Seacoast Child Development Clinic: Family Profiles


	Family Profile Synopsis: Parent of a seven-year-old with Down Syndrome Parents of eight-year-old with a developmental coordination disorder Parent of a 7th grader with a possible neurometabolic condition Parents of a six-year-old with an Autism Spectrum Disorder Parents of a 1 1/2 year old with Cerebral Palsy Mark "Professionals from the Seacoast Child Development Clinic were especially helpful in collaborating with our pediatrician and the staff from Mark's school. We were able to get consultation regarding alternative approaches to his communication needs and assistance with toilet training. Mark's progress in these areas has been significant and much of this can be attributed to help received." -Parent of a seven-year-old with Down syndrome. Ian "We would like to thank the Seacoast Clinic team for coordinating our visit to the Clinic. Everyone made Ian feel so comfortable, which allowed for the best possible results. We were so impressed with the Clinic and the professionalism of the team. We truly appreciated the time that each specialist spent with us. We left the Clinic feeling that we had valid test results and valuable information to better understand Ian's educational needs." -Parents of eight-year-old with a developmental coordination disorder Dillon Our local elementary school came to a standstill with my youngest son. They knew there was "something different" about the way in which he learned, but since the staff there couldn't identify what his learning problems were exactly, he was never identified as a child with special needs. Some of his teachers and the special ed. staff took steps to try to help him. By the 5th grade they had modified my son's curriculum, and the length of his school day. He had access to the resource room and the program aids on an "as needed" basis. Even with this help, his specific needs were not being addressed and his level of anxiety about school began to manifest it's self as real physical symptoms. School was making my child sick. At the beginning of 6th grade I knew steps needed to be taken to identify my son's possible learning disabilities. In our area, 7th graders go to high school, and the elementary school staff which had willingly offered help to my child (without a documented reason to help) would no longer be available to him. He would be in another building with over 1500 students from seven towns - he would be lost. I had heard about Seacoast Child Development Clinic from a friend, and when I learned they were a part of the Institute on Disability at UNH, I knew that was where I wanted my son to go for a complete educational evaluation. The staff at Seacoast were immediately responsive to my request for this evaluation. They knew what questions to ask, and what information to gather from doctors and schools to insure that when I brought my son to Seacoast he would receive all the right services from them for his unique needs. Some members of the staff from Seacoast even came to my house - a three hour drive for them - to meet with my son, myself, and my other children before the evaluation took place. My son was impressed that people came all that way just to meet him and offer him help. He began to really look forward to the evaluation; he told me, "These people know I'm not stupid." The clinic offices on the UNH campus were easy to find (but parking was tight). Before the testing started, the director of Seacoast came into the waiting area to explain the testing process to my son and to introdUCED the diagnostitions to him. It was a long day of testing, but before long, my son began to see himself as a part of this team effort. He truly gave his best efforts to the diagnostic staff. At the end of our day at Seacoast the staff invited my son and myself into the conference room to here their initial findings. My son was seated at the head of the table, and the staff presented their findings to him in such a way that he could understand everything they said about him as a learner. They kept a positive attitude and explained reasons behind each of their results. When my son realized that possible problems had been found through this initial screening, and the staff wanted to have us back to confirm these finding, he cheered out loud. At that moment he knew that his problems in school had not been his fault, he wasn't stupid. As a result of my son's evaluation at Seacoast, he has been identified as a student with two specific learning disabilities, his unique learning style was also identified. He is now receiving services at school under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. He has supports and specialized teaching to address his needs. His anxiety is lessening more and more as his understanding of his new supports, and his understanding of himself grows. He now sees himself as a real student, and he is looking forward to his first report card of the 7th grade. Thank you Seacoast, from both of us. -Parent of a 7th grader with a possible neurometabolic condition Eric When we came to the evaluation, Erik was almost four-years-old. We knew that Erik's development was not typical for his age. He had started to receive some services through the school system. We weren't sure if Erik had PDD, and if he did, how to best assist him. There were several things about your programs that stand out in my mind even two years later. The team asked us what questions we wanted answered during the evaluation. You clearly cared about making sure that we as parents had a chance to share all our concerns and that we left feeling well equipped with knowledge and strategies for helping Erik. When you presented your findings to my husband and I, I remember the first question we were asked was "How do you feel?". You gave us an opportunity to work through the emotions of this process so that we were able to then focus on the positive things that we could do. But it isn't only the experience of the evaluation that stands out because of how thorough, compassionate, and informative it was, it is the results that we've seen as a result of implementing your recommendations. Almost all of your recommendations were incorporated into Erik's IEP and we also set some goals for ourselves in terms of things we could be doing at home. Because of that, Erik has a developed into a happy child with skills that help him successfully manage the areas in his life where he is most challenged. Erik used to play mostly alone. On the day of his birthday this past July, he greeted all of his friends at the door with a big smile and showed them around his toy room. Erik used to have a lot of issues with muscle tone. The past spring he played on a baseball team and was running and hitting the ball. (He would tire easily and sometime want some quiet time on the bleachers, but he was developing a love of sports that would help continue to build his strength and flexibility). Erik used to avoid eye contact with people. At the end of school last year, he stood with his class in front of a cafeteria of parents during a music program. With the support of his aide, he sang one of the two songs and when it was over, he clapped with everyone else. It was obvious how excited and proud he was. He's developed a strong sense of sense esteem and has a real "can do" attitude because we were able to identify early in his life what would help him (and we were able to put programs in place that were tailored specifically to him as an individual). If I could reach through the computer, I'd give you all hugs. The support the team gave us then and continues to give us now even two years later is invaluable. I hope you know how appreciated you are! -Parents of a six-year-old with an Autism Spectrum Disorder Samuel As parents, we have experienced a lot of frustration in trying to find the people and organizations that will help us meet our child's needs. The Seacoast Child Development Clinic is the closest thing we have found to a how-to manual. The professionals conducted a gentle, thorough evaluation, made helpful, practical suggestions and plugged us into networks and resources we didn't know existed. Their whole-child approach is a helpful contrast to the one-part-at-a-time approach of many healthcare professionals. -Parents of a 1 1/2 year old with Cerebral Palsy

