New England Consortium on Deafblindness - NEC

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 - nec@perkins.org

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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 nec@perkins.org.

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!

06/26/2025

It’s Deafblind Awareness Week!

This year it takes place between June 22 - 28, 2025.

Some facts from the National Center on Deafblindness:

Deafblindness is a unique disability. A child who is deafblind has a combination of hearing and vision loss where those senses are reduced, distorted, or missing entirely.
More than 70 causes have been identified for deafblindness.
Of children with deafblindness 85% have one or more additional disabilities
About 10,000 children in the U.S., ages birth-21, have been identified as deafblind.

NEC is a collaborative program that enables infants, children, and youth who are deafblind to participate meaningfully in their homes, schools, and communities. We provide free services in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. Join us in spreading the word about Deafblind Awareness Week!

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¡Es la Semana de Concientización sobre la Sordoceguera!

Este año se celebra del 22 al 28 de junio de 2025.

Algunos datos del Centro Nacional de Sordoceguera

La sordoceguera es una discapacidad única. Un niño sordociego presenta una combinación de pérdida auditiva y visual, donde estos sentidos se reducen, distorsionan o desaparecen por completo.
Se han identificado más de 70 causas de sordoceguera.
El 85 % de los niños con sordoceguera tiene una o más discapacidades adicionales.
Aproximadamente 10,000 niños en EE. UU., desde su nacimiento hasta los 21 años, han sido identificados como sordociegos.

New England Consortium on Deafblindness (NEC) es un programa colaborativo que permite a bebés, niños y jóvenes sordociegos participar activamente en sus hogares, escuelas y comunidades. Ofrecemos servicios gratuitos en Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire y Vermont. ¡Únase a nosotros para difundir la Semana de Concientización sobre la Sordoceguera!

06/09/2025

Happy Vision Rehabilitation Week! During – June 9-15, we celebrate the incredible, highly trained professionals who provide life-changing Vision Rehabilitation training and services. Almost 20 million people in the US live with blindness and vision loss that creates significant challenges with everyday activities. A broad range of Vision Rehabilitation programs, training, and support can dramatically increase confidence, safety, and independence. Learn more, read inspiring stories, and obtain vital resources at bit.ly/2025vrw. Access the Toolkit at bit.ly/VRWToolkit.

06/02/2025

Congratulations to NEC student and longtime NEC blog contributor Amelia on her graduation this month! Her reflection is part of this months newsletter. Check your inboxes for the latest news from NEC! Didn’t hear from us? Sign up for our newsletter mailings at the link in our bio!

¡Felicitaciones a Amelia, estudiante de NEC y colaboradora del blog, por su graduación este mes! Su reflexión forma parte del boletín informativo de este mes. ¡Revisen su correo electrónico para enterarse de las últimas noticias de NEC! ¿No recibió noticias nuestras? ¡Suscríbanse a nuestro boletín informativo en el enlace de nuestra biografía!

05/08/2025

Next Wednesday, May 14th is Congenital CMV Briefing and Advocacy Day and the Massachusetts Congenital Cytomegalovirus (cCMV Coalition) needs your help!

The Massachusetts State Legislature just began the start of its new two-year session. The cCMV
Coalition’s bill An Act relative to newborn screenings for congenital cytomegalovirus has been refiled by Senator Joan Lovely as S.1573.

We want to ensure that as many Senators and Representatives as possible sign on to these bills as co-sponsors to demonstrate widespread support.

Please call or email your State Senator and State Representative TODAY!

Email us at nec@perkins.org if you’d like some email or phone scripts.

05/08/2025

Next Wednesday, May 14th is Congenital CMV Briefing and Advocacy Day and the Massachusetts Congenital Cytomegalovirus (cCMV Coalition) needs your help!

The Massachusetts State Legislature just began the start of its new two-year session. The cCMV
Coalition’s bill An Act relative to newborn screenings for congenital cytomegalovirus has been refiled by Senator Joan Lovely as S.1573.

We want to ensure that as many Senators and Representatives as possible sign on to these bills as co-sponsors to demonstrate widespread support.

Please call or email your State Senator and State Representative TODAY!

Email us at nec@perkins.org if you'd like some email or phone scripts.

02/04/2025

NEC Families check your inboxes! We sent out our latest newsletter and in it included a last chance call for our NEC virtual session on weather. Those who sign up will receive a completely free set of craft and reading materials on the topic of weather! We invite you to sign up while supplies last. Check out our latest newsletter for more information as well as how to register.

¡Las familias revisan sus bandejas de entrada! Enviamos nuestro último boletín informativo y en él incluimos una llamada de última oportunidad para nuestra sesión virtual de NEC sobre el clima. ¡Aquellos que se registren recibirán un conjunto completamente gratuito de materiales de lectura y manualidades sobre el tema del clima! Te invitamos a inscribirte hasta agotar existencias. Consulte nuestro último boletín para obtener más información y saber cómo registrarse.