Read: Nonotuck CEO/President’s Closing Remarks from PBS Orientation

Nonotuck Resource Associates recently convened to collectively train in Positive Behavior Support (PBS).

At Nonotuck, we use the ideals of PBS as part of our ongoing effort to truly understand the person being supported. PBS is about recognizing each person’s individuality, strengths, personality while supporting their autonomy and ambitions and helping build their community of friendships.

Although PBS is a philosophy fairly recently enforced by Massachusetts Department of Developmental Services (DDS), its person-centered approach fits in nicely with Nonotuck’s core values. In every shared living home, PBS reinforces what Nonotuck has always stood for — that every person deserves not only safety, but dignity, respect, love, an authentic life and the freedom to make choices that shape their own story.

Read Nonotuck CEO/President George H. Fleischner’s Closing Remarks from the three part training below:

Good Day:

As we come to the close of these three days together, I want to begin with gratitude.

What we have experienced during this PBS orientation has been remarkable—not simply because of the content we covered, but because of the way you showed up. You brought curiosity, honesty, reflection, and care. You asked thoughtful questions. You shared experiences—both challenging and hopeful. And in doing so, you demonstrated exactly what this work is about: Love, relationships, presence, and mutual respect.

Over these three days, PBS has come alive—not as a framework on paper, but as a way of thinking and being that aligns deeply with who we are at Nonotuck. We have talked about behavior not as something to manage or control, but as communication. We have focused on understanding the “why” behind what we see, on listening closely to people’s stories, and on shaping environments that support Love, authenticity, vulnerability, dignity, safety, and growth. In every conversation, the throughline has been clear: people do best when they are known, valued, and supported in relationship.

This brings us back, once again, to our core values. The mutuality of love. The mutuality of respect. Authenticity. Interdependence. These are not abstract ideals. They are living commitments. PBS gives us a shared language and shared tools to bring those commitments more fully into our daily practice—to move from good intentions to consistent, thoughtful action.

I want to again acknowledge the PBS Leadership Committee. Their work did not end with the planning of this orientation—it is ongoing. They have helped guide us to this point, and they will continue to support the integration of PBS throughout the agency. Their leadership reflects the best of Nonotuck: principled, collaborative, and grounded in care.

As we leave this space today, I encourage you to remember that this is not an ending. It is a beginning. PBS is not something you are expected to “do perfectly.” It is something you are invited to practice—with humility, with patience, and with one another. There will be moments of uncertainty, moments of learning, and moments where we need to pause and recalibrate. That is not a failure of the work; it is the work.

Each of you plays a critical role in shaping the culture of Nonotuck and the lives of the people we support. The relationships you build, the questions you ask, the compassion you extend, and the environments you help create matter deeply. Through PBS, we are recommitting ourselves to walking alongside people—not ahead of them, not above them, but with them.

Thank you for your time, your openness, and your dedication to this work. Thank you for believing, as we do, that every person deserves a life filled with love and to love and be loved, with belonging, purpose, and joy. And thank you for carrying these values forward into your teams, into peoples homes, and your daily practice.

I am deeply proud of this agency, and I am hopeful about what we will continue to build together.

With gratitude, thank you—and may you have a happy, joyous and love filled holiday.