Making a Meaningful Difference Begins with Respect, Compassion, and Commitment.

The Durham Center for Education, a private special education school, supports students with Autism Spectrum Disorders, developmental disabilities and social skills deficits. Our primary goal is to teach functional and pro-social skills that can be easily generalized to the student's community and home. Our curricula, aligned with Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks, are directly related to a student's interests, aptitudes and abilities. At the Durham Center, students learn academic, social, daily living skills, independent living skills, community and vocational skill development.

Our staff and specialists are trained to serve youngsters from eight to twenty-two years of age with intellectual disabilities and challenging behavior through our day and extended day programs. It is our goal to enrich the lives of students with cognitive, social, behavioral, and communicative disabilities so that they may rejoin their peers in their neighborhood public schools.

Our staff and specialists include Board Certified Behavior Analysts, a Speech Pathologist, Occupational Therapist, Physical Therapist, Vocational Coordinator and Clinical Psychologist.

How We Help Students Achieve Success

• An integrated curriculum emphasizing use of positive supports to help children build their skills in all areas;
• Applied behavioral analyses and ongoing behavioral assessment to help students achieve social, language and academic success and behavioral self control; 
• Individualized academic assessment that leads to fully individualized instruction;
• A strong emphasis on functional communication;
• The use of a variety of instructional methodologies including precision teaching, errorless learning, discrete trial training, and self-monitoring

Community Based Instruction - Most Important Principle of the Durham Center

• Our students apply and practice skills in natural environments - it is our belief that this philosophy has the most impact on children.
• All students access the community as part of their educational program.
• Community inclusion may involve banking, shopping, recreational activities, community-based work experience, supported employment, travel training, and stranger training in neighborhoods where students naturally participate.
• Students have scheduled time to use local community and public school facilities such as the Mount Wachusett Community College for swimming and exercise.
• Many students have paid and volunteer placements (e.g., Leominster Hospital, Gamache's Bicycle Shop, and The Community Journal) with the support of job coaches.
  

Striving to Assist Students in Returning to their Local Schools

• Coordination and collaboration with public school personnel.
• Frequent written and phone contact between school and home.
• Focus on the behavioral and social skills that permit easy assimilation into new environments.
• Consultation with school personnel who will be working with the individual upon his/her departure from the Durham Center.
• Frequent opportunities for family members and school personnel to join students in plays, special events, outings and celebrations of progress at the Durham Center.　 

Curriculum Highlights

Academic Instruction
English Language Arts, Math, Science, Engineering & Technology, History, Art, Health, Music and Physical
Education                                                            
Functional Academics
Time Telling and Money Management
Social Skills
Groups and Generalization Training
Daily Living Skills
Cooking, Shopping, Household Tasks, and Self-Care Skills
Independent Living Skills
Budget Training, Safety Skills Training, and Using Public Transportation
Vocational
Vocational Evaluation, Work Based Learning, and Supported Employment
Behavioral Consultation
Applied Behavior Analysis, Functional Behavior Assessments, Training,
Classroom Instruction and Supervision
Recreational Activities
Swimming, Bowling, Miniature Golf, and Hiking