Parent Testimonials

“We are the parents of a 7-year-old daughter diagnosed with ADHD, living on a small tropical island. Her first year of school on the island, we had some challenges, but we made it through thanks to a very good teacher. However, in her second year, we were not as fortunate; her new teacher did not try to accompany any of our requests to help make school life positive for our daughter. She wanted to keep her back and we were not going to allow that to happen, because we knew she was smart. We met with the teacher and the principal, no one could confirm that she would get the help she need. We had to take matters into our own hands.
Having family living in Georgia we decided to look into schools there that may be more suited to our daughter. I went on the internet and the first school that popped up was The Orion School. It was as if it was made just for our daughter, it had everything her therapist had recommended. I was over the moon; I could not believe that a school like that existed. I Immediately called my parents in Georgia to have them go check out the school. My parents being the very thorough and protective grandparents that they are were impressed immediately. Therefore, within a week we had to make the hardest decision ever, to send our baby girl 3hrs away by plane to live with her Grandparents in Georgia. Well, ten months into our daughter going to The Orion School, we know it was the best decision we could have possibly made. The teachers are the best, the programs they teach are of the highest standards and the care they take with our daughter is unparalleled. The smile on our daughter’s face and the happiness in her voice, tells us every day that we made the right choice. The teachers update you on a regular basis as to what the class is learning, so you are never wondering what your child is learning today. The field trips that they take the children on are so awesome. Only being able to see our daughter every 3-5 months is hard, but worth it. This year I was fortunate enough to spend 6 weeks with her taking her to school and going on the field trips, and I have to say it reconfirmed what I knew; this school is awesome. The teachers are so patient and understanding of our daughter and all the children that attend The Orion School as any parent knows with a child with ADHD it is not always easy and you have to have patience. We do not know how our daughter or we would have made out if we did not find The Orion School. Our hat goes off to the whole team and how they hold it down at The Orion School. Thanks for everything.”

“A year ago, I was in tears at the thought we might not find a school where our son could survive, much less thrive. Yet, after seven months at Orion School, our son has flourished. His handwriting has progressed beyond what I would have dreamed of by this point. And he absolutely LOVES going to school! I had feared at least a year of tantrums and struggles to get him through the door every day, but he rushes to get ready every morning, he's so excited to get there and see his teachers. My gratitude is truly immeasurable.”

“We chose to come to Atlanta (over other US cities) because of The Orion School and we have no hesitation in saying we did the right thing.”

“After countless evaluation sessions with health professionals and receiving a diagnosis of ADHD, sensory integration disorder, and developmental delay, an educational environment of structured learning was suggested for my daughter. Additional recommendations were made for swimming, martial arts classes, and occupation therapy. I was thinking that I would have to quit my job just to educate her, keep her healthy, and catch her up developmentally. But then I found The Orion School, which has the structured academics with practical applications of the ADHD developmental and educational theories that were recommended and beyond. The amazing thing is that therapeutic programs and social development are part of the academic curriculum. The low student-teacher ratio and the dedicated team of professionals and therapists have helped my child grow academically, psychologically, physically, and socially by leaps and bounds without my having to quit my job to give her the care that she needs. Now a year later, my daughter is happy, healthy, and, most of all, likes to attend school. Acquaintances and close relatives who have talked to her can’t believe how much she has developed. She went from a shy little girl who lacked self-confidence and self esteem to a happy and talkative girl who is confident in her abilities to handle work in her school environment. My relatives have observed and commented to me that prior to attending The Orion School that they thought that she was about 3 years behind (compared to norm), but now she maybe about a year behind and rapidly catching up. From my perspective, I am just glad that I am no longer hearing self-derogatory and destructive remarks from my daughter anymore. I will be forever grateful to the founders of the school who have assembled a team of dedicated and committed teachers and professionals to provide a balanced academic and caring environment for the development of struggling kids so that they will obtain the skills necessary to be successful in their environment.”

“Our child has grown a tremendous amount this year through the philosophy of the Orion School and has gained much from the loving and nurturing environment there.”

“My daughter has changed immensely in the year she has been attending The Orion School. Her inner core was tense and nervous; her self-esteem had eroded while in the other school she attended. Now, she is happy, thrilled to be going off to school. She seems to be more relaxed both socially and academically. I see her express emotions better than she used to. The schedule at The Orion School is what led us to enroll our daughter there. Everyday she gets to have activities like karate, swimming, dance, tennis, rock climbing, yoga, or hiking. The amount she has learned while in motion is 10 times more than she can learn while sitting still and the variety of these activities introduces her to them without my having to sign up and drag her to them afterschool. My daughter is athletic and learns better while in motion. Moving from teacher to teacher has also been a wonderful asset to my daughter’s education at The Orion School. Certainly, like any of us, she responds differently to different adults and having a different teacher with each subject is the variety a child with ADHD needs”

“After spending a few weeks in summer camp at The Orion School, our son agreed the new school would be a fun place to attend school. My wife and I were terrified for his future because he was such a complicated case. It actually turned out to be a miraculous place. When he had temper tantrums, the day did not stop for him, or us, or any of the other students. The staff at The Orion School knew just how to work with him. As a result of this continuity in instruction, our son’s academics have improved. We are proud that he is now completing second grade arithmetic although he only just completed the first grade. In addition, he has improved his reading and handwriting skills. Both had been enormously challenging for him since he was in pre-school. The Orion School also offers support to the entire family. It sponsors a monthly support meeting for the families where we can network and share strategies to help us cope with the challenges of raising a child with ADHD. Through these informal exchanges we learned of a child psychiatrist who has helped our son tremendously. I look back at the last two years prior to our child’s placement in The Orion School and recognize our entire family was under enormous stress. When one member of a family is suffering due to ADHD, the entire family suffers.”

“When I think of the Orion School and the difference that this experience has made not only in our granddaughter’s life but in her mother’s and our lives, words really cannot express our gratitude. It has truly been a life changing and almost life saving experience for all of us for her to be understood intellectually and personally and to be taught with respect and compassion. She has made more progress than we ever expected at this point in her life, and the Orion School’s program has relieved so much stress from all of our family involved with our ADHD child; especially her Mother. Yes, The Orion School has saved our family by relieving the stress and returning joy to our lives. The school has been just what we needed when we needed it. We are all so much happier now than we were when we all started almost three years ago. How do we thank you and the hard working teachers enough?"

“Thank you again for the parent support meeting last evening. It really means a lot when you have the support and dedication of professionals like yourself who go beyond the call of duty to help others.”