Children's Special Services

ATLANTA, GA - Your child has poor handwriting, seems easily distracted and is the last to finish class assignments. Is this just a phase, or is something really wrong? Can these concerns be addressed and corrected this school year, or is it too late? Chances are, if you have noticed these concerns, your child's teacher has noticed them too. But that doesn't mean that the teacher can diagnose your child. Sometimes a formal evaluation needs to be conducted and that is where Children's Special Services can help.

Children's Special Services, LLC (CSS) was founded in Atlanta in 1991 by Susan N. Schriber Orloff, OTR/L as a comprehensive therapy service for children from toddler through teen. CSS offers extensive evaluations to determine developmental and learning delays. In addition, CSS uses interactive therapeutic learning experiences that encompass both psychological and physiological development issues. By assessing and treating visual motor, coordination, visual processing, and organizational skills, school and life skills improve.

Orloff has been an occupational therapist for 35 years. She recommends talking to your child's teacher as soon as developmental and/or learning delays are identified. Ask for comparative examples of your child's performance versus what the teacher considers to be more "typical" responses. "it is important for parents to note that small discrepancies only increase as the child matures. Children do not "outgrow" developmental delays, the delays only evolve and "mutate" with maturity," Orloff says.

There are a number of things that parents can do now that will impact their child's intellectual an emotional growth when a learning delay has been identified. Involving the child's teacher as a "partner" in the process is imperative. Public school procedures take some time. Some of the actions that can be taken are developing in-class strategies for the child, a referral to a Resource Room Teacher and development of an Individual Education Plan (IEP) for the child. These actions may be very helpful, but sometimes take up to six months to implement.

When a formal evaluation is necessary, Orloff suggests that concerned parents consult with their insurance companies to see what the insurance company will cover to get an outside evaluation by a covered provider. Pediatrician's can often provide referrals for registered occupational therapists, like those found at Children's Special Services. CSS only hires qualified pediatric therapists. Each therapist is knowledgeable in various learning issues including AD/HD, Autism, handwriting, and fine and gross motor difficulties. CSS provides services to eleven public and private schools in the metro-Atlanta area.

Research has shown that children with learning issues are three times more likely not to finish high school than traditional learners. Orloff suggests to parents who have a nagging feeling about their child's development that they investigate the concern before it becomes an issue. Information is powerful and helpful. If there is a problem, then parents can get the help the child needs. If there is not a problem, then the stress level goes down. "Whatever you do, do not delay! The older the child, the more emotional issues evolve along with the learning concerns," says Orloff.

Susan N. Schriber Orloff, OTR/L is an occupational therapist as well as CEO and Executive Director of Children's Special Services. Orloff founded the Atlanta-based Children's Special Services, LLC (CSS) in 1991 as a comprehensive therapy service for children from toddler through teen. CSS uses interactive therapeutic learning experiences that encompass both psychological and physiological development issues. By assessing and treating visual motor, coordination, visual processing, and organizational skills, school and life skills improve. CSS only hires qualified pediatric therapists. Each therapist is knowledgeable in various learning issues including AD/HD, Autism, handwriting, and fine and gross motor difficulties. CSS provides services to eleven public and private schools in the metro-Atlanta area.

ATLANTA, GA - When hurricane Katrina devastated parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama in August 2005, Americans dug deep and volunteered or made donations to try to help the thousands of affected families. Aid continued for months afterward including help with basic necessities such as food, water, and shelter. But what about the Katrina victims with developmental delays - those children who received therapy for Autism, AD/HD an fine and gross motor difficulties prior to hurricane Katrina? Are those children receiving the services that they need? The answer, in most situations, is no.

According to the Georgia Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities, as of fall 2005 from a report from the U.S. Census, "people with disabilities comprise 20% of the general population, and 25-30% of those were affected by hurricane Katrina." The Learning Disability Association of America (LDAA) puts the number of children impacted by Katrina at 320,000. Using the statistics above, if 25-30% of the children impacted by Katrina have disabilities, the number of children that had preexisting learning issues prior to the hurricane is between 80,000 and 96,000.

These children were absorbed by public schools across the country and placed into classrooms by age. In most cases, there were no formal or informal screenings to obtain a level of proficiency. So even if these children were receiving services prior to hurricane Katrina, if they arrived at their new school without documentation of their services, they had to start the process all over again.

