Public88 : Fashion

The goal of Access Ridgewood is to heighten the level of awareness of those with disabilities, and those who work on accessibility issues said the events have already made a marked difference in the community.

“I’ve seen the tide change over the past couple of years,” said Ines Bunza, president of the Learning Services Home and School Association, which gives support and education to parents and students dealing with special needs. “When my son was coming up in the special education community, children were sometimes making fun, and weren’t understanding the differences. There has been a 100 percent improvement.

“Children now are so kind and very caring,” she continued. “They’re very, very tolerant of any differences out there, and I believe it’s from the faculty and principals explaining this in a non-combative way: that you can learn things from children with differences.”

CAN’s third-annual series of events will be held later next month, from Sept. 23 to 25.

Friday events will focus on school activities, including film showings and group discussions throughout the district’s schools. At the elementary level, the schools will incorporate their Open Circle programs into special discussion groups, where a safe and open space is created for students of all abilities to express what is on their minds.

At the middle school level, the CAN committee is finalizing a film to show all students – at Benjamin Franklin Middle School the film will be shown in every classroom, while at George Washington Middle School students will gather in the auditorium. Bunza said the committee was still finalizing the film, but was hoping to gain permission to screen a new HBO documentary, “I Can’t Do This But I Can Do That.”

The high school will incorporate discussion of disability awareness into its Freshmen F.O.C.U.S. program, with attention to the school’s offerings for students with different needs.

This year will mark the third year of Ridgewood High School’s SAIL (Strategic Actions in Learning) program, a specialized and separate learning group that studies academic subjects in small classes and with aides. In the fall, SAIL will begin a work-study program where students spend four hours a week in work internships throughout small businesses, the public library and other places throughout village places of employment.

“It’s much harder [for special needs individuals] to find a job than regular individuals, so this starts giving them a leg up to see what going into the working world is like,” Bunza said.

For the first time, the Access Ridgewood weekend will feature a fashion show at the public library’s auditorium. At least 25 models of all abilities and ages will participate in the Friday evening show; organizer Karen Sheehy said the age range of models was “3 years old to 62.” She had so far secured partnerships for clothing, hair and makeup from Leapin’ Lizards, Town and Country, Pink Bungalow, Hot Jewelry Box, Araya Rebirth, Marcia’s Attic, Wendy Columbus Knitwear and Lisa DeMarco-Montagna, a Midland Park -based hair stylist.

Sheehy said that she and fellow organizer Caroline Meier were inspired by a fashion show that comedian and actor Jamie Foxx organized for people with Down syndrome, and thought it would be an excellent idea for Access Ridgewood .

“The premise is to give kids with disabilities the opportunity to be in a fashion show that otherwise wouldn’t,” Sheehy said. “It’s about being able to participate, and confidence is a key for them. Instead of watching, they can actually be a participating member of this.”

Saturday will be a community fair at the Ridgewood Public Library auditorium and courtyard; the courtyard will feature live music, and inside the auditorium will be at least five performances from people of all abilities. Inside will be performances from the Sharing the Arts Club at RHS, who will perform part of their upcoming musical, “Seussical,” as well as the Mark Rivera Project, a Paterson -based dancer with cerebral palsy, and musical performers of different ability levels. Jim Thebery, the chair of Bergen County Disability Services, will serve as emcee, and Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan will likely make an appearance. Other local politicians have been invited, but will likely not speak as they did last year – which CAN chair Paul Aronsohn said would help keep the focus on performers.

“I like the idea of people in politics thinking about disability

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