Our youngest son, Kevin, is currently a sixth grader. He is a wonderful, active, “loving-life” kind of kid. However, during his early elementary years, we left each parent-teacher conference more and more concerned about his reading skills. We watched his attitude toward school become extremely negative, and it broke our hearts to see him so frustrated and miserable each night during homework time.

Gradually, as the workload increased, he also began to struggle with spelling and most language-based activities in other subject areas. In 2004, we asked our pediatrician to recommend a Pediatric Neuropsychologist to explore an outside independent evaluation. We were so fortunate to have been recommended to Dr. Janine Stasior of the Child Development Network in Lexington.

As both a Special Education and Regular Education teacher for 21 years, I was impressed with the detailed and thorough neuropsychological evaluation he received by Dr. Stasior. All of our questions about his attentional and cognitive abilities were answered. It was evident that the Child Development Network was not just a testing facility. They provided us with productive ways to communicate his strengths and weaknesses to his teachers. With the Child Development Network’s recommendations, we were able to develop a comprehensive and manageable Individual Educational Plan for Kevin. They have continually ensured that Kevin’s needs are met and that the necessary services are put in place and provided at his school.

The Child Development Network also offers its “families” Educational Support Services through private tutoring. Our son has benefited from this component of the network for the past 18 months with Pamela Duncan, M.Ed., Educational Specialist.

This past spring, we faced two of our biggest fears. The first focused on Kevin’s transition to the middle school, and the second questioned whether the public school system could continue to provide the support he needed. Both Dr. Stasior and Pam Duncan consulted with us and attended Kevin’s TEAM meeting, and we felt reassured that it would be best to keep him in the public school setting. The staff at the Child Development Network continues to ask for updates and share in all of our son’s successes. They have supported us, encouraged him, and made it possible for him to achieve the personal and academic goals he has set for himself.

Two years ago, our son was well below grade level in most content areas. Kevin’s weaknesses are steadily becoming his strengths: he is proud to read aloud and he made honor roll for the first time. He is currently at – or above grade level expectations in all content areas. These results are from the hard work and long hours put in by our son, us, and the dedicated professionals at the Child Development Network.

The Child Development Network has provided our son with a safe, encouraging atmosphere that is conducive to learning, taking risks, and celebrating accomplishments. Kevin is now reaching his potential and understands what kind of a student and learner he is. Those painful “Monday headaches” are gone, and he is extremely optimistic towards school and exited about his future. We are grateful to Dr. Stasior and Pam Duncan for their “goal setting” work with Kevin. Now our biggest concern is saving for college since he plans to attend Cornell University for Hotel Administration!

With grateful hearts,

Mike and Tina