Susan Orloff, has been an occupational therapist for thirty-five years. She founded Children's Special Services, LLC (CSS) in Atlanta in 1991 as a comprehensive therapy service for children from toddler through teen. CSS offers extensive evaluations to determine developmental and learning delays. In addition, CSS uses interactive therapeutic learning experiences that encompass both psychological and physiological development issues. By assessing and treating visual motor, coordination, visual processing, and organizational skills, school and life skills improve.

Orloff has received hundreds of calls from parents since hurricane Katrina. Parents have had questions about school districts - which ones serve kids with disabilities, how to get "on the list" and how to go into a meeting with school administrators about their child's needs. In addition, parents have asked about their rights, where they can go for services, how to get "bumped up" on a greater than six month waiting list, where to go for family counseling and what to do about bullying in school.

Orloff was frustrated and exasperated on behalf of these families. "Overwhelmingly, what came across during conversations with parents was a sense of sadness, anger, loss of community, safety, possessions an familiarity -- a sense of being cut loose and drifting. Hooking these families into programs and resources as well as coaching them to fight for their rights as parents became a passion for me," said Orloff.

Even though it's been months since this disaster, it's not too late to help the 80,000-96,000 children with LD that were impacted by loss of services/OT due to hurricane Katrina. Orloff recommends that a screening process should be developed and all children that were absorbed should have at least a cursory screening that looks at gross motor, fine motor, perceptual and social/language skills. A base line needs to be established. There is the personnel to do this, they just need to be re-directed. Once the base line is established, then priority services for reading and writing should be offered in the form of in-school tutoring and in after-care programs. Assistance with homework would also help these children.

In the near future, year-round personnel should group test these children for more in-depth information and provide over the summer help. FEMA should give parents money to pay for summer remediation programs if their schools do not offer them. This could be done in the form of vouchers so that the money would go to the service provider after they have documented that the service was performed. For some kids this extension of services should extend into the coming school year.

ATLANTA, GA - Learning shouldn't stop when the last school bell rings in May. Summer is the perfect time for focusing on and resolving learning "glitches" in a supportive, non-graded and low-stress environment. Whether or not your child has been receiving assistance with developmental and/or learning delays this school year, summer programs that are focused and concise will help your child "stay on the right track."

Children's Special Services, LLC has hired Learning on the Log (a comprehensive sensory-based program for children with learning differences) this summer to provide children with comprehensive, therapeutic and goal measurable experiences to increase problem-solving skills, expand social skills, facilitate the ability to tolerate unfamiliar situations, decrease frustration, increase organization, improve communication and increase motor abilities and coordination. This closely monitored program is called Summer Sensory Learning.

Children's Special Services, LLC (CSS) was founded in Atlanta in 1991 by Susan N. Schriber Orloff, OTR/L as an all inclusive therapy service for children from toddler through teen. CSS offers extensive evaluations to determine developmental and learning delays. In addition, CSS uses interactive therapeutic learning experiences that encompass both psychological and physiological development issues. By assessing and treating visual motor, coordination, visual processing, organizational skills and psychosocial development, school and life skills improve. CSS offers services year-round.

The Summer Sensory Learning program is based on the principals of Dr. Stanley Greenspan's Floortime, as well as concepts from sensory integration and development. Activities will include hiking, swimming and a variety of structured noncompetitive games. Children will be challenged by fun experiences that will build confidence and increase skills. This program is off-site at various locations. Drop-off and pick-up is a t the CSS clinic. Classes are offered in June and July and enrollment is limited to 10 children.

CSS also offers other summer programs including Write Incredibly Now, W.I.N.^TM, the only U.S. trademarked handwriting program in the southeast that takes children from labored to legible in just twelve hours (or six, two-hour sessions)! Personal Options and Preferences, P.O.P. social skills program is also U.S. trademarked and uses music, occupational, recreational and speech therapy concepts to increase children's interactive abilities. For more information on the Summer Sensory Learning program and all other services offered by CSS, LLC, please call 7-394-9791 or visit www.childrens-services.com.

Orloff is also the author of the recently published book, Learning Re-enabled: a guide for parents, teachers and therapists.