Teachers & Aides do an amazing job! Nb1, they are what truly holds the school together! Wish higher up staff would pay more attention to client & staff needs, instead they keep taking while staff work their butt off and sometimes give from their own pockets. Higher ups, including Ceo should be ashamed of themselves! Appreciate the staff, if it weren't for them you wouldn't get your high paying salary while you pay them pennies!
I am currently employed as a registered nurse in the KDC Adult Foster Care Program I feel exceptionally privelaged and honored to work with such wonderful, caring, compassionate people. KDC not only strives to provide the best services to the individuals we support, it is also extremely employee-oriented, as well. Flexibility, support and an overwhelming sense of family are words which describe the working environment in our Milford office. It is not uncommon to find staff working after hours on any given day in order to ensure an individual's needs are met, whether it be providing emergency transportation home from a community-based work setting, to sitting vigil at a recently hospitalized client's bedside, providing much-needed emotional support. Despite many situations which may have challenged the more feint of heart, all of our staff consistently show incredible levels of professionalism, patience, intelligence and integrity. The supervisors, social workers, case managers, nurses and support staff all reflect the highest standards that KDC exemplifies as a model agency for providing services to individuals with developmental disabilities.
I was involved with Kennedy-Donovan Center for many years as a volunteer and employee. I had the pleasure of caring for students and clients hands on and working with a selected few other employee's who also cared about the best for the clients and performed their job titles in an amazing way. The founder of this company believed that all individuals have the right to participate and thrive in their communities. Through the tireless commitment, passion, and dedication of a handful of some incredible staff, they continue to honor Luella’s legacy through love and care for their students with no help from the higher aboves. I have seen firsthand the care provided by the staff at the NB 1 location, and unfortunately there are not many who perform, but its not the teachers aides who dont perform because most of them go above and beyond caring, but then you have some others who are just there for the money even though its not much. They do not care nor have the love they should have for this job. I even know some aides who have gone to the extreme of paying for their own supplies and crafts and needs including food groups and hoilday activities because the directors will not do their jobs correctly. Including that even some vice presidents and presidents are too blind to see the lies they are fed from their directors who are not doing their jobs right. It amazes me how many individuals and department heads and directors they have working at the NB 1 location who don't even have the skills nor the heart to care for these clients they way they should be cared for and supply them the things they need. The stories and pictures you see on websites and in the newspaper are just to get the higher ups a pat on the back, because if you were to do a surprise visit on them without them knowing, all you would see is teachers aide's struggling to keep their classrooms afloat because the bosses do not provide or care unless they states coming by or unless they are trying to gain another student. To be honest “I do not know what the administrators would do without the unappreciated teachers aides” They are the ones who hold the classrooms together as well as keep up with the lies the directors give to parents and visitors. Your children would never have reached their potential or achieved their goals without the hard work and love from the TA's, because the administrators give you false information about whats truly offered. When they tell you your child will be receiving speech and physical therapy one on one and more than once a week, its false. Your lucky if they ever receive it at all one on one and more than once a week thats never possible because they keep their salarys high and refuse to hire the employees needed to meet the needs of the students. Instead the students suffer from not recieving the care they pay for and deserve and what was offered to them. The quality of team work does not exsist in this facility. The staff is treated poorly and under paid, as well as used until they are no longer needed. There is favoritism and the directors here are not skilled or trained right in their job descriptions nor do they have the ability to their jobs the right way, nevermind care for the outcome of your childs needs and goals. I use to be proud to be a part of such a Great School for helping those who need it, but now after all I've seen and been through with this company. I will never reccommend this facility to someone looking to place their child nor will I tell someone this is a place they shall apply to work. Until they can fix their issues with the directors of the departments and the false imformation given out I will not support this facility any longer. The only good I can say about this non-profit organization is that the teachers aides should be giving a round of applause for sticking through and being there for their clients and unfortuantely dealing with the selfishness of their bosses and paying for their clients needs out of their own pockets because the directors are too busy filling their own.
While still pregant with my son CJ we found out he was going to be born with Down syndrome. I called the Kennedy-Donovan Center in Attleboro right away looking for guidance. I was given such support and as soon as CJ was born the KDC staff became part of lives. With weekly visits, evaluations and many therapies over the 3 years we felt our son was given the best possible intervention he could recieve. We were contantly grateful to the staff for giving us the tools and strength we needed to feel confident about raising our son with special needs. All the therapists were so knowledgeable and caring we couldn't believe how hard they worked and the high expectations they had for our child. This made us even more determined to help make CJ the best he can be. I truly feel without such support we never would be where we are today and have such high hopes for our son. CJ is now 9 years old and in a regular 3rd grade with his friends and peers. He gets support in his acadmics and works hard everyday for all his teachers. He is also involved in Special Olympics and is a Boyscout. We have always kept in touch and try to support the KDC whenever we can. We know first hand how important the work they do is for children and families who need them.
Our autistic child received early intervention from KDC and my wife and I are very grateful for the services they provided. Our child was positively affected from the dedicated, caring experts that assisted him from KDC at a critical point where his young brain was still in the formative stages.
