MOEC Celebrates 50 Years of Special Education, Part 4: Adam’s as Old as Special Education

Adam Howland has been a SMEC client since 1990. His sister, Heather Hooley, says the collaborative and the services they offer, have helped Adam live his best life. (Photo Courtesy Massachusetts Organization of Educational Collaboratives)

DARTMOUTH — Happy 50th birthday to Adam Howland and to modern Special Education. Both recently hit the half-century mark.

Adam lives in an apartment in Dartmouth with longtime roommate Michael Wnek. The two, who both have Down syndrome and other developmental disabilities, are cared for all day, every day, by three shifts of residential and community staff provided by the Southeastern Massachusetts Educational Collaborative (SMEC) in Dartmouth.

Before the advent of modern special education, which was passed into federal law in 1975, during the first year of Adam’s life, and the same year that SMEC was founded, people like Adam had far fewer opportunities and options.

“More than 50 years ago, before special education, the only option for someone with Adam’s needs would likely have been institutionalization,” said SMEC Executive Director Catherine Cooper. “Today, with SMEC’s resident support services, we have the ability to assist Adam with all his individual living skills, allowing him to live out on his own as an adult in his fifties. Our support staff helps with grocery shopping, preparing meals, laundry, employment services and social activities. And during the day, Adam comes to our day program.”

During a recent interview, Adam sat next to his big sister in a conference room at SMEC, where he has been receiving services for more than 35 years.

He kept his fingers tightly curled and crossed, making small finger puppets, a habit he has had since he was little. Adam was born with Down syndrome. He was later diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. He is also legally blind.

Adam doesn’t speak much. But he communicates effectively, shifting his tone and utilizing simple, pronounced gestures. Those who love him have no trouble interpreting Adam’s likes and dislikes, yes’s and no’s.

“He lets you know what he’s thinking,” said his sister Heather Hooley. “He’ll wind up like he’s throwing a javelin. Or you’ll see the joy on his face.”

Adam lives his best life. And although he has a devoted family, standing behind him every inch of the way, the services he has received through SMEC for over three decades have made a significant difference, and help Adam to be able to live, work and thrive independently.

Mom the Advocate

Up until 1990, when Adam turned 15, he was a student in the New Bedford Public School system. He was educated in a separate resource room-style classroom.

His late mother, Elaine Howland, was a staunch advocate for kids like Adam. She was a fierce defender of her son’s rights. And she was far ahead of her time.

Adam’s mother was a nurse at St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford. She created a support group for parents of children who shared similar diagnoses to Adam.

She wanted Adam to live as normal a life as possible. She fought for the integration of special education students in the classroom and argued for her son’s equal opportunity to an education.

Prior to 1975, wealthy families hired private health care workers or sent their children with special needs to specialized private institutions. Poor and middle-class families often struggled, and their children became wards of the state, institutionalized by the state, or were forced to lead cloistered, unproductive lives.

Howland wanted more for her son, and SMEC helped her achieve that goal.

“My mom was a huge advocate,” said Adam’s sister Heather. “She saw the struggles of kids who were in similar situations to Adam. And she always said, ‘That’s not going to be Adam’s life.’”

SMEC’s mission statement pledges to provide high-quality programs and services for all children and adults who need specialized instruction or support. Their innovative programs aim beyond youth, targeting clients’ entire lifetimes, rather than just their first two decades of life.

At age 50, Adam may not be the typical special education student in Massachusetts. Technically, he aged out of special education at age 22. But thanks to SMEC’s Supporting Adults for Inclusive Living (SAIL) and Adult Day Health programs (ADH), he’s still receiving services 28 years later.

Adam is just one of about 150 individuals, between both adult programs, receiving services from SMEC. The collaborative also serves an average of 750 people annually across all age groups.

“For clients like Adam and his roommate Michael, later in life, we’re not focusing as much on their academics,” said Executive Director Cooper. “We’re focusing more on their quality of life. We want them to be able to live as independently as possible, have full social lives, and be fully engaged in their community.”

Services After Age 22

SMEC has 10 member school districts — Acushnet, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Fall River, Marion, Mattapoisett, New Bedford, New Bedford Vocational, Old Rochester Regional and Rochester —  and provides services to students from throughout Southeastern Massachusetts. The collaborative was formed in 1975 under a state law, MGL Ch. 40, that allows two or more school districts to form an Educational Collaborative to provide special education services on a regional basis.

In 1990, SMEC expanded its programming through state contracts to provide adult services to students who were aging out of special education on their 22nd birthday. Those adult students now have the option of participating in the collaborative’s SAIL and ADH programs.

Through the SAIL program, Adam receives help with daily tasks like preparing meals, shaving and showering. On weekdays, Adam visits the SMEC community day program for structured activities, like arts and crafts and fitness classes. The staff takes program clients on bowling excursions; they sometimes dine out and embark on short trips to local community events like festivals and concerts. They teach classes on social skill development, money management and other Activities of Daily Living (ADLs).

Prior to retirement, Adam worked for several years at Silverstein’s Clothing Store in New Bedford and A. Walecka & Son Movers in West Wareham. SMEC helped him land the jobs and gave him skills that helped him at work.

SMEC utilizes a team approach to meet the needs of the whole individual in order to achieve greater personal independence and success. SMEC, a member of the Massachusetts Organization of Educational Collaboratives (MOEC), offers a variety of services for students with special needs aged 3-21 as well as adults with intellectual disabilities.

