Save My Child

ABOUT US

We are a family that lives in California with our two sons. Both of our children are adopted. When
our younger son, who is a teenager at the time of this writing, was in the second grade his teacher
told us that she thought our son might have ADHD. We as his parents, had already suspected this
for awhile. Thus began our journey of having a child in the public school system with a disability
that is still believed by some to be more of a "behavioral problem" rather than a disability. We
trusted the teachers and school administrators to make the appropriate accommodations for our son.
This turned out to be an expectation we should never have assumed.

My son's ADHD was treated as a behavioral issue and as a result he was constantly in trouble. This
situation worsened in middle school as the class size grew and the academics got more demanding.
His self esteem began to decline and depression set in. He began smoking marijuana as a way to
self- medicate in the eighth grade. He was busted smoking pot in the school bathroom, and the police
were called to the school. He was sent home with us but when we asked the principal of the school
what we should expect to happen next we were told that we could not bring him back to that school.
No other comments were made telling us what we were suppose to do and where my son would go
to school. That's when we knew it was time for us to take matters into our own hands and get the
appropriate help and education for our son. The only problem was that we really had NO idea
where to start! We had an ADHD child who was now experimenting with drugs who was not
welcome back to his school and nobody seem to be able to tell us what we were suppose to do!
Thus began our journey.

Let me first tell you that we have lived in the same home for over 20 years. This means something
when I share with you that since the fifth grade our son has been in five public schools, one private
school (funded by the school district), home schooled and one independent study program run by the
Department of Education. He has been in two outpatient drug treatment programs, one inpatient
drug treatment program and two residential treatment programs. He has been arrested twice
(non-drug related) and has been hospitalized for a drug overdose. He was expelled from high school
in the tenth grade. (We fought to get this overturned and were successful). Some days we aren't sure
how we made it through intact.

Our son is an amazing person who has overcome tremendous obstacles. Today he is happy and we
are closer today as a family than we ever thought possible. He finished his senior year in high school
on the Principal's Honor Roll list. It is in his honor that we share our story and most importantly
what we learned so that other parents can get help for their children and for themselves in a timely
manner. Nobody knows your child like you do. You are the strongest advocates they have. The
information contained in this Information Booklet will give you the tools you need to supply your
child with the help they need!