaranteed Rate for showing up with Sushi;  and my loving family, just because.  The list and the details really goes on... Ha!   All the info is added to the tour map.  LMK if you would like to see one.   

For more info on the Autism NJ Conference.

For more info about the Short Hills House Tour.  Next one slated for May 2017.

PS.  The house tour also paid for two wonderful seminars that the new Director of Special Services, Jennifer Sowa has chosen for our community coming in December and March.  If you would like more information on these seminars, just lmk.

MELANIE ROSENBAUM, KW

Sales Associate & Blogger

Melanie@RealShortHills.com

(973)768-1818 cell

www.RealShortHills.com

Annual Short Hills House Tour

31st Annual NJ Autism Conference in Atlantic City

This past weekend I attended the 31st annual NJ Autism Conference in Atlantic City.  Governor Christie was scheduled as a keynote speaker and was a no show!  A good highlight was Julianna Kusz was in attendance.  She is the Director of Special Services for Millburn Township, and I saw her buying books from Brooks Publishing for our township!  Brooks Publishing is definitely a friend to Millburn, for the third year in a row they have given us books. Each year I have brought some books home to our town that are housed in the Hartshorn Elementary School. We (MSPEC) considered the public library to house these books, but we wanted those teachers (many of whom are not town residents) to also have access to these books. 

I have added 5 new titles to our library this year.  They include "Social Skills and Adaptive Behavior in Learners with Autism Spectrum Disorders", "Autism Services Across America", and "The Special Educator's Toolkit".  I also purchased 2 books that may be found in the library titled "Autism in the family, caring and coping together", and "The Principal's Handbook for Leading Inclusive Schools" (that one I gave to Mr. Frattini, the school's principal).  All that you need to do is go to Hartshorn's library or contact the librarian to check these books out under your child's name. The teachers may check these books out as well.  

As for the conference, my very best take away (besides the books) was to learn that there is a new rise in higher education programing for people on the spectrum.  It was stated in more than one of the seminars I attended how people affected by autism spectrum disorder have many strengths; along with more and more employers are looking for individuals that can provide attention to detail, engage in savant thinking and commit stern dedication to tasks.  Most individuals on the spectrum possess these types of attributes, and with the right help and support go on to lead healthy normal lives. The school programs will aim to foster a bridge regarding chosen career paths by individuals on the spectrum and employers seeking those strong characteristics.     

The future looks bright.  Enjoy the books.