Family Profile Synopsis:

Parent of a seven-year-old with Down Syndrome
Parents of eight-year-old with a developmental coordination disorder
Parent of a 7th grader with a possible neurometabolic condition
Parents of a six-year-old with an Autism Spectrum Disorder
Parents of a 1 1/2 year old with Cerebral Palsy

Mark

"Professionals from the Seacoast Child Development Clinic were especially helpful in collaborating with our pediatrician and the staff from Mark's school. We were able to get consultation regarding alternative approaches to his communication needs and assistance with toilet training. Mark's progress in these areas has been significant and much of this can be attributed to help received."

-Parent of a seven-year-old with Down syndrome.

Ian

"We would like to thank the Seacoast Clinic team for coordinating our visit to the Clinic. Everyone made Ian feel so comfortable, which allowed for the best possible results. We were so impressed with the Clinic and the professionalism of the team. We truly appreciated the time that each specialist spent with us. We left the Clinic feeling that we had valid test results and valuable information to better understand Ian's educational needs."

-Parents of eight-year-old with a developmental coordination disorder

Dillon

Our local elementary school came to a standstill with my youngest son. They knew there was "something different" about the way in which he learned, but since the staff there couldn't identify what his learning problems were exactly, he was never identified as a child with special needs.

Some of his teachers and the special ed. staff took steps to try to help him. By the 5th grade they had modified my son's curriculum, and the length of his school day. He had access to the resource room and the program aids on an "as needed" basis. Even with this help, his specific needs were not being addressed and his level of anxiety about school began to manifest it's self as real physical symptoms. School was making my child sick.

At the beginning of 6th grade I knew steps needed to be taken to identify my son's possible learning disabilities. In our area, 7th graders go to high school, and the elementary school staff which had willingly offered help to my child (without a documented reason to help) would no longer be available to him. He would be in another building with over 1500 students from seven towns - he would be lost.

I had heard about Seacoast Child Development Clinic from a friend, and when I learned they were a part of the Institute on Disability at UNH, I knew that was where I wanted my son to go for a complete educational evaluation.

