Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy O’Dell.
What began as a mother’s refusal to give up HOPE for her son’s future has grown into a successful, thriving environment for families of children with neurodevelopmental challenges.
Amy O’Dell’s son, Jacob, was born with significant developmental delays, his early life filled with endless evaluations and conflicting diagnoses. Yet she believed in Jacob’s potential, so Amy furthered her training by studying the brain-based neurodevelopmental approach. Through this approach and her experience, she developed the program used at Jacob’s Ladder Neurodevelopmental School and Therapy Center today. She implemented a program of intensive, consistent interventions to create new capacity in Jacob’s brain. The results were nothing short of miraculous, and soon Amy started a school so that she could help other families who had found little help elsewhere.
The school itself was established in 1998 and designated as a 501©3 not for profit learning center in 1999. Our classrooms started in the small basements of homes with just a couple of students and have now grown to 6 properties across two campuses with over 120 staff and 150 students. Over the past ten years, the Roswell campus has seen the addition of a playground with walking trails, expansion of the main building, addition of an outdoor classroom, creation of animal enclosures, and the purchase of 4 surrounding properties on a total of 14 acres. In the Fall 2015, we were fortunate to open our second Jacob’s Ladder location on the Buckhead campus of Northwest Presbyterian Church and recently acquired the adjacent property for continued growth and expansion in the Buckhead Community.
In addition to our on-campus programs, we offer home-based therapy programs through our Community of Care remote program serving families both out of state and in other countries. Over the last twenty years, Jacob’s Ladder has provided evaluations, tailored trainings, and individualized care for over 4,000 families from nearly every state in the U.S. and from all five continents.
Has it been a smooth road?
Jacob’s Ladder has been extremely blessed with the support of our staff, families, and donors. As the local community and world have come to experience and learn about the care delivered by Jacob’s Ladder, our student growth has increased significantly over the past several years. The opportunity and challenge with any growing service organization is to satisfy that growth while maintaining its steadfast culture. At Jacob’s Ladder, our leadership is intensely focused to ensure our culture of Hope, Truth, and Love is never compromised so that any obstacle can be addressed before slowing any future progress.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Jacob’s Ladder Neurodevelopmental School & Therapy Center – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
Jacob’s Ladder is a not-for-profit global therapeutic learning model that is committed to changing the conversation globally about how to program and serve individuals with diverse neurodevelopmental challenges, irrespective of age and ability. Grounded in science, guided by love, and delivered with an unwavering commitment to see beyond diagnoses – our brain-based interventions are founded upon the latest research in neuroscience that provides us with a sure knowledge that the brain is malleable, plastic, and constantly changing.
Profoundly therapeutic in nature and delivered in a culture of Hope, Truth, and Love – our intensive, individualized, and evidence-based methodology adheres to a whole-brain, whole-student approach that produces lasting change in our students.
Each student entering into Jacob’s Ladder completes a comprehensive therapeutic and educational evaluation that includes a Global Neurodevelopmental Assessment, Comprehensive Academic Assessment, Nutritional Consultation, and QEEG. Our methodology is uniquely based on a whole-brain/whole-child approach.
The Global Neurodevelopmental Assessment is completed by our dedicated clinical team. It takes into consideration over 300 essential indicators related primarily to a student’s neurodevelopment, learning style, and social-emotional-behavioral well-being.
The Nutritional Consultation is completed by our Registered Dietician, a 19-year Emory Lecturer in Health & Nutrition and mom to a beloved, long-time Jacob’s Ladder student – offering expertise from the perspective of someone who truly understands each family’s journey, and the inherent complexities our students face physiologically.
The QEEG utilizes technology to determine specific regions of the brain that are experiencing excessive or deficient activity within the bands of frequency measured. The map provides a visual representation of areas of the brain with dysregulation, as well as information on impaired conduction, brain wave balance, and connectivity between different regional neuronal networks. Based on our findings during the evaluation, a very intentional, specific, and customized program is designed for each individual student, and a placement is recommended within Jacob’s Ladder.
Programming encompasses a multidisciplinary approach that consists of hundreds of interventions to be completed consistently, daily, and with high intensity. It is implemented each day by a dedicated team of teachers who come from a variety of backgrounds and experience related to the educational and therapeutic field and who care deeply about our mission and the families who we serve.
Placement is determined based on many factors, such as the level of support that will ensure a student experiences consistent challenge and consistent success, and may include:
– 1:1 Learning within our Accredited Private School, which offers the highest level of support while incorporating opportunities for expanded peer ratios and strategic blending into a group environment.
– Group Learning within our Accredited Private School, which offers students the opportunity to rise to the challenge of completing their individualized programs in a classroom where group activities are increased within a more rigorous academic focus.
– HOPE School, which offers a dynamic multidimensional program uniquely designed to meet the socio-emotional needs as well as the academic achievement of each student using innovative and customized learning curriculum with the accredited classroom environment.
– Part Time 1:1 Instruction within our Therapy Center
– Community of Care Remote Programming, which offers remote case load management for student programming off campus.
– Community-Based Instruction and Supportive Employment opportunities within our COMPASS Program.
Students are not stagnant but are ever-changing – regularly experiencing new breakthroughs and opportunities as they move along their journeys. Programming and placement are reflective of this reality – it can and will change throughout each school year to meet students at their highest challenge point.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
Atlanta and specifically the Roswell area of Atlanta is a beautiful place with easy access from anywhere in the world. The easy accessibility is a significant benefit especially for our families that travel to our campuses from all over the world. Atlanta offers our staff, students, and families all the conveniences and activities that make life complete. Like with many large cities, traffic can be a challenge but as long as we all plan accordingly, that can be easily overcome.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jacobsladdercenter.com
- Phone: 770-998-1017
- Email: AmyO@JacobsLadderSchool.net
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JacobsLadderSchool
Image Credit:
Nick Rhodes of Coalesce Films