June 2025 LABBB Newsletter

June Newsletter

LABBB Graduation 2025

Sharing best practices and promoting inclusive opportunities for students with special needs

Executive Director's

Message

Dear LABBB Community,

Time keeps flying by! Wow! I can’t even believe that we are talking about the end of the school year… where did it go? Suffice to say, LABBB has been BUSY!! The last day for students is Monday, June 23rd.

Summer programming begins Monday, July 7th - our programs are running full days, Monday through Fridays exactly as the school year calendar. If you have any questions, please contact your Program Coordinator.

Our first day for students for the 2025-2026 school year is Tuesday, September 2nd.

As we reflect on the school year, I'd like to share a snapshot of the amazing work that has been ongoing: I am thrilled with the ‘direction’ of LABBB - staff is committed to improving programming and experiences for our students, we are diligently committed to exploring and strengthening our community based experiences for our high school students, our unbelievable APE department continues to explore health and wellness experiences for all of our learners… who knows perhaps Project Adventure and more Planet Fitness opportunities are in our future. Our related services staff continue to impress with their commitment to furthering our students' independence and targeted skill development. Our nursing staff has worked diligently to improve the parent portal of SNAP (stay tuned as we continuing to refine this). Our amazing and talented teachers and teaching assistants have worked hard this year on crafting strong IEPs using the newly renovated MA IEP forms. Additionally, their focus on curriculum development for learners has been outstanding! We have rolled out the new IEP, a newly improved website, new hiring and onboarding procedures, and are rolling out new accounting software. As I shared, we have been busy!

LABBB’s high school graduation ceremony, a remarkable recognition of the dedication and hard work of our students, occurred Thursday, June 5th at the Scottish Rite Museum in Lexington, MA. A truly inspiring celebration of accomplishments of LABBB learners! We are so very proud of all of these students!

As we end this school year, a repeated note of gratitude - for collaboratively working with us to support your children, for your patience as we navigate challenges, for your smiles as we share successes, for sharing your ideas and feedback to help LABBB flourish, and for being with us on this journey.

LABBB Evening Parent Meetings

Parent evenings will begin again in October 2025 - if you have ideas of topics you would like to learn more about please do not hesitate to contact me directly at pgirouard@labbb.net with any questions or comments.

With appreciation,

Pam

Hope you enjoy our Graduation 2025 Video

Graduation 2025

Clinical Corner: Choices

By: Maggie Oram and Laura Leonard

Choice can make a huge difference in the lives of our students, but how often do our students actually get to make choices? Why is it so important for them to make choices?

Many students struggle with the feeling of not being in control, or with being told what they have to be doing throughout the day. It is very important for parents and teachers to try to motivate the students to want to be a part of the activity, or finish their work to get to the fun breaks and activities. How do we help motivate them?

By providing choice. We can provide them a choice in the order in which they complete an activity, what kind of activity they want to complete, where they want to complete the activity, and even how they complete it. We can also provide choice in what they are able to earn or work towards.

Many of our students often do not get to make many choices for themselves throughout the day. They cannot decide where they go to school and when, what time they wake up, sometimes what they are eating, and many don’t have a lot of choice in their schedules outside of school, especially if there are siblings and extracurricular activities. Choice aids in allowing our students to take some control back, while also having them still follow the outline of the school day or activity.

It is very easy to think “well, if I am letting them choose, I am ‘giving in’ or not having them follow directions”. Though this may appear true, students are choosing to go against direction also because of a skill deficit in the area of following directions, or due to being unsure of what comes next, or when they will have the chance to make a choice or have control again. When you feel yourself getting into a back-and-forth with the child about completing a task, stop and offer a few choices of other ways we can get the activity done that seem different than the original task. This could look like shortening the length of the activity and finishing the rest later, having you write and the student tell you the answer, or working in a more fun environment if the desk is not the place to be at the moment.

Choice makes students feel empowered, but also allows them to continue to have the chance to follow through with expectations that are set for them. At home this could look like letting them pick out an outfit from an array of choices, giving one or two opinions for a snack, when it’s possible (schedules are hard!) letting your child pick the order in which the activities they need to do can happen.

We as caregivers, teachers, and providers can make students feel empowered in their life by making choices. We can help them make good choices throughout the day!