The staff at Seacoast were immediately responsive to my request for this evaluation. They knew what questions to ask, and what information to gather from doctors and schools to insure that when I brought my son to Seacoast he would receive all the right services from them for his unique needs. Some members of the staff from Seacoast even came to my house - a three hour drive for them - to meet with my son, myself, and my other children before the evaluation took place. My son was impressed that people came all that way just to meet him and offer him help. He began to really look forward to the evaluation; he told me, "These people know I'm not stupid."

The clinic offices on the UNH campus were easy to find (but parking was tight). Before the testing started, the director of Seacoast came into the waiting area to explain the testing process to my son and to introdUCED the diagnostitions to him. It was a long day of testing, but before long, my son began to see himself as a part of this team effort. He truly gave his best efforts to the diagnostic staff.

At the end of our day at Seacoast the staff invited my son and myself into the conference room to here their initial findings. My son was seated at the head of the table, and the staff presented their findings to him in such a way that he could understand everything they said about him as a learner. They kept a positive attitude and explained reasons behind each of their results. When my son realized that possible problems had been found through this initial screening, and the staff wanted to have us back to confirm these finding, he cheered out loud. At that moment he knew that his problems in school had not been his fault, he wasn't stupid.

As a result of my son's evaluation at Seacoast, he has been identified as a student with two specific learning disabilities, his unique learning style was also identified. He is now receiving services at school under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. He has supports and specialized teaching to address his needs. His anxiety is lessening more and more as his understanding of his new supports, and his understanding of himself grows. He now sees himself as a real student, and he is looking forward to his first report card of the 7th grade. Thank you Seacoast, from both of us.

-Parent of a 7th grader with a possible neurometabolic condition

Eric

When we came to the evaluation, Erik was almost four-years-old. We knew that Erik's development was not typical for his age. He had started to receive some services through the school system. We weren't sure if Erik had PDD, and if he did, how to best assist him. There were several things about your programs that stand out in my mind even two years later.

The team asked us what questions we wanted answered during the evaluation. You clearly cared about making sure that we as parents had a chance to share all our concerns and that we left feeling well equipped with knowledge and strategies for helping Erik. When you presented your findings to my husband and I, I remember the first question we were asked was "How do you feel?". You gave us an opportunity to work through the emotions of this process so that we were able to then focus on the positive things that we could do. But it isn't only the experience of the evaluation that stands out because of how thorough, compassionate, and informative it was, it is the results that we've seen as a result of implementing your recommendations.

Almost all of your recommendations were incorporated into Erik's IEP and we also set some goals for ourselves in terms of things we could be doing at home. Because of that, Erik has a developed into a happy child with skills that help him successfully manage the areas in his life where he is most challenged. Erik used to play mostly alone. On the day of his birthday this past July, he greeted all of his friends at the door with a big smile and showed them around his toy room. Erik used to have a lot of issues with muscle tone. The past spring he played on a baseball team and was running and hitting the ball. (He would tire easily and sometime want some quiet time on the bleachers, but he was developing a love of sports that would help continue to build his strength and flexibility). Erik used to avoid eye contact with people. At the end of school last year, he stood with his class in front of a cafeteria of parents during a music program. With the support of his aide, he sang one of the two songs and when it was over, he clapped with everyone else. It was obvious how excited and proud he was.

He's developed a strong sense of sense esteem and has a real "can do" attitude because we were able to identify early in his life what would help him (and we were able to put programs in place that were tailored specifically to him as an individual). If I could reach through the computer, I'd give you all hugs. The support the team gave us then and continues to give us now even two years later is invaluable. I hope you know how appreciated you are!

-Parents of a six-year-old with an Autism Spectrum Disorder

Samuel

As parents, we have experienced a lot of frustration in trying to find the people and organizations that will help us meet our child's needs. The Seacoast Child Development Clinic is the closest thing we have found to a how-to manual. The professionals conducted a gentle, thorough evaluation, made helpful, practical suggestions and plugged us into networks and resources we didn't know existed. Their whole-child approach is a helpful contrast to the one-part-at-a-time approach of many healthcare professionals.

-Parents of a 1 1/2 year old with Cerebral Palsy