Ridge High students shared the dance floor with Matheny adult resident Yasin Reddick. From left, Emily Parker, Anna Hess and Sarah Desatnick.

The theme was “Arabian Nights”; the music was provided by the B.D. Lenz Band and deejay Craig Soprano; the decorations were created by Matheny’s Recreation Therapy Department; and music therapists accompanied belly dancers as students and patients entered the Skylands in Randolph, NJ, for the Matheny Prom, held on Thursday, May 14.

The prom is widely anticipated by the teenagers and adults at Matheny. The girls and young women in attendance received a special beauty treatment earlier in the afternoon given by volunteers from Kaleidoscope Hair & Body Artistry in Basking Ridge, NJ. And the evening was enlivened by the attendance of several members of The Junior Friends of Matheny—students from nearby Bernards and Ridge High Schools—who brought a special community spirit to the event, serving as dancing partners and good friends to the promgoers.

The prom is an example of Matheny’s efforts to enrich the quality of life for people with developmental disabilities. The evening was coordinated by the Recreation Therapy Department, which is responsible for providing students and patients with a variety of recreation opportunities and resources to improve their physical, emotional, cognitive and social well-being. The event was funded by a donation from Novartis.

Raissa Rojas, left, and Emily Maheras of Bernards High on the dance floor with Matheny student, Mohamed El Yamany.