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Consultants
Affiliated Agencies
Consultants
The states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts
and New Hampshire
have joined in a collaborative process to provide technical assistance and
consultation to infants, children and youth with deafblindness. This
collaboration has been in existence for over two decades. The New England Center offers technical assistance in
cooperation with each State Education Agency consistent with the priorities
set forth by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education
and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS).
The New England
Center is staffed by a
small core of professionals who are responsible for providing technical
assistance to children who are deafblind and their families, and delivering education
and learning programs related to deafblindness.
To contact any of the professionals listed below, please Contact NEC.
Center Based Personnel
Barbara Mason,
Project Director, is a graduate of the Boston College Master's Degree program
in Deafblind Education. She has
over 25 years of experience in teaching, consulting and supervising programs
for children who are deafblind. She has been active in local, state and
national organizations, as well as parent groups. She has served on many
advisory boards, has established linkages to collaborative statewide efforts
and is committed to increasing the ability of local communities to include
children who are deafblind. She has given presentations at regional, national
and international conferences. Barbara has had experience in developing,
implementing and overseeing several federally funded projects. She has been
the Project Director for NEC for
the past ten years.
Tracy Evans Luiselli, Project Coordinator, received her
M. Ed. in Deafblind Education at Boston College and her doctorate in Early
Childhood/Special Education from the University of Massachusetts/Amherst. Tracy has experience
teaching children who are deafblind in a variety of settings (e.g. public
schools and home based settings). She served as adjunct faculty at Boston College
and Simmons College. Tracy has presented and written extensively
and is certified in Low Vision, Moderate Special Needs, Intensive Special
Needs and Elementary Education.
Cheryl Harvey,
Project Assistant, is responsible for updating and maintaining NEC's student registry and database, coordinating training's, meetings, mailings, NEC's budget, and producing the NEC web site and newsletter. Cheryl also helps with office computer support.
Massachusetts Based Personnel
Susan DeCaluwe,
Education Consultant, received her Master's Degree in Deafblind
Education from Boston
College. Susan has
extensive experience working in a wide array of educational settings for the
past 29 years. As a consultant and program director at Meyer Children's
Rehabilitation Institute in Nebraska,
she provided assessment and training to deafblind children and their
teachers. Susan has published numerous papers including such topics as Transdisciplinary
Team Development and Assessment
Training Modules for professionals. She served on the faculty of the University of Omaha at the graduate level. Susan has
given presentations about deafblindness regionally, nationally and
internationally. She is certified in Intensive Special Needs, Vision and
Early Childhood Education. Over the past five years, she has trained more
than 600 professionals and paraprofessionals.
Connecticut Based Personnel
Karen Olson,
Education Consultant, Board of Education and Services for the Blind, Connecticut. Karen received
her M. Ed. in Deafblind/Multi-handicapped
Education from Boston
College. For over 25
years, she has worked with deaf and deafblind individuals of all ages. She
has taught at Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown,
MA the Model
Secondary School for the Deaf at Gallaudet University, and for the New England
Center Deafblind Project. She
currently works with infants, toddlers and young children with deafblindness.
Kathy Morgan, Education Consultant, Board of Education
and Services for the Blind. Kathy Morgan, received her Master’s Degree in Deafblind Education from Boston College, and has been involved in education of children who are deafblind for 30+ years. She provides consultative services to children who are deafblind, or multi-impaired/visually impaired in their homes or educational programs; offers inservices on sensory impairments, CVI , and the impact of deafblindness; and supports the role of parents in advocating for appropriate services for their children.
Janette Peracchio, Family Specialist, Board of Education
and Services for the Blind.
Maine Based Personnel
Jean Small, Educational Consultant.
New
Hampshire
Based Personnel
Cate Weir, M. Ed. NH Vision/Hearing Network Coordinator,
ATECH
Ms. Weir brings to the project 25 years of experience in working with
individuals with disabilities, and over ten years of experience in grant and
project management. Cate serves as the NH State Coordinator for the Northeast Technical Assistance
Center, providing
training and technical assistance regarding the needs of college students who
are deaf or hard of hearing, a post she has held since 1998.
Janet Halley, Program Director, M.I.C.E. Program. MICE is a statewide program providing educational and developmental services to
sensory impaired infants birth to age three. The purpose of this program is to
identify infants at risk for or diagnosed with a sensory impairment and to
provide developmental and educational interventions. The goal of the program is
to promote the highest degree of functional sensory efficiency possible within
the context of the child's overall development and family functioning.
Kimberly Conlon, Educational Consultant, received her Master's Degree in Deafblind Education from Boston College. She taught at Perkins School for the Blind, Watertown, MA for 11 years in the Deafblind Program. As well as teaching students in the classroom, Kim trainined international colleagues (both Perkins and abroad) and student teachers from Boston College to work with children with Deafblindness. She has presented at conferences on the topics of curriculum, communication, teaching strategies, and literacy. Kim is certified in Intensive Special Needs.
NEC Affiliated Agencies
Connecticut
Board of Education and Services for the Blind (BESB)
Dedicated to serving all people who are legally blind and children who are visually impaired that are residents of the State of Connecticut.
New Hampshire
ATECH Services
Is a non-profit statewide organization, whose mission is to maximize abilities at home, school, work or play, for individuals affected by disabilities or the aging process, through the provision of assistive technology, education, or community health services. Since 1991 ATECH Services has assisted over 20,000 New Hampshire residents affected by disabilities or the aging process in achieving their goals at home, school, work, or play through the provision of assistive technology.
NH Assistive Technology Evaluation & Consultation (NH-ATEC)
Provides specialized evaluations and consultations:
- wheelchair seating and mobility services;
- Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) services for those who are unable to effectively use speech to express themselves;
- computer access services for individuals who require special hardware or software to use a computer at home, school or work;
- home and worksite modification services; and
- modification and fabrication services to modify commercial products and fabricate equipment not otherwise available.
Massachusetts
Perkins School for the Blind
The Perkins School for the Blind is the sponsoring agency for the New England Center Deafblind Project in Massachusetts.
Maine
Catholic Charities Maine
NEC is affiliated with Education Services for Blind & Visually Impaired Children (ESBVIC), a service of Catholic Charities Maine. Catholic Charities provides human services in numerous categories to the State of Maine.
State Departments of Education
Connecticut
Maine
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
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