MFC - Success Stories

The Gift of Knowledge | The One Stop Shop

 

 

The Gift of Knowledge
Karen Barrosse

There are many difficult issues to address when dealing with a child or loved one who have a learning disability or mental/behavioral disorder. One of the biggest issues is getting over the fact that they may have a mental health disorder. Many of us do not want to admit to ourselves or let alone tell anyone about these types of problems thought only for “CRAZY” people. In fact, there are many of us walking around everyday who know we are different, but cannot pin point exactly why.

In my family’s case, I had a beautiful child whose only difference from other kids was being brilliant. Then I began to notice little things along the way. He seemed a little anxious, not comfortable in many social situations or sports activities. This gifted child also had some learning differences that appeared early on which we monitored and addressed throughout lower school. The learning disorder was addressed and my son easily moved through lower school, in many classes superior to his peers. Life is good we thought. We will monitor the anxiety issues and deal with them later.

This was a child who was at the top of his class academically and was one of the best swimmers in the state…. He could have been an OK student and athlete. We just wanted a happy child moving through the different experiences of life. His performance and social anxiety was internally driven. He needed coping mechanisms to help. We thought that we had all the mechanisms in place. But unfortunately, we had not.

One of the things that often spin kids out of control is a big change or trauma. In our family’s case, it was a move to a new house, new school, our dog died and my children’s only living grandmother died in the matter of 60 days. My whole family was very depressed, but especially my oldest son. We needed very competent professional help right away to get through these issues, as my kids were spiraling through depression.

When depression hits, it starts a roller coaster ride of problems: medical, stress, insurance, financial, marital and parenting issues. Without professional help, we may not be a nuclear family today. We were referred to Mercy Family Center from a trusted Psychologist in Uptown New Orleans and as a result, we now feel blessed everyday.

Besides depression, we were dealing with the complex issues of anxiety (obsessive compulsive disorder), ADD/ADHD and learning disorders. As parents, we needed to look at our own families and ourselves. This is a difficult task, but important to help our children. I had to admit, I worked at keeping my OCD a secret for a very long time. Apparently, it was a secret only to me and not very well understood by my family a generation ago. In my family history, there were a number of family members academically brilliant who struggled with employment issues, could not carry on a social conversation or leave the house. There were alcoholics who where self-medicating their underlying disorders of obsessive compulsive disorder, ADHD, learning disabilities and post trauma stress disorder. There was a paternal family history of post trauma stress disorder, bi-polar disorder, OCD and ADD/ADHD. These were issues that I moved miles away from, but apparently it could never be far enough.

One of the biggest challenges in dealing with mental health issues and learning disorders is finding experienced and competent professional help. In many communities it is simply finding a mental health practioner at all. Fortunately, Mercy Family Center is a multidisciplinary environment that provides all of the different types of practitioners needed to fully assess both of my children. In our case, we used all the different types of professionals to rule out things my children were pre-disposed to because of our family history. This included educational, psycho-educational testing, professional therapy and medical intervention.

The one thing that I cannot stress enough is to not wait. If you and/or your family need help, get it now. It is much easier to address these life challenges early on. Without help, many kids and adults turn to alcohol, drugs, smoking, develop eating disorders or drop out of school. In many cases ADD/ADHD does not come by itself. In a large percentage of kids, there are learning disorders and other co-existing mental health issues. Many parents know about the learning disabilities but not the other co-existing mental health disorders. Parents need this information so they can look for the signs to assist their practioner in the care of their children. By learning about your individual children, you can learn to be an advocate for your child.

It is imperative that you find the right group of professionals to evaluate, diagnose, provide therapy, work in finding the right combination of medication needs and supervise their use. By finding Mercy Family Center and their professional staff early in our trauma, it literally saved our family from disaster. From myself to you, please get comfortable talking about mental and behavioral health issues with your family, friends and teachers. I cannot tell you how many people our family has helped by being open to this discussion. Pass on the gift of knowledge and help more children and families live healthy and happy lives.

Thank you,
Karen Barrosse

 

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One Stop Shop: Mercy Family Center and Mercy Learning Center ”
By: Laura Bailey

Today, private schools require psychological evaluation for children as part of the application process. Often as children mature and further develop, an evaluation can help measure the level of educational progress your child has achieved. Teachers may also suggest an evaluation if there is a concern in the classroom.

Most psychologists charge an astronomical amount for such tests, an average of $800. That does include an initial meeting with the parents, all tests, a school observation, a detailed written report with scores, a suggested plan of action and follow-up. Regardless, to most that is not small change.

Luckily, Mercy Family Center exists. In addition to the services listed above, Mercy also provides the next step your child may need – tutoring at their Mercy Learning Center .

At Mercy Learning Center , the tutors implement individualized learning plans to meet your child’s specific needs. They shower them with praise as they continually challenge them to strive to do better. In addition to individual tutoring sessions, small groups can be arranged to provide an alternative learning venue that can also be more feasible for your budget. Add to this a selection of summer camps designed as a “jump start” to the upcoming school year and you can see why Mercy Learning Center is such a valuable and needed program in our community.

A negative comment has yet to rear its ugly head about this organization and I’d be highly surprised if one ever does. If you are in need of any of the above services, be sure to contact Mercy Family and/or Mercy Learning Center to schedule an appointment or get additional information for your child. If you qualify, financial assistance may also be available. Because we all know that you can’t put a price on your child’s success.