As a vocational specialist, Julie LeBlanc, MS, BCBA, LABA is responsible for developing and overseeing job opportunities within NECC and in the local community, as well as working with students and their teams to determine the best vocational work for them.
For the last couple of years, the COVID pandemic and a national staffing shortage have burdened NECC staff and restricted the availability of extracurricular activities for students. While NECC’s staff count has been slowly increasing, this fall, the Center received an influx of help in the form of international staff.
For nearly 20 years, the Academic and Education departments have collaborated with educational coordinators to sponsor six-week science enrichment units that culminated in a Science Fair for NECC students. This January, after a three-year hiatus, science enrichment returned to NECC, albeit in a reimagined form.
Throughout the months of February and March, NECC students participated in Special Olympics Basketball. During their gym sessions, students took part in basketball skills and games, while APE/OT/PT staff served as coaches and provided instruction for these skill-building activities.
Sleep is an essential part of a healthy and productive life. For children who are growing and developing, beginning the day with a solid foundation of a good night’s sleep is crucial. At NECC, ensuring that happens falls on the residential counselors.
Elliot Handin is a fighter. Diagnosed with leukemia at just three months old, Elliot beat the odds, defied his doctors’ grim diagnoses, and is now a thriving 17-year-old student in NECC’s residential program.
Though Alex Heggie has only worked at The New England Center for Children (NECC) in Southborough for two years, his connections with the organization date back more than a decade – and another continent.
