New England Consortium on Deafblindness - NEC

05/05/2026

The latest issue of our newsletter was sent out last week and featured in it was a recap of our Family Storytime session on Insects! Our Family Storytime series sends out educational kits on a variety of subjects to interested families. View the article linked in our bio to learn more from Educational Consultant Helene Gallagher about how to introduce the topic of insects in an accessible way!

04/03/2026

Meet our newest Educational Consultant, Anna Clark Jackson! Anna has over two decades of experience teaching students with disabilities in a variety of PreK – 12+ settings. She worked as an educational consultant supporting DHHDB students, their families, and school teams in Vermont prior to joining NEC. Read more about her in her Staff Spotlight article, link in bio!

11/24/2025

Join NEC to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the IDEA this week 🎉 Since 1975, the IDEA has made it possible for children with disabilities to participate fully in learning. Over 8 million children are currently served because of the IDEA, spanning across the United States. IDEA changed the educational landscape. We’re proud to have been funded by the United States Department of Education, Special Education division as a result of the IDEA and hope to continue celebrating its legacy for many years to come.

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Únase a NEC para celebrar el 50.º aniversario de IDEA esta semana 🎉 Desde 1975, IDEA ha hecho posible que los niños con discapacidades participen plenamente en el aprendizaje. Actualmente, más de 7,6 millones de niños reciben servicios de IDEA en todo Estados Unidos. IDEA transformó el panorama educativo. Nos enorgullece haber recibido financiación del Departamento de Educación de los Estados Unidos, División de Educación Especial, a través de IDEA, y esperamos seguir celebrando su legado durante muchos años.

11/10/2025

Our NEC team loved seeing some of our professional colleagues at the NE/AER Conference last week! We’re grateful for the community and meaningful conversations.

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¡A nuestro equipo de NEC le encantó ver a algunos de nuestros colegas profesionales en la Conferencia NE/AER la semana pasada! Estamos agradecidos por la comunidad y las conversaciones significativas.

10/10/2025

NEC Community, We have an update: We’re Back in Business – Together!

Our October newsletter was sent out yesterday, featuring the good news and all our upcoming offerings. An excerpt of our Director Tracy’s letter is included below:

On September 5th, we were notified that our federal NEC grant would be discontinued as of September 30th and given just seven days to appeal. Our appeal was denied on September 27th — but we have great news!
We’re back in business through a new subcontract award from the National Center on Deafblindness (NCDB).

Through this new partnership, we’re able to continue providing training, consultation, and family networking opportunities. Our team is growing, and we’ll soon be back at full speed!

Most importantly, this experience reminded us that we need each other. Families, schools, and professionals working together ensure that children who are deafblind have every opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive. Thank you for your many letters of support - your kind words truly kept us going. ❤️

10/09/2025

NEC Community. We have an update: We’re Back in Business – Together!

Our October newsletter has just been sent out, featuring the good news and all our upcoming offerings. A copy of our Director Tracy's letter is included below:

On September 5th, we were notified that our federal NEC grant would be discontinued as of September 30th and given just seven days to appeal. Our appeal was denied on September 27th — but we have great news!

We’re back in business through a new subcontract award from the National Center on Deafblindness (NCDB).

Through this new partnership, we’re able to continue providing training, consultation, and family networking opportunities. Our team is growing, and we’ll soon be back at full speed!

Most importantly, this experience reminded us that we need each other. Families, schools, and professionals working together ensure that children who are deafblind have every opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive. Thank you for your many letters of support - your kind words truly kept us going.

NEC Trainings and Events - Coming Soon:

🎓Para/Intervener Training

Begins October 15 - Kickoff Meeting
Registration closes November 14

🤝 Family Connections Series: Learning and Sharing Together

Monthly - Beginning November 10 @12:00 pm

🎓 DB Overview Training Series

November 19, December 17, January 14
Registration opens October 16

🤝 Consultation to Teams

For teams that want consultation and training, sign-up opens October 16

🚀 Transition Planning Series

For teams serving deafblind teens and young adults (ages 14–21)
Starting in November

❄️ Winter Seminar in Deafblindness

High-Quality Practices for Teams Serving Deafblind Learners
February 5 and 6, 2026

🎓 UMASS/Boston Deafblind Professional Certificate in Deafblindness
(5 Courses)

New Cohort Begins Fall 2026
Reserve your place - [email protected]

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We’ll share more details soon. Thank you for your continued support, resilience, and partnership. We always welcome your assistance with new referrals and your ideas for future activities and training - please reach out at [email protected].

Together, we’re moving forward with renewed energy and hope!

With gratitude,

Tracy
Tracy Evans Luiselli, Ed.D., NEC Director

09/04/2025

A new school year means new opportunities to learn, grow, and shine! 🌟 NEC wishes all of our students and families a very happy start of the school year!

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¡Un nuevo año escolar significa nuevas oportunidades para aprender, crecer y destacar! 🌟 ¡NEC les desea a todos nuestros estudiantes y familias un muy feliz comienzo de año escolar!

08/15/2025

Please consider taking AFB's survey if you have the time! They are interested in learning more about the Deafblind community and people with disabilities in general.

AFB is conducting a national study on how people are using artificial intelligence across areas like education, employment, healthcare, and transportation. Your participation will help support the development of more inclusive AI.

We are especially seeking input from adults without disabilities to help us gain a fuller picture of how AI is affecting people from all backgrounds. At the same time, we continue to welcome and value responses from people with disabilities as an essential part of this research.

Your voice matters, whether you use AI often, occasionally, or not at all. Take the survey: www.afb.org/AISurvey.

08/08/2025

Learn about our collaborative Graduate Certificate program!

The Institute for Community Inclusion at UMass Boston supports the rights of children and adults with disabilities to participate in all aspects of society. As practitioners, researchers, and teachers, we form partnerships with individuals, families, and service agencies. Together we advocate for pe...

07/02/2025

Extra! Extra! Did you receive our latest newsletter yesterday? In it, we shared some important updates about NEC and the Deafblind community as well as some ideas to keep the kids entertained and learning this summer. We also shared our latest edition of our Family Storytime Series, where our consultants go over learning opportunities and show how to break them down to make them more accessible for all learners. Our website has been updated with that article and recording! Take a peak at our story highlights, or the links in our bio, to learn more!

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¡Extra! ¡Extra! ¿Recibiste nuestro último boletín informativo ayer? En él, compartimos novedades importantes sobre NEC y la comunidad de personas sordociegas, además de ideas para que los niños se entretengan y aprendan este verano. También compartimos la última edición de nuestra serie "Cuentos en Familia", donde nuestros asesores repasan las oportunidades de aprendizaje y muestran cómo desglosarlas para que sean más accesibles para todos los estudiantes. ¡Actualizamos nuestro sitio web con este artículo y la grabación! ¡Echa un vistazo a nuestros artículos destacados o a los enlaces en nuestra biografía para obtener más información!