Things began to turn around at NECC, where an intensive 1:1 Applied Behavior Analysis program dramatically changed her life. Beth began by learning a Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) to communicate. Later, she progressed to communicating verbally with her parents and teachers without the aid of pictures.

Today, Beth uses sentences of up to seven words. She is able to spell and write her name and take care of all her self-care needs without assistance. She enjoys talking with her teachers, looking at books, singing, listening to music, coloring, and running around on the treadmill and playground. She loves playing “dress up” and sometimes comes to school as one of her favorite Disney characters.

Just last summer Beth was accepted into the academic classroom setting and is making great strides in reading, spelling, math, handwriting, money and time-telling skills. Her concentration has improved greatly, enabling her to participate in group instruction sessions that last up to 30 minutes. Beth is able to identify over 20 sight words, and is beginning to work on counting out change and simple addition problems.

At home, Beth has also made impressive gains, using many of the same skills she has learned at school. She is becoming more and more social with family and friends, even joining in games with her brothers and sister. At home, Beth enjoys coloring, cooking, swimming and shopping trips. She is also beginning to tackle simple homework assignments with her parents.

In eight years, NECC has helped Beth become a very independent, happy, and socially outgoing young lady. Her teachers and staff are extremely proud of her progress to date and are excited about how far she’ll go in the future.