Sensory Room for Adults With DD

New Concepts for Living is a non-profit organization dedicated to the betterment of the lives of individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. 

We were founded in 1981 by a group of families who had children with developmental disabilities. As the parents began to age, they had less physical ability to handle the demanding needs of their children. And, naturally, they worried about the future of their children if anything were to happen to them.  

Our first group home opened in 1986 and, in present day, we operate 10 group homes with 3 more nearing completion. The individuals in our homes receive 24/7 care and attention 365 days a year. We currently house a total of 60 residents and growing. The homes are, in part, funded by the State of New Jersey, however we have not seen an increase in funding in over 10 years as operating costs continue to rise.

We also operate a day program located in Rochelle Park, NJ.  The foundation of our day program is to provide our clients with skills and experiences that they would not have otherwise, while cultivating their cognitive and social development. Our day program offers behavioral services to our clients with a focus on conflict resolution skills, and improving their independence and self worth. We also offer a variety of therapies including psycho therapy, group therapy, pet therapy, and even couples therapy. In our day program, our clients learn skills, such as time and money management, that help them integrate into community roles. We also assist some of our clients with job training and placement.  

We instill positive community values to our clients. We frequently take field trips with our clients to volunteer at places like our local Veteran's hospital, Goodwill, and the Salvation Army. We feel that creating a loop pattern of helping people aids in strengthening our community. Our goal is to keep growing, keep helping, and keep strengthening. This is where our donors come in!

With all of the growing that our agency is doing, we need assistance accomodating the needs of our clients and our facility. We need basic items such as chairs for our lunch room and class areas. What triggered me to start this page was our desire to provide our clients with a multi-sensory calming environment. We are in need of an upgrade to our current calming room. All that lives in our calming room now is an aging bean bag chair, a couch and a landscape painting. We would like to have a bubble tube and mirror along with a more serene lighting option and projector in our calming room. Items such as these, will greatly reduce the anxiety, and behavioral episodes that our clients experience. It will provide the residents and staff alike with a lift in morale. 

We do not have a timeline for this project, however we would hope to provide this for our clients as soon as we can. 

For more information on our agency as well as news on our activities and upcoming events please visit www.ncfl.net or like us on Facebook at facebook.com/newconceptsforliving and on Twitter @_newconcepts_.  Please feel free to call [phone redacted] or email Matt at [email redacted] for more information on our agency and our cause.

On behalf of the individuals that have dedicated their life's work to bettering the lives of individuals with developmental disabilities and the amazing individuals we serve...Thank you for considering donating to New Concepts for Living.