(Smithtown, NY) Developmental Disabilities Institute (DDI), the leading service provider for children and adults with autism on Long Island, is the recipient of the Matthew Stansky Memorial Music Room. Family, friends and staff joined together for a dedication ceremony this past Friday.
“Matthew had an immense love for music,” commented mother Millie Stansky. It didn’t matter if he was listening to his transistor radio or a fellow peer playing the piano. Mathew would lose himself listening to music for hours on end. It only seems fitting to dedicate a newly refurbished music room in his honor so that music can live on with his fellow peers in his name.”
Millie Stansky, Danielle Stansky and Joe Stansky join together for a dedication ceremony of the Matthew Stansky Memorial Music Room. Photo Credit: DDI.
Matthew Stansky is a former student of DDI who sadly passed away last year after fighting a long illness at the age of 23. The Music Room is located at DDI’s Lake Avenue Adult Day Program. The program, located in Nesconset, provides numerous services for over 70 adults with autism and other developmental disabilities. The vibrant room received all new musical instruments, along with a state of the art sound system and display. Some of the items included are a new smart tv, wireless microphones, piano, acoustic guitars, a new drum set, music stools, benches and numerous other instruments. A plaque hangs on the wall that reads, “A song may end but its melody lingers on forever.” The renovations to the music room were made possible by the Mathew Stansky Memorial Fund.
“During his short life with us, Matthew became a source of inspiration to all who knew him and provided care to him,” commented John Lessard, DDI’s Executive Director. “With the generosity of his family and friends, we will be able to preserve his memory here at DDI. I cannot thank them enough.”
DDI is a not-for-profit agency headquartered in Smithtown, NY, with more than 30 locations throughout Suffolk and Nassau Counties. Serving nearly 1,000 children and adults with a diagnosis of an autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), DDI is the largest provider of services for individuals with Autism on Long Island. It provides special educational, vocational, day and residential programs, as well as healthcare services for over 5,000 children and adults with autism or other developmental disabilities. DDI also operates family-centered preschool programs for both children with disabilities as well as typically developing students. DDI was founded in 1961 by a group of parents to address the special educational and therapeutic needs of their children with autism or other developmental disabilities. DDI is a member agency of the United Way of Long Island.
For more information about DDI, visit www.ddiny.org.
