how to force a submit-on-change on a widget

Hi there,

I have a drop down list widget with a  <fd:on-value-changed> defined and 
with JavaScript that fires as a result.

When I manually change the value in the drop down, the event triggers, 
and the JavaScript (call it JS1) executes without a problem.

However, if I change the value in this dropdown by executing another 
JavaScript (say JS2)...then the event does not fire.

Is there anyway for me to force this to fire the widget's 
on-value-changed event and its associated JS1 from JS2?

thx
Paul