Perkins is committed to providing education and services that build productive, meaningful lives for children and adults around the world who are blind, deafblind or visually impaired with or without other disabilities.

Steven M Rothstein, President, E-mail: steven.rothstein@perkins.org
Dorinda Rife, Superintendent, E-mail: dorinda.rife@Perkins.org
Christopher Underwood, Director of Admissions and Evaluations, E-mail: chris.underwood@perkins.org

Diagnostic Evaluation Services:Students who are visually impaired, deafblind, or deaf with other disabilities have unique learning needs. Formally evaluating each student’s strengths and needs allows teachers and parents to develop individualized education programs that provide the best possible learning experience for the student. Our teams of experts provide evaluations for students age three to 22 years. Evaluations assess a broad range of skills or specific areas of educational and/or clinical needs Comprised of the teaching and clinical professionals who work directly with the students enrolled in one of Perkins’ four on-campus programs (Early Learning Center, Lower School, Secondary, Deafblind), our evaluation teams have unparalleled knowledge of and experience with students who are blind, deafblind, and deaf with other disabilities.

Every day we strive to reach new populations beyond our campus gates, offering our skills, services and first-hand experience to professionals, caregivers and individuals who are blind, deafblind or visually impaired. Through teacher trainings, public-school support, vision care, advocacy of braille literacy and community involvement, our goal is to encourage an active, healthy and productive life for every individual we reach.

Infant Toddler Program: This program is designed to assist children, from birth through age 3, with reaching the very first milestones in life. Our family-centered focus guides us in developing an individualized program that addresses each child’s challenges and encourages his or her strengths, while forging an equally vital partnership with the family as a whole through home visits and parent-to-parent support groups.

Educational Partnerships Program: Committed to supporting public schools, students with visual impairment, blindness or deafblindness, and their instructors, we send itinerant teachers to students through age 22 all over Massachusetts with the goal of giving every person access to the general curriculum of each school. Educators spend time in classrooms with public school students to support their academic learning. We also offer consultation and training for educators, school districts, therapists, caregivers and families, as well as diagnostic assessments and evaluations.

Outreach Short Courses: We immerse public school students with visual impairment or blindness in social activities, events and education structured to teach independence and self-reliance through weekend, school vacation and summer programs. We also provide at-home training and support to a small group of adults who are deafblind or blind with additional disabilities in the community. Our ever-expanding offerings include Campabilities Boston, a sports program for students, and the Co-op Program, which focuses on individuals age 18 to 22 who need job experience and independent living skills in order to become productive adults.

At Perkins Summer Programs and during school vacations, students gain independence as they develop daily living skills and acquire vocational experience. Throughout the year, we offer special opportunities like Space Camp for students who are visually impaired and the Spring Theatre Program to help students develop confidence while having transformative experiences with their peers.

Find useful tips in developing Daily Living Skills in these Perkins Publications: School to Work is a text that assists parents in developing meaningful vocation activities as well as a template from which to develop transition portfolios for adolescent age students with significant disabilities. Clean to the Touch - Housekeeping for Teenagers and Young Adults with Visual Impairments is a manual providing easy to use step-by-step techniques.

Infant/Toddler Program: This program is designed to assist children, from birth through age 3, with reaching the very first milestones in life. Our family-centered focus guides us in developing an individualized program that addresses each child’s challenges and encourages his or her strengths, while forging an equally vital partnership with the family as a whole through home visits and parent-to-parent support groups.

Our expansive, 38-acre campus reverberates every day with the energy, excitement and passion of learning. Educational excellence and best practices are the result of Perkins’ pioneering work in the field of blindness, combined with an openness toward change and new ideas. Each of our programs is a commitment to helping our students develop and trust their unique perspective in life and forge their own definition of success.

Early Learning Center: Our family-centered program meshes elements of play and early learning to address the unique, ongoing needs of each individual student and focuses on communication, orientation and mobility, as well as other physical and developmental needs. Students learn and interact in our Preschool Program,for ages 3 to 4, or our Transitional Kindergarten, for ages 5 to 6. Our program includes a special focus on preparing students for an appropriate kindergarten setting by ages 5 or 6.

Lower School: Designed for elementary- and middle-school-age students, this program immerses students in classroom learning, combined with lessons in daily living skills, communication and travel, with a goal of greater awareness and independence. We offer traditional academics and Expanded Core Curriculum learning with an introduction to vocational work. Some students may further immerse themselves in the Perkins experience by living on campus in our residential program.

