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Hello I am currently in process of trying to relocate (as I'm sure a lot of you know from the numerous posts) From Dallas To Atlanta or Gwinett county rather and I have a child who has A.D.D .and was going to a school here in Dallas and being treated by a doctor for ADD I wanted to know if anyone knows of a doctor / or school or what resources would aid me in the right path for finding the above listed things other than the internet perhaps a parent who has a child or even someone who knows a child that has it ...
As far as finding a doctor goes, a lot of it will depend upon what insurance plan you have. Have you set that up yet? You also don't want a doctor in Atlanta proper if you're going to live in Gwinnett. Have you settled on a place to live?
As far as finding a doctor goes, a lot of it will depend upon what insurance plan you have. Have you set that up yet? You also don't want a doctor in Atlanta proper if you're going to live in Gwinnett. Have you settled on a place to live?
Yes I do have insurance Cigna and I tried Google and I found several in ATLANTa proper but hardly any in Gwinett County and they were only leads mostly to pyschiatrist. My main concern is the School -as she is only 5 and has been kicked out school twice and I need that handled first then I could get the doctor cause she has meds that will take her up until next year.. So IDK (I don't know )
As far as where to live , I have settled on Gwinnett County preferably Lawrenceville... just waiting on my lease to end ...
I highly recommend you have your child tested by the school system. You will find excellent help..at least here in N. Fulton (where we live). Contact the Jo Wells Educational Center ---ask to speak with Ann Medlock (I'm not sure if she handles these cases for Gwinnett or if she is only for N. Fulton) to get an information packet..fill it out and wait for your child to be tested to see if she qualifies for Special Education. Where we live the teachers don't believe in meds and neither does our pediatrician (she does not recommend such meds for kids until they are older). Most younger kids can benefit from other form of behavior modification (ABA analysis...etc..). I don't know ANYTHING at all about Gwinnett county but I love North Fulton and I'd highly recommend you look into living in N. Fulton as well. If you have any questions please PM me. Special Education can be a blessing for these children. Many will not have to stay in Special Education. It just gives them time to get their behavior under control with teachers who truly care about and understand them. Regular teachers who aren't trained to work with such children burn out easily from working with them. I hope you get the help you need and I also hope you are able to get your daughter off the meds.
I would also advise N. Fulton over Gwinnett. Gwinnett is a very large system and isn't known for being so tolerant of children who misbehave regardless of the cause.
The information the other poster gave you won't help you in Gwinnett. Those are Fulton county resources.
I highly recommend you have your child tested by the school system. You will find excellent help..at least here in N. Fulton (where we live). Contact the Jo Wells Educational Center ---ask to speak with Ann Medlock (I'm not sure if she handles these cases for Gwinnett or if she is only for N. Fulton) to get an information packet..fill it out and wait for your child to be tested to see if she qualifies for Special Education. Where we live the teachers don't believe in meds and neither does our pediatrician (she does not recommend such meds for kids until they are older). Most younger kids can benefit from other form of behavior modification (ABA analysis...etc..). I don't know ANYTHING at all about Gwinnett county but I love North Fulton and I'd highly recommend you look into living in N. Fulton as well. If you have any questions please PM me. Special Education can be a blessing for these children. Many will not have to stay in Special Education. It just gives them time to get their behavior under control with teachers who truly care about and understand them. Regular teachers who aren't trained to work with such children burn out easily from working with them. I hope you get the help you need and I also hope you are able to get your daughter off the meds.
WOW!! thanks for that information it really helps and I may end up in the same boat I am in now where my child has to go to a separate school from her siblings because of the regular teachers not being able to deal with it.
Have your child tested before you move. Both Psy and Ed testing. I have gone through alot with 3 children who learn differently. Every child is different, and every year in school will be different. Fortunately the state of GA. just passed a law where you can receive state moneys toward a private school if your child has an IEP and has been in public school for a period of time.
OAKGROVE ELEM, in deklab is good, and a good neighborhood.
LAKESIDE HIGH school is in sad shape with it's special Ed program. The current Principal Angela Moton is so horrible as a Principal and leader that the best teachers are leaving the school. We are losing 4 of our 7 Special
Ed teachers, and these are the ones with the best abilities.
Just a comment on some things since I grew up coping with ADD/ADHD and can offer few pieces of advice.
First, before I say anything else, don't look for a psychiatrist or psychologist and look for a neurologist or neuropsychologist specialist instead. Psychistrists often just prescribe the same medications without a solid understanding of the neurological affects, or proper monitoring techniques. Now, I imagine there are good psychiatrists, but in my opinion it isn't the right field for working with ADD. I can't recommend a neurologist or neuropsychologist around here because the one I went to as a kid was in Hartford, CT. I'm sure if you go and talk to specialists at Emory, they'll know quite a few :-)
Some additional lifestyle advice. It's all about helping them learn to balance themselves.
