Dear Kid's Creek Families,

 Throughout a therapist's career they will work with many children. I have grossly estimated that over the course of 21 years as a speech pathologist I have worked with close to approximately 800 different children. Whew! That is a lot of therapy, reports, treatment notes, and a ton of love! It is always a joy when we get to hear how a former client of ours has moved on to success in their life.

Our ultimate goal at Kid's Creek is to find a child's potential and strive diligently toward that end.

So with that in mind, I was so excited to hear about a wonderful accomplishment from one of our Kid's Creek friends who used to see us for ST, OT and PT, Foster Michaelis. Foster's mother Keri graciously gave me permission to share our public congratulations with him.

Foster Michaelis, age 11, of Medlock Bridge Elementary School in Johns Creek, GA is the 2013 National History Bee Elementary School National Champion! Congratulations Foster! Your friends at Kid's Creek are proud of you! 

 Melanie McGriff                      Silvia Herstik 

Owner/Clinical Director       Owner/Operations Director 

11 Year Old With Asperger Syndrome Wins National History Bee

Johns Creek, Georgia - June 3, 2013 - Eleven year old W. Foster Michaelis from Johns Creek loves reading reference books, his map collection and watching history specials.  But he never thought his hobby would take him as far as it did on June 1 at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta.

Michaelis earned the title of 2013 National History Bee Elementary School National Champion.  This is the first year the organization held a separate elementary school competition.

After completing an online regional qualifying exam, the fifth grader from Medlock Bridge Elementary School joined students from elementary through middle school in Atlanta at Bauder College for the Atlanta Regional Finals on February 18.  Michaelis tied for third place and was the only elementary student to make the top 10.

Michaelis' performance at the Atlanta Regional Finals qualified him for a spot to compete in the National History Bee.  51 other elementary students from around the country qualified to compete at nationals.

Shomik Ghose from Houston, Texas was the runner-up.  Michaelis secured the championship with a question related to Argentina with a final score of 7-5.

On hand to witness his win were proud parents Keri and Charlie Michaelis, younger brother Luke, grandparents Sue and Bob Paarz of Somers Point, New Jersey, and Medlock Bridge Elementary teachers Amber Ray and Cindy Olson.

Michaelis was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome before he turned 3.  Characterized by difficulties in social interaction and communication, Michaelis has worked very hard with countless hours of therapies to succeed despite his developmental disability.  During the competition, students were asked to share an interesting fact about themselves.  Michaelis answered, "I have Asperger's."

Michaelis is a boy scout, chess player, video game enthusiast, geography fanatic and basketball player.  He will attend Autrey Mill Middle School in August and hopes to compete on Jeopardy, attend a top college on a scholarship, and become an entrepreneur.

For more information on the National History Bee, visit nationalhistorybee.com

Patient Results

•  Speech Therapy Results Letter
• Physical Therapy Results Letter 
• Occupational Therapy Results Letter 

Jessie has had the opportunity to work with many diagnoses including: Down syndrome, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Significant Developmental Delay, Emotional Behavioral Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Attention Deficit Disorder, Intellectual Impairments, food aversions, and fluency disorders. In order to make sure that the child is reaching their full potential, she is constantly looking for new ideas and new techniques. She is licensed by the state of Georgia and is nationally certified by the American Speech Language Hearing Association.

Jessie has resided in Roswell, Georgia since 2009. 

Elana Portman MS OTR/L

Elana Portman is looking forward to joining the staff at Kid's Creek this summer. A graduate of Touro College School of Health Sciences, with a master's degree in occupational therapy, Elana has worked both in NY and GA states in a variety of pediatric settings including schools, private clinic, and home early intervention services through Babies Can't Wait. Elana has worked with individuals from age birth through middle adolescence diagnosed with a variety of special needs. She has worked with individuals diagnosed with autism, Asperger syndrome, Sensory Integration Disorder, Rett syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Shaken Baby syndrome, Prematurity, Down syndrome, Fine Motor Disorder, and Global Developmental Disorder.

Elana takes pride in her profession and enjoys attending relevant continuing education courses to incorporate the learned information and newest therapeutic techniques into her treatment sessions. A member of both GOTA and AOTA, Elana feels strongly about her profession and the significant impact it has on her clients and their families.

Elana loves using her creativity to develop specialized client centered treatment sessions and developing positive and strong therapeutic relationships with her clients and their families. She looks forward to continuing her career at Kid's Creek and working with the children and their families in order to maximize each child's potential to the fullest. Elana hopes each child she works with looks forward to entering the doors of Kid's Creek for each and every therapy session and parents come out with valuable information to ensure positive carry-over in the home environment.