I have been in close contact with Kennedy Donovan Center since Summer of 2008 when my son began services. We began with signifigant speech and occupational delays when he was barely over a year old. Later the same year, my son was formally diagonsed as being on the Autism Spectrum. Throughout my experience as a mother with a child of special needs, Kennedy Donovan Center has been by my side supporting my son, myself, and my family. We recieved many services from occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech and language, sensory integration, parent support groups, and peer playgroups. With each weekly visit, we were provided the opportunity to play a key role in our childs development. The communication and cooperation from everyone at Kennedy Donovan Center enabled us to see we were not alone and part of a large family. My son was able to transition to the public school system with great success and it would not have been possible without Kennedy Donovan Center. Without all their hard work and dedication to the Early Intervention Program in Massachusetts, many children would be lost. What each employee works towards with each child all comes together to make a profound and lasting impact on our future doctors, lawyers, and politicians.
I have been involved with Kennedy-Donovan Center for many years as a volunteer and board member. I had the pleasure of serving on the board with Luella Hennessey Donovan (Our Founder). She believed that all individuals have the right to participate and thrive in their communities. Through the tireless commitment, passion, and dedication of our incredible staff, KDC continues to honor Luella’s legacy through leadership in providing flexible, creative, and community-based human services. I have seen firsthand the care provided by our skilled staff. We are the best kept secret in the community. It is amazing how many individuals and families we have supported, the stories are endless. Most stories include –“I do not know what we would have done without their services” “The staff member is a part of our family” “Our child would never have reached their potential or achieved what they have achieved without KDC”. The quality of our staff and their relationships with our clients is what makes us the best at what we do. I am proud to be a part of such a Great Agency.
I am a board member of The Kennedy-Donovan Center. The fact that I am a board member does not slant my ability to give an impartial review the agency. I am the guardian of an adult individual with developmental disabilities. The reason I became a board member is because I had personally experienced the wonderful services which the agency provided to Bob for approximately 10 years. KDC provides caring personal services in assisting me to meet Bob’s various needs in bringing Bob shopping, to haircuts, doctor visits and numerous other personal matters. KDC staff members also bring Bob to dances and various other social functions. Bob has experienced the financial, social and self-worth benefits of KDC’s job training, job placement and job coaching services. If it were not for the capable, professional assistance of dedicated KDC employees, Bob would not have had years of successful employment. The KDC staff members are individuals who are truly caring. As a board member, I am able to experience a broader view of the myriad of services provided by KDC. The most important view of any agency providing the types of services which KDC provides, however, is a personal one. I have personally observed and interacted with KDC in its tremendous services to Bob and to me as his guardian and I recommend the agency whole-heartedly.
I have served on the Board of Directors of the Kennedy-Donovan Center for several years. Throughout my tenure I have been privileged to witness the growth and development of the agency. The staff have dedicated their time and talents to enabling individual with developmental disabilities to live a quality life. I am very proud to support the fine work of the Kennedy-Donovan Center.
Our son was born with Trisomy 21 and immediately upon finding out the diagnosis we were put in touch with the KDC. Within two weeks of his birth, a Team from KDC came to our house do an evaluation and transitioned us from one office to another, as we were in the process of moving from one part of Massachusetts to an other. With that type of committment to our son at two weeks old, we knew that we were being placed in the right hands. He graduated the program on his third bithday and without the help from his Speech Therapist and Occupational/Phyical Therapist we don't believe that he would be where he is today - keeping up with his peers in preschool. We were so pleased with KDC and their efforts to seemlessly integrate all children, we placed our daughter as a peer model and she enjoyed every bit as much as our son. - Brian, Suzanne, Evan and Addison Diercksen
KDC's committment to families, starting with early intervention services and continuing through transitional planning at adulthood, provides parents and family with an incredible peace of mind. The agency has proven to be a great resource for education and referal as well as an extended "member" of our clients family. The staff's dedication to helping the people they serve is inspiring and is a living legacy to mission of the agency founder.
We were introduced to Kennedy Donovan Center Early Intervention after the birth of our first child with severe cerebral palsy. The staff were like life savers quickly helping us to assess her eating abilities and setting us up with the resources and information we needed to effectively navigate the medical community on behalf of our daughter's needs. With severe seizure disorder, risk of aspiration,significant delays and constant medical interventions, we found it incredibly difficult to attend to her developmental needs. The staff, our physical therapist and counselors helped quide us and other families like ours. They brought access to communication for our daughter through switches, they helped her to find a voice. They set up support groups for our children and parents which are still going strong today, ten years later. They helped us to learn we were not alone and our daughter did not need to be isolated, as difficult as her medical needs were. They helped our families to become a resource for eachother. KDC provided PT, OT, developmental peer groups and assessments along the way. They were very flexible in adapting to our whole families needs and schedules. They went over and above to check on our progress and research more resources for us. We all learned together as our daughter was among the most complex of the clients at the time. They helped us to get over the overwhelming task of ordering properly adaptive equipment for our daughter, wheelchair, stander, bath seats. They were deligent and thorough. And upon transition into school services they were extremely knowledgeable and reassuring. Even when we would reach roadblocks to care, they found a way through for us. After graduation, we worked together to educate more families on EI services, join support groups, fundraisers and I eventually volunteered on the Board. I was impressed with KDC's fiscal management at a time when dissability budgets are being cut. KDC finds a way to provide quality services regardless. It comes down to the quality of their staffing from the CEO on down. Each individual has been caring, conscientious and a part of the community. We have experienced the loss of several medically fragile children during our enrollment with early intervention and I was especially impressed at how sincere and therapeutic the program was in serving the needs of the child's whole family.