Westchester Institute of Development (WIHD) Mission

Disability Support Video Production Services

Client: WIHD
Industry: Education
Video Type: Customer Testimonial Videos
Messaging Type: Interview Style

About This Video Project

Discover the impactful work of the Westchester Institute for Human Development (WIHD), a leading university center dedicated to excellence in serving individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. In this video, we share the heartfelt story of how WIHD connects with its community, offering essential health care services tailored to those with disabilities. With a focus on empathy and understanding, WIHD trained providers ensure that everyone receives the quality care they deserve, helping families navigate their unique journeys.

Learn about WIHD comprehensive services, including primary health care, dental care, behavioral health, and advocacy programs designed to empower individuals. The organization also champions leadership training initiatives like Hear Our Voices and the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disorders (LEND) program, enabling people with disabilities to become leaders in their own right.

As WIHD prepares to move into a new universally accessible building, they invite you to witness how your support can create a lasting impact in the community. Join us in recognizing the importance of inclusive services and the vital role organizations like WIHD play in fostering a brighter future for all.

#WIHD #WIHD 2026 #disabilities #healthcare #advocacy #families #leadershiptraining #LEND #community #support

Transcription

The Westchester Institute for Human Development, commonly known as WID, is a university center on excellence for developmental disabilities. Our primary mission is to support people with disabilities, their families, and vulnerable children to live their lives fully within their communities. We are parents, we are aunts, we are siblings, we are people living with disabilities, so we have this shared lived experience that connect us to families that come to our doors. I myself am a parent of a 22-year-old son with autism, so I know that it takes courage to reach out to us and I'm able to connect with them from a place of empathy. I really want to help that family in front of me take the very next step in their journey. We want to look towards how do we make their lives more productive, not just now, but in the future, regardless of your abilities. WID is a one-stop shop. Not only does it provide services for the individual client, but there are support services here as well. We provide primary health care and a number of specialty health care services, dental services, behavioral health, which is psychology and psychiatry, speech, hearing, and assistive technology, early intervention, and child welfare services. It's important to have health care services designed specifically for people with disabilities because we know people with disabilities experience significant health care disparities. We are unique in the types of services we provide, the quality of the care we provide, and the training of the providers who provide those services. Without us, many people would have nowhere else to turn. The first time that I brought my son here to receive dental services, we really wanted to get a dental cleaning without sedation. And so when we brought him in for his first consult, the question that the dentist asked was, how long would he be comfortable in the chair? And that question really was so impactful because it reflects an attitude of, how can I serve him And, you know, he still comes here for dental services, he gets his cleanings, he walks in the building all by himself, there's no sedation, and he's proud of himself, and we're proud of him as well. We are a direct service provider, but we are also an education and training and research institute, which really impacts the broader system. Using the services that we provide, which really impacts the broader system. Using what we're learning as we provide those services to change the system for the better. Advocacy is also an important part because sometimes people don't feel like they have a voice, and an organization like ours gives them that voice. WID provides leadership training for self-advocates, including a year-long leadership training program, as well as a program called Hear Our Voices, which helps individuals with disabilities to learn skills to become leaders in the field themselves. We also have a program called Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disorders, known as LEND. LEND, for me, was a perfect entry door to a second career in advocacy. I had a lot of lived experience that felt very personal and meaningful to me, but LEND really allowed me to see how that could be useful to many other parents. WID supports individuals with disabilities and also children in the child welfare systems. Their families are critical to their well-being, to their care, so the individual, whether they're a child or an adult, are really part of a whole family system, and we support that entire family. Most importantly, we know that the impact goes far greater than the person that we're interacting with, because again, that person is going to teach other people. That person is going to become a community leader, and that is the way that we can support communities to grow from the inside out. Our communities are better when everyone can participate in the life of the community. Since the 1950s, services for people with disabilities have changed significantly, and WID has been at the forefront of leading those changes. You have to have innovation, you have to grow, but you also have to have people at every level who understand that vision, and the people who receive the work that we do deserve the absolute best. The people here are committed to doing that, and I do believe that it's a great opportunity. You know, what we always aim for. WID provides critical health care services to people with disabilities, yet the funding that we receive for those services is wholly inadequate, which has resulted in us having to stop providing certain services, so adequate funding would allow us to provide a fuller range of critically needed services to people with disabilities. Whether you know it or not, your life will be connected with disability, either by acquiring a disability or having a child with a disability or a family member, so the community needs organizations like WID to really explore better and more innovative ways of serving the needs of individuals with disabilities. So when you give to WID, you're giving to something that you know is going to have an impact, not just for that person, but for a better future. WID is moving into a new building, and the funding that we've been able to receive for that building has allowed us to create a building that is universally accessible, that really exudes the respect that we feel for the families and individuals that we serve, and none of this would have been possible without the generosity of our donors, partners, and supporters. Thank you so much.

To learn more: https://www.wihd.org/