The Panichi Center For Communication and Learning in Beacon is the Hudson Valley’s only hospital-affiliated special needs preschool, welcoming students with medical conditions requiring interventions and therapy to address developmental disabilities and delays.
The Center provides programs for children aged 18 months to five years with a variety of disabilities including:
- Autism
- Speech delays
- Gross and fine motor delays
- Hearing impairment
- Pervasive Development Disorder (PDD)
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
- Down Syndrome
- Cerebral Palsy
The Center also features a satellite office for adults as well as children to treat communication disorders such as speech, hearing, and problems with swallowing.
The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) accredits the program.
Download a printable PDF about the Panichi Center
History
Dedicated in 2007, the Panichi Center was substantially funded by the Panichi family, which owns and operates Royal Carting. In the early 2000s, Evelyn Constantino, the daughter of Emil and Emily Panichi, recognized the need to expand the then-Saint Francis Hospital special needs preschool, moving it from worn-down trailers parked on a vacant parcel and into a clean and modern 8,500 square-foot space. Evelyn rallied her family for major initial financial support, later helped endow the future of the Center in 2010, and continues to be personally involved in its operations to this day – down to organizing a partnership with the nearby Dutchess Day School to provide artwork for the Center’s walls.