Dear BBLC Families,
Fall has made its way here. There are trees turning to colorful hues and pumpkins are making appearances in markets and on doorsteps. Fall usually marks a new start for our children. New possibilities. This year is certainly different for all of us.
Depending on where you live, school districts might have offered either a hybrid or remote option for your children, with some families opting for remote for personal and health reasons. Very few communities are seeing full in-person learning. Some out-of-district placements have limitations as well. For others who have referred their child for services, districts have yet to engage parents in the special education process.
There are so many unknowns and none of these options are ideal for our children and place increased demands on parents juggling so many other responsibilities. As parents, we are seeking to support our children’s needs during a time they need it most. We are here to offer the support you need as we navigate our way through the fall. If we cannot help directly, we’ll do our best to help connect you with resources that can. I anticipate more challenges to come, but together we’ll get through it with open communication, patience and awareness that we, as parents, can only do so much. I have to remind myself of that daily too.
We continue to remain committed to providing your child with services safely through this pandemic. I am happy to say that, to date, we have had zero known cases of COVID transmitted from staff to client, client to staff or client to client. Thank you to all our families and staff who have followed our health and safety guidelines to ensure we remain available for ongoing services. This will be especially important as we continue through the next few months.
Finally, as we do every fall, BBLC seeks your input and feedback regarding the quality of our services. We always love to hear about the ways BBLC has positively impacted your family, but we also look for ways we can better support you and your child and improve our services. We share all positive feedback with our staff and use constructive feedback to look at how we might do things differently. Kindly take a moment to complete our annual family survey by clicking the link in the section below.
Thank you,
Dr. Maria MacLea
Take our quick Family Satisfaction Survey!
We really appreciate any and all feedback. Click on the button below!
Welcome Aboard New Staff!
BBLC is excited to welcome several new clinicians to our team of staff. We are very fortunate to be expanding our services during a time when so many families are in need of extra support.
Melinda Galbato, MS, BCBA, LABA
Director of Professional Development and Training
Ms. Galbato is responsible for overseeing our new hire training and ongoing professional development for all clinical staff. She received her Master’s Degree in Applied Behavior Analysis and Organizational Behavior Management from Florida Institute of Technology. Ms. Galbato has experiences working with individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and developmental disabilities, in public schools, residential programs, and in center and home-based settings. Her clinical interests include supervision and clinical training, verbal behavior and language development, and organizational systems analysis. She uses evidence-based training methodologies to teach new skills to staff and parents of which include competency-and performance-based evaluations. She has utilized methodologies to develop training programs for junior and senior-level clinicians in the areas of new hire orientation, clinical supervision, skill-based assessments (i.e., VB-MAPP, AFLS), performance feedback, and online data collection systems.
Kelly Barker, MS, BCBA, LABA
Board Certified Behavior Analyst
Ms. Barker serves our home-based program in the metro-west area. She discovered the field of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) during college and became very passionate about the effects the field had. She received her master’s degree in Behavior Analysis from Simmons University in 2019. She has 5 years of experience working with individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other developmental disabilities ranging from 2 to 21 years old. Ms. Barker has provided services in a private school system, as well as in home/ daycares and residential settings. Her clinical interests include verbal behavior, and assessments.
Lauren Conley, MS, BCBA, LABA
Board Certified Behavior Analyst
Ms. Conley recently joined our center-based program in Newton. She discovered ABA through an internship course during undergraduate school and fell in love with the science. She received her Masters’ of Science in Behavior Analysis from Simmons College. She has worked in the field since 2014 primarily in center and home-based services. She has experience working with infant age to adult individuals. Her clinical interests include verbal behavior and teaching various modes of communication.
Danielle Kennedy, MS, BCBA, LABA
Board Certified Behavior Analyst
Ms. Kennedy recently joined our center-based program in Canton. Ms. Kennedy received her Bachelor of Science in Psychology degree at Northeastern University. She later received her master’s degree in Behavior Analysis from Simmons College in 2017. During her co-op at Northeastern, she began working in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis at a private school for children with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities. Since then, she has worked with individuals ranging from 18 months to 22 years old in school, home and center-based settings. Her clinical interests include verbal behavior, staff training, and behavior management.
