About JoyDew
Hi, my name is Moish. I am the founder and CEO of JoyDew, a company that may have found the secret recipe for unlocking autism's unique strengths and truly transforming the lives of autistic adults. I want to see if we can expand this success and I need your help.
The reason I started JoyDew is that I am the father of 2 young adults on the spectrum. (Joy and Dew are the translation of my sons' Hebrew names, Gil and Tal.) Neither speaks, one is deaf, and both have motor planning challenges. For most of their young lives they were not able to expressively communicate and there were constant meltdowns and "behavioral issues". Thus, they were bounced around the school system, told they were "retarded" and considered by most to be incompetent.
One day we got an iPad. Interestingly, most people with autism struggle to type, but when the keys are on the screen and they don't have to shift gaze, it comes together for many of them. My then 14-year-old son wrote me a 5-page letter expressing what he was feeling and it blew me away. We had no idea he had been soaking up everything he was learning in class and was incredibly bright. It was also heartbreaking to hear the pain he was experiencing trying to live in our "neurotypical" world. Over time we learned that the boys also had special gifts. They can see things visually that we can't, have incredible memories and can recognize patterns that are invisible to us. But most of their school day was spent trying to modify their behavior to stop the noises and movements they make, which is nearly impossible for them to control.
Things went from very challenging to a complete nightmare when we hit the "21 Cliff"... the time when my boys graduated from school and moved into the welfare system. There was no more access to school, no routine, and the only services available would basically "warehouse" them in awful environments. They needed full-time care, so my wife had to stop working and the boys were isolated and depressed. It was brutal for us, and most other families with autistic children have similar struggles.
I have been fortunate to have been a successful business executive and entrepreneur in the life science and software industries, so I understand that innovation, hard work and calculated risk is required to solve problems. After a successful exit with my software company, I immediately turned my full attention researching different approaches for improving life with autism in 26 countries and 7 states. To be honest, it was pretty depressing, but I did find a few gems. I decided to put all my time and money into creating an innovative solution that would set up my kids, and others like them, for a fulfilling life and for the time when we can no longer care for them. My wife sold her business to join the effort and we decided we needed a plan that would be sustainable for 100 years...their potential lifespan.
Our vision was bold... to redefine autism whereby the brutal reality, experienced by all people with autism and their families, is replaced by innovative, holistic solutions that turn deficits into strengths. We wanted to transform lives by presuming competence and raising expectations, accordingly; by accepting identities and building strengths through academic enrichment; and by training for high-level employment in a community with lifelong friends, a full social life, safe and friendly housing, and easy and efficient navigation of the complex autism industry.
We decided that the first step was to create a day program that was truly different. Instead of simply "warehousing" people, we would identify the unique strengths of people with autism, educate and train them, and leverage their gifts in high-value employment. Based on our personal experience, we knew that if we wanted to enable them to have a fulfilling work and personal life, they would need the ability to communicate expressively, feel accepted, and have community and friendships.
We went through the long, arduous process of getting DDD approval to provide services and opened our first location in Denville, NJ in 2019. Despite the pandemic, we grew quickly and have since moved into a larger space in Ridgewood and added a hybrid group in Pittsburgh, PA.
Today I am happy to report that the first part of our mission has already been partially realized. Our Ridgewood location is nearly full and we are preparing to open a new location this spring in Livingston. The autism-friendly environment we created is thriving with communication support, educational enrichment and job training, and members have uncovered and unleashed their superpowers for high-level employment projects. The results have been astonishing. People who had never worked before, and even some who had never spoken a word in their life are now doing incredibly important work like identifying security threats from satellite images better than their neurotypical peers, successfully prescreening for cancer and other high-value work.
What we learned along the way was that what was most valuable to the members was the community of friends they created. Many of them had never had true friendships in their life and were isolated with no hope for a better future. Today they are flourishing and using their special gifts in the workplace, expressing themselves and are beginning to fulfill their dreams.
I have been fortunate to have been a successful business executive and entrepreneur in the life science and software industries, so I understand that innovation, hard work and calculated risk is required to solve problems. After a successful exit with my software company, I immediately turned my full attention researching different approaches for improving life with autism in 26 countries and 7 states. To be honest, it was pretty depressing, but I did find a few gems. I decided to put all my time and money into creating an innovative solution that would set up my kids, and others like them, for a fulfilling life and for the time when we can no longer care for them. My wife sold her business to join the effort and we decided we needed a plan that would be sustainable for 100 years...their potential lifespan.
Our vision was bold... to redefine autism whereby the brutal reality, experienced by all people with autism and their families, is replaced by innovative, holistic solutions that turn deficits into strengths. We wanted to transform lives by presuming competence and raising expectations, accordingly; by accepting identities and building strengths through academic enrichment; and by training for high-level employment in a community with lifelong friends, a full social life, safe and friendly housing, and easy and efficient navigation of the complex autism industry.
We decided that the first step was to create a day program that was truly different. Instead of simply "warehousing" people, we would identify the unique strengths of people with autism, educate and train them, and leverage their gifts in high-value employment. Based on our personal experience, we knew that if we wanted to enable them to have a fulfilling work and personal life, they would need the ability to communicate expressively, feel accepted, and have community and friendships.
We went through the long, arduous process of getting DDD approval to provide services and opened our first location in Denville, NJ in 2019. Despite the pandemic, we grew quickly and have since moved into a larger space in Ridgewood and added a hybrid group in Pittsburgh, PA.
Now we need your help to take it to the next level. We are looking for:
- Parents who believe in their children to join our current and new location
- Employers who are willing to give our members a chance to contract with us to deliver high-value work in 21st century jobs.
- Funders to help us create more locations and to help us develop a housing solution
- Medical Professionals & First Responders to take our training programs and join our network of preferred providers.
- Prospective Employees to help us deliver and continuously expand our program
If you are interested in helping JoyDew renew hope and faith, increase independence, personal empowerment, and self-worth, create employment, and improve the quality of life for people on the spectrum and their families, then please JOIN US!