* Stay away from sugar. Sugar just messes things up and will throw them off-balance. I don't know if you'll read this in literature because it may not have become mainstream knowledge yet. Just keep sugar in-take to a minimum and to times where it can't interfere with tasks -- such as allowing desert around lunch time on Saturdays. A strict sugarless regimen won't hurt anyway, since sugar is extremely unhealthy. Part of this is you have to keep sugar inaccessible in the house, which may mean decreasing your sugar intake as well. This includes overdoing it on fruit juices, which have natural sugars that are better than sucrose (if none was added), but can still be broken down into glucose and throw your child off balance.
* Things that help relax them and/or blow off energy like meditation, yoga are great. If they won't get into that, then sports can help blow off energy.
* Offer them ways to use their creative energy and ways to learn things they aren't taught in school. Reward them for following their material in school, but that isn't going to be enough. You need to find other ways to stimulate them.
* Medications are necessary in some cases to maintain balance but there may come a point when they actually do the opposite of what they are supposed to as he/she grows older (that happened to me). My suggestion is to find a neurologist (not a psychologist/psychiatrist) that can help you monitor the affects of medication to help them learn to monitor their own behavior and eventually ween them off dependence so they slowly develop their own coping methods that don't require medication. However, I also wouldn't listen to people that say it isn't necessary.
* Help them resist extremes like staying up too late and encourage them to work on time management skills and to focus on tasks when appropriate. Keep them from overwhelming themselves.
Children with ADD have some gifts that make them extremely brilliant, creative, and great at processing information especially in ways that are unique. I don't think ADD is something new but with the shift from corporal punishment and humiliation tactics (e.g. break them - which caused immense emotional damage) there has to be new methods to help children with ADD survive in society since some skills that aren't easy for most people are even harder for children with ADD. This often means teaching them things that other children pick up naturally. I think part of the reason we are seeing more ADD now than in the past is (A) We are looking for it now instead of just letting children fall through the cracks and (B) Things move so fast now, society discourages complete focus on tasks and I think this starts at a young age. Heck, in my own job if I focused too much on one thing, I'd probably be fired. l have to prioritize, but have to juggle many many tasks at a time.
Last edited by netdragon; 06-01-2008 at 07:38 PM..
Just a comment on some things since I grew up coping with ADD/ADHD and can offer few pieces of advice.
First, before I say anything else, don't look for a psychiatrist or psychologist and look for a neurologist or neuropsychologist specialist instead. Psychistrists often just prescribe the same medications without a solid understanding of the neurological affects, or proper monitoring techniques. Now, I imagine there are good psychiatrists, but in my opinion it isn't the right field for working with ADD. I can't recommend a neurologist or neuropsychologist around here because the one I went to as a kid was in Hartford, CT. I'm sure if you go and talk to specialists at Emory, they'll know quite a few :-)
Some additional lifestyle advice. It's all about helping them learn to balance themselves.
* Stay away from sugar. Sugar just messes things up and will throw them off-balance. I don't know if you'll read this in literature because it may not have become mainstream knowledge yet. Just keep sugar in-take to a minimum and to times where it can't interfere with tasks -- such as allowing desert around lunch time on Saturdays. A strict sugarless regimen won't hurt anyway, since sugar is extremely unhealthy. Part of this is you have to keep sugar inaccessible in the house, which may mean decreasing your sugar intake as well. This includes overdoing it on fruit juices, which have natural sugars that are better than sucrose (if none was added), but can still be broken down into glucose and throw your child off balance.
* Things that help relax them and/or blow off energy like meditation, yoga are great. If they won't get into that, then sports can help blow off energy.
* Offer them ways to use their creative energy and ways to learn things they aren't taught in school. Reward them for following their material in school, but that isn't going to be enough. You need to find other ways to stimulate them.
* Medications are necessary in some cases to maintain balance but there may come a point when they actually do the opposite of what they are supposed to as he/she grows older (that happened to me). My suggestion is to find a neurologist (not a psychologist/psychiatrist) that can help you monitor the affects of medication to help them learn to monitor their own behavior and eventually ween them off dependence so they slowly develop their own coping methods that don't require medication. However, I also wouldn't listen to people that say it isn't necessary.
* Help them resist extremes like staying up too late and encourage them to work on time management skills and to focus on tasks when appropriate. Keep them from overwhelming themselves.
Children with ADD have some gifts that make them extremely brilliant, creative, and great at processing information especially in ways that are unique. I don't think ADD is something new but with the shift from corporal punishment and humiliation tactics (e.g. break them - which caused immense emotional damage) there has to be new methods to help children with ADD survive in society since some skills that aren't easy for most people are even harder for children with ADD. This often means teaching them things that other children pick up naturally. I think part of the reason we are seeing more ADD now than in the past is (A) We are looking for it now instead of just letting children fall through the cracks and (B) Things move so fast now, society discourages complete focus on tasks and I think this starts at a young age. Heck, in my own job if I focused too much on one thing, I'd probably be fired. l have to prioritize, but have to juggle many many tasks at a time.
WOW!!!! thanks for the info.
Yeah I guess we do have some of the same issues in our life hunh?
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