OUR AGENCY
Founded in 1969, WAPADH is a private, non-profit organization that supports individuals with a variety of lifelong disabilities including Cerebral Palsy, Autism, Down’s syndrome and related medical and/or behavioral disorders. Our history of achievements is the result of strong community and family support and an organizational culture that continually seeks to remove barriers and change the limiting cultural stereotypes long associated with this population. WAPADH currently serves people in the Southeast Los Angeles, San Gabriel Valley and North Orange County areas.
Early achievements included:
- Established the first continuing education program for adults with disabilities in the Whittier area .
- Through a grant, established Respite Care Programs for families challenged with a son or daughter who required 24 hours of continuous care.
- With a grant from the State of California, developed Project Homelife, a small family style living project for adults with disabilities.
- In the absence of summer programs for school age children, developed a summer recreation camp concept in the mid-1980’s.
- With grants from CalTrans and local givers, established a supplemental transportation system for people with physical disabilities in the Whittier area.
More recent accomplishments include:
- The establishment of a Supported Living Program for individuals who would like to live in their own homes.
- In co-operation with the Whittier Area Co-operative for Special Education Programs (WACSEP), establishment of the Technology Lending Library that benefits public school children and adults with communication disorders.
- The establishment of free weekend and evening trainings for teachers, families, consumers and staff in Facilitated Communication and use of augmentative communication devices.
- Development of A Mentorship Project for Communication Partner Support
- In 2005, established a Language Arts Library to improve the use of language for children and adults with disabilities using Facilitated Communication and augmentative communication devices.
