As with any parent of a kid with developmental disabilities, finding a proper home setting took tremendous patience and involved a lot of emotion. On the advice of Jesse’s special needs attorney and advocate, Jesse entered the Division of Developmental Disabilities “system” at age 3, but it wasn’t until seventeen years later that a first opportunity for a group home finally became available.
Although that first group home setting wasn’t ideal, Jesse’s Mom and Dad understood that if they didn’t accept that first placement, Jesse would move way back down the priority list. So, after much soul-searching, they followed their attorney’s advice. And as their attorney had promised them, “things” would indeed get better.
In 2011, Jesse’s parents met with Rose House Founder, Mark Kramer, who found them a placement in the Independent Living Program at the Hanover Apartments in Cedar Knolls, NJ. Jesse lived there happily for years until he eventually moved to the Alison House nearby with housemates even more suitable for him. Today, Jesse lives in the new Morris Plains Group Home, which is a nearly perfect setting as his three new housemates share similar personalities and abilities with him. The Morris Plains Group Home enables Jesse to help prepare meals, his personal favorite “loading the dishwasher,” exercise in his own home gym, and go for walks in the beautiful neighborhood.
“Rose House has made all the difference in the world for ALL of us,” says his mother Louise. “Jesse now has a second family and is friendly with everyone. From day one, he felt like it was his home away from home.
Jesse’s naturally mechanical mind and need for perfect order is also the right recipe for his job at Green Vision, a program where individuals with Autism are trained to dismantle and recycle unwanted electronics. “Jesse can surgically take apart a laptop computer in a matter of minutes,” his father Teddy explains. “He puts all the little pieces of copper and silver and various screws into appropriate compartments to be recycled. He does it standing up all day, never tires of it, and he totally loves being there. And they tell us that he’s one of their most highly productive employees.”
Jesse’s two favorite hobbies (after eating) had been bowling and swimming, but everything changed back in 2021. As a result of the COVID-19 lockdown and a need to find some fresh, new activities to keep Jesse stimulated, his parents and Jesse discovered Legos. Looking at the 100+ page instruction manuals, there was a concern that the Lego models would be way too difficult. But much to everyone’s surprise, the complicated drawings were exactly what allowed Jesse to master it. He related to the diagrams, and the lack of wordiness was right up his alley. To date, Jesse has built over 30 models, many of which require over 6,000 puzzle parts and take weeks, even months, to complete.
Jesse’s entire family are big supporters of Rose House’s annual “Day of Dreams” golf event each year. Louise and Lainey volunteer throughout the event, and Frank and Teddy are instrumental in the event’s success as they recruit many foursomes of friends from the Upper Montclair Country Club.