This year, MOEC has launched a celebration of the 50th anniversary of special education in Massachusetts, each month releasing stories of its members’ successes and triumphs against the odds, like Adam’s.

As a member of MOEC, SMEC is part of a broader, statewide network that works to ensure all students, and sometimes adults, with disabilities have access to high-quality, individualized support services. MOEC plays a critical role in advocating for collaborative programs like SMEC across Massachusetts, fostering innovation, equity, and opportunity for people like Adam.

“Educational collaboratives are deeply rooted in their communities and are uniquely positioned to support individuals, some even throughout their entire lifespan,” said Joanne Haley Sullivan, Executive Director of MOEC. “Stories like Adam’s are a powerful reminder of why we do this work — to ensure that every person, regardless of ability, has the opportunity to live a full and meaningful life.”

Besides SMEC, MOEC has four other members that provide services to eligible individuals after they turn 22 — Valley Collaborative in North Billerica, Shore Educational Collaborative in Chelsea, CREST Collaborative in Andover, and LABBB Collaborative (Lexington, Arlington, Burlington, Bedford, Belmont, and Watertown) in Burlington.

Living Life to the Fullest

The life expectancy of people with Down syndrome, while initially very low, has over time gradually increased due to advances in medical science.

According to the Advocate Medical Group’s Adult Down Syndrome Center, people with Down syndrome in 2025 “are living longer and healthier than any other time in the past.” In 1900, the life expectancy of people with Down syndrome was only 9 years, but by 1984, life expectancy had increased to 28 years. And since then, the life expectancy of people with Down syndrome has increased to about 60 years in the United States.

A shorter lifespan only increases the stakes for individuals born with Down syndrome. With statistically less time to live, each day is more important than the last. Each moment really matters more.

Adam loves playing vintage video games like Centipede and Galaga, rolling ski balls, taking selfies, reading phonebooks and browsing through old Sears catalogues.

“Adam loves to dance,” said Heather. “He spins the girls around. Adam loves both blondes and brunettes. He loves to laugh.”

Adam also loves to sing in church. He loves to eat cookies and chips — maybe too much.

His father picks him up every Sunday morning for church. Two men, out on their own for the morning. They cruise around in a pickup truck, listening to old country music. They eat grilled cheese sandwiches and watch old westerns. They visit Heather for Sunday dinner.

Those who love Adam have learned the importance of giving him lots of choices — about a dozen boxes of cereal, or a half dozen flavors of ice cream. Choices and making regular decisions have helped to prepare Adam for life on his own.

Adam’s sister said she is grateful for every day she has had with her little brother. She is the core of his solid family unit. And for children who will eventually become adults with Down syndrome, a loving, patient and dedicated family can make all the difference.

The other key ingredient is a caring, competent service provider, and for Adam, SMEC has filled that role for decades. 

“He didn’t fit one mold,” Heather said. “He needed an approach that was outside the cookie-cutter, outside the box. He found that here. SMEC has helped Adam live the life that our mother always wanted for him.”

In 2025, the Massachusetts Organization of Educational Collaboratives (MOEC) is celebrating the 50th anniversary of special education with a series of feature stories that will help to tell the untold stories of collaboratives to help educate the public about what collaboratives do and how they have evolved to serve the needs of our most vulnerable students over the past five decades.In 1975, Congress enacted the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) to ensure that all children with disabilities have access to a free and appropriate public education. Congress changed the name of the law to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), in a 1990 reauthorization — and IDEA was again reauthorized in 2004.MOEC is the professional organization representing the Commonwealth’s educational collaboratives. Massachusetts Collaboratives are a statewide network of educational service agencies that work together with school districts and schools to implement direct educational services and programs to students and adults, develop programs and services to enhance school districts’ operating efficiency, and provide high-quality professional development and technical assistance.

###

Adam Howland turned 50 in November 2024. He’s now the same age as special education and SMEC. (Photo Courtesy Massachusetts Organization of Educational Collaboratives)

Adam, at right, lives in an apartment in Dartmouth with longtime roommate Michael Wnek, at left. The two, who both have Down syndrome, are cared for all day, every day, by three shifts of residential and community staff provided by the Southeastern Massachusetts Educational Collaborative (SMEC) in Dartmouth. (Photo Courtesy Massachusetts Organization of Educational Collaboratives)

SMEC does not operate group homes. Instead, Adam lives in his own apartment with SMEC’s full-time support. (Photo Courtesy Massachusetts Organization of Educational Collaboratives)

Adam Howland received all sorts of life skills training over the past 35 years from SMEC. (Photo Courtesy Massachusetts Organization of Educational Collaboratives)

Adam Howland received all sorts of life skills training over the past 35 years from SMEC. (Photo Courtesy Massachusetts Organization of Educational Collaboratives)

Resident Support Coordinator Wendy Coutinho, who has worked with Adam Howland for 16 years, and Program Director Sean Mitchell pose for a photo with Adam and his sister Heather Hooley at SMEC in Dartmouth. (Photo Courtesy Massachusetts Organization of Educational Collaboratives)

Adam Howland has been a SMEC client since 1990. His sister, Heather Hooley, says the collaborative and the services they offer, have helped Adam live his best life. (Photo Courtesy Massachusetts Organization of Educational Collaboratives)

Since he was born, Adam Howland’s family members — his father Dennis, late mother Elaine, and sister Heather — have been among his strongest advocates. (Photo Courtesy Massachusetts Organization of Educational Collaboratives)