Julia Rose, MS, BCBA, LABA
Board Certified Behavior Analyst
Ms. Rose recently joined our center-based program in Newton. Julia has been working with children and adolescents with ASD and other developmental disabilities in a behavior analytic context since 2015. She received her Bachelor of Arts degrees in English and Psychology from Boston University in 2015 and received her Masters of Science degree in Applied Behavior Analysis from Regis College in 2020. She has enjoyed working with children in a variety of settings including in the home, school, community and clinic. She is passionate about improving the lives of her clients and their families and fostering an equitable, positive, supportive, and compassionate environment for all learners.
Kaitlyn Simonds, MS, BCBA, LABA
Board Certified Behavior Analyst
Ms. Simonds serves our home-based program in the Greater Boston area. She received her Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) from Regis College in 2020. Prior to Regis, she graduated summa cum laude with a double major from Husson University. Although her specialization is in Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI), for the past 7 years she has worked with individuals who have a variety of diagnoses between the ages of 2-22 in the home, clinical, and public school settings. Seeing the meaningful difference that can be made in an individual and their family’s lives has fueled her passion and determination for advancing the field of ABA. Ms. Simonds enjoys folk music, 60’s and 70’s rock, and reading books by Kristen Hannah. She has recently taken up running as a hobby, and she loves any time spent with her family.
Other Staff Announcements
Congratulations to Tim McLaughlin, Ashley Smith and Gina Parise!
We are happy to announce that Tim McLaughlin has been recently promoted to Director of Home and Consultation Services for the region south of Boston.
Many of you know that Ashley Smith has held this role for the last three years. Ms. Smith has now assumed the role of Director of Center Services at our Canton location.
Gina Parise has also now taken over the Director of Center Services at our new Rhode Island location.
We are very excited to have Mr. McLaughin, Ms. Smith and Ms. Parise in their new roles!
Early Intervention Extension Ends October 15th
Families and their children who qualified for extended services delivered through Early Intervention will be seeing this benefit end on October 15th, even if the Local Education Agency, or school district, has not yet begun the initial evaluation process to determine special education eligibility. The good news is, BBLC can continue services beyond age three for families who have the following insurance plans:
Aetna
Allways Health Partners
Beacon Health Options*
Blue Cross Blue Shield
Cigna
Fallon Health Plan*
Harvard Pilgrim
MBPH*
TriCare
Tufts Health Plan
Tufts Health Together*
United Behavioral Health
United Health Care
*MassHealth Plans
Please know that depending on your health insurance plan, co-pays may be billed directly to families when Early Intervention services end. Contact your health plan if you have questions regarding your benefits.
Updates to Telehealth
There have been so many benefits to improve access to care with the addition of Telehealth for so many families. We hope it is here to stay for both in and out of state plans. With the state of emergency still in effect, Telehealth will remain an option in special circumstances, particularly when face to face contact is not advisable. At this time, we know that nationwide Optum plans including United Health Care and United Behavioral Health. There will continue to be no co-pay for Allways Health Partners and Harvard Pilgrim plans.
High Demand for Center Services
Since school closures, our centers have served over 35 families. We are continuing to offer services at our Massachusetts locations including Newton and Canton, as well as our newest location in East Providence, RI. We recommend center services for children who need intensive and comprehensive ABA therapy in a clinic-based environment. Fewer distractions mean more opportunities to learn! If you are interested in one of our centers, please discuss your interest with your BCBA.
BBLC is Now a Certified Medicaid Provider in Rhode Island
BBLC has been certified as an approved medicaid provider of home services in Rhode Island through the Executive Office of Health and Human Services. This standard of excellence demonstrates BBLC’s commitment to quality of services. We look forward to expanding into the the state of Rhode Island to offer the same quality services we have delivered in Massachusetts since 2016.
