Lamari Jackson, district director for State Sen Adam Gomez, Abilities Learning Center Director Matthew Matroni, Springfield City Councilor Zaida Govan, state Rep. Carlos Gonzalez, BHN President and CEO Steve Winn, Senior Vice President Michelle Michaelian and Senior Director of Children’s Outreach Programs Robert Churchill celebrate after cutting the ribbon at the Abilities Learning Center.
Reminder Publishing photo by Sarah Heinonen
SPRINGFIELD — On a cold January morning, elected officials and Behavioral Health Network leadership gathered outside the doors of its new facility at 583 East Columbus Ave. to cut the ribbon, officially opening the Abilities Learning Center.
The first of its kind for BHN, the center offers dedicated space for children and youth who have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder or Down syndrome to have individualized behavioral services.
Working with the family, board certified behavior analysts and registered behavior technicians work to provide structured learning, peer interaction and access to calming sensory spaces, helping young people build social and life skills.
“Our program helps families with children who have behavioral needs who need help,” said BHN President and CEO Steve Winn. “There’s not enough places like this in the community.” A testament to that is the center’s client log of 35 families, with about 90 more on a waitlist.
Reminder Publishing photo by Sarah Heinonen
In his remarks at the opening, Winn recalled that BHN was born out of the needs of the community. In 1937, several families whose children had special needs pled with the state to provide aid at a time when there was none locally available. In response, Massachusetts opened the Child Guidance Clinic. It would later grow into BHN, which served 33,000 people in 2025.
The Abilities Learning Center was, again, created out of an unmet need of families. While BHN has long worked with families in home settings, people were seeking a dedicated space to work with their children and learn from behavioral specialists.
Abilities Learning Center has the capacity to work with up to 14 young people at a time. Clients are eligible for services from the age of 3 until their 21st birthday. Abilities Learning Center Director Matthew Matroni said children come to the center as little as once a week or as often as 5 days per week. Sessions average two or three hours but can last as long as six hours.
“We can work on a lot of challenging behaviors here,” and “close the skills gap,” Matroni said, but added, “the majority of their time is at home with the family.” Having parents learn how to encourage preferred behaviors is part of the process.
State Rep. Carlos González and Springfield City Councilor Zaida Govan were joined by representatives from state Sen. Adam Gomez’s office in touring the center. González said that he was considered a “special needs kid” and said such centers were “critically important.” Govan has a professional background in social work and worked for BHN for a time. She said, “This is at the heart of what I do.” Speaking on behalf of Gomez and state Sen. Jake Oliveira, Gomez’s district director, Lamari Jackson, said, “It’s not just about having the services available, but making the community aware of them.”
González and Govan spoke with Matroni about how public spaces can provide for people with special needs, specifically discussing sensory-friendly Springfield Thunderbirds games and options for movie theaters. Noting the variety of behavioral challenges that people experience, Matroni said, “Of course, all kids are different. Part of the big thing here is that we have a ton of different options.”
Families seeking services at the Abilities Learning Center can call 413-301-WELL (9355) or visitbhninc.org/aba.
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