Is your child interested in trying a new sport? Billerica Youth Field Hockey is excited to announce that they will be hosting their first ever Unified Field Hockey Clinic through the USA Field Hockey Program! The Clinic is open to all surrounding towns.. Click on the link https://usafieldhockey.sport80.com/public/wizard/e/132/home

LABBB Recreation

It’s hard to believe June is already here and almost over. We have had a great year for afterschool recreational activities. Trips to the Enchanted Village, Dave and Busters, and Red Sox & Revolution games were all well received and attended. Mini golf, bowling, and many more activities were also well represented.

We also held monthly dances and a LABBB Prom. The prom’s red carpet was alive with students decked out in their finest. They were interviewed by LexMedia at the end of the carpet, took photos under a balloon arch, and danced under the stars to a DJ. See photos below of some of the attendees.

Upcoming Events:

July 3rd - LABBB family day (3-5:00PM) at the Lexington Carnival.

Look for 2025-2026 After School Recreation information in the August newsletter and on the LABBB website.

REMINDER: The LABBB Recreation Brochure and monthly trips/dances flyers will ONLY be in our emailed LABBB newsletter and on our website (www.labbb.com). They will no longer be sent to LABBB family homes via USPS.

Remember to follow @LABBBREC on Twitter

The Great Blizzards is the team for everybody without a team. We teach and coach and engage in all-inclusive hockey out of the Kingston Bog Ice Arena, the Tony Kent Arena in S Dennis on the Cape, and now coming in the Fall of 2025- Winthrop, MA!

With friendly, experienced coaches of all ages and genders and an emphasis on blending challenge with fun, we bring skaters of all skill levels, genders, accommodation requirements, and economic backgrounds together to play hockey and travel with us to games and tournaments. We make every effort to include all players, regardless of physical or cognitive needs, age, gender, race, ethnicity, experience and other background.

Our team is currently reaching out to contacts in your area in order to spread the word of our newest location in Winthrop. We are looking for both child and adult players as well volunteers and coaches. No ice skating experience is required for interested players, we will teach them how to skate and eventually work to teaching them the game of hockey. We provide all equipment (on loan) free of charge to our players.

Can you please share our information flyer with your network in your community? We are also looking for any helpful resources, networks, emails, and connections to people in your area that could help spread the word of our new team.

We are looking for child or adult players with cognitive disabilities, autism, down syndrome or any developmental disability in the Acton Boxborough, Amesbury, Arlington, Andover, Belmont, Beverly, Boston, Cambridge, Chelsea, Danvers, East Boston, Everett, Gloucester, Lynnfield, Lynn, Malden, Manchester, Marblehead, Medford, Melrose, Middleton, North Reading, Peabody, Reading, Revere, Rockport, Saugus, Salem, Somerville, Topsfield, Waltham, Wakefield, Winchester and Woburn. If you have any helpful resources or connections how to spread the word in the special needs community of these towns please feel free to share.

For more information on how to register please email Coach Nearman at coachnearms@thegreatblizz.org

LABBB Parent Resources

This information is offered as community resources that may be of interest to our families. LABBB does not have any specific affiliations to these programs.

The Buzzin’ Bean! Opening soon, family of a LABBB student.

This isn’t just a café — it is the beginning of a dream. A dream of building a future filled with purpose, love, and belonging — for our son, who is autistic, and for the vibrant community that surrounds us. Like so many parents of autistic children, we’ve envisioned creating something that celebrates inclusion, purpose, and possibility as our children grow into adults. We hope to create a space where our son and others can thrive in their abilities.

At the core of every strong community is heart, and that heart is inclusive. It’s diverse. It’s buzzing with connection. The Buzzin’ Bean exists to honor that spirit—shining a light on the talents, passions, and potential of all individuals.

We’re building more than a business — we’re building a place where joy is shared, kindness is served, and every person is celebrated for who they are.

Calmer Con - Boston

https://www.calmercon.org/

Calmer Con is specifically designed to meet the needs of those with sensory processing challenges, autism, and anxiety concerns while providing an authentic comics and pop culture convention experience.

ACEing Autism – ACEing Autism

https://aceingautism.org/

Discovery Museum - Acton

www.discoveryacton.org

Discovery Museum Announces Schedule of Free Events for Visitors with Disabilities for the First Half of 2025

Questions can be emailed to sheilman@discoveryacton.org

Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth (MPY)

mpyinc.org

SNAP Arts Programs

https://snaparts.org/programs/

Discovery Museum

fun@discoveryacton.org