Secondary Program:This program offers students of all abilities the opportunity to pursue an academic course that challenges and excites them, as well as the social encounters, independent living and vocational readiness skills that will help them transition successfully into adulthood. Designed for high-school students ages 14 through 22, the program offers a variety of enrollment, curriculum and residential options to meet each student’s individual needs.

Deafblind Program: Committed to exploring the endless ways students who are deafblind can connect with the world around them, this program incorporates a Total Communication environment, where any and every means of communication that works best for each student is taught and encouraged. We offer comprehensive educational services to students age 3 to 22 who are deafblind or deaf with additional disabilities, taking a developmental approach to language, communication and curriculum. Many students also participate in our residential program, which enhances their overall educational experience and reinforces learning through consistency.

All campus programs provide exposure, training and career exploration experiences. Outreach provides summer exploration program.

Announcing the Outreach Co-op Program: a new opportunity for students headed for college or employment to practice life as an independent adult.

Program Description: A blend of vocational and independent living experiences to prepare participants for college or employment Designed for young adults age 18 to 22, who are blind or visually impaired, who have completed their academic requirements but need transition-related skills training. Runs on a school year schedule with minimum enrollment of four months.

Perkins Scout is a comprehensive resource of carefully evaluated information about blindness and visual impairments. Parents can explore hundreds of online resources on topics including “Child Development and Early Intervention,” “Family,” “Orientation and Mobility,” “Transition,” and a “Resource Directory of Massachusetts Agencies.” The site includes an interactive feature for you to share your own stories and teachable experiences.

The Braille & Talking Book Library has Reader Advisors and a Reference Librarian who offer general information referral for people who are blind or visually impaired.

The Samuel P. Hayes Research Library, founded in 1880, offers the largest and most comprehensive collection on the nonmedical aspects of blindness and deafblindness that is available to the public.

Through Perkins Publications, parents can purchase texts, resource guides, and books in a variety of subject areas.

Conferences on a variety of topics including early intervention, preschool-age, and the issue of transition from school to adult life offer valuable information and resources to parents with children of all ages.

The Braille & Talking Book Library provides talking books, talking book machines, large-print books, audiocassettes, braille books, downloadable audiobooks, described videos and Newsline service for people who are blind or visually impaired or have a physical disability or organically based reading disability.

The Perkins Panda Early Literacy Kit is a popular item from Perkins Products and makes reading and communication a fun experience for children with visual impairments, multiple disabilities, and deafblindness.

Assistive technology available through Perkins can help to make literacy materials easily accessible so that students can be as independent as possible.

New England Eye Low Vision Clinic at Perkins: As one of the region’s few facilities that serves patients of all ages with multiple disabilties, our Clinic provides primary and consultative eye care for infants, children and adults who have visual, physical and/ or cognitive disabilities. For more than 20 years we have served Perkins students and individuals from across the US and other countries who seek the expertise practiced at our Watertown campus.

Evaluations, individualized instruction and support services for children ages 3-6 provided through on-campus Deafblind and Early Learning Center programs.

Perkins Scout is a comprehensive resource of carefully evaluated information about blindness and visual impairments. Parents can explore hundreds of online resources on topics including “Child Development and Early Intervention,” “Family,” “Orientation and Mobility,” “Transition,” and a “Resource Directory of Massachusetts Agencies.”

Conferences on a variety of topics including early intervention, preschool-age, and the issue of transition from school to adult life offer valuable information and resources to parents with children of all ages.

Perkins Assistive Device Center creates customized materials for children with disabilities. Hundreds of professionals, parents and university students have attended workshops at Perkins and around New England led by Assistive Device Center professionals.

Through Perkins Publications, parents can purchase texts, resource guides, and books in a variety of subject areas.

Early Intervention: The Infant/Toddler Program (0-3 years) We provide a three-tiered approach to helping families from the very beginning: on-campus education, parent support groups, and services to infants and toddlers in the home and community settings.

The Early Learning Center (3-6 years): We provide a comprehensive preschool/kindergarten readiness program designed to prepare children with visual impairments with and without additional disabilities with the foundational skills essential for learning.

Community-based Support (3-22 years) We can bring our expertise to your child's school. We partner with New England school systems, families and educators to ensure your child is receiving the specialized services he or she needs.

Supports day and evening parent groups. Works closely with NAPVI, whose headquaters are on campus. Outreach programs have parent training component.

Provides consultation, counseling, conferences and in-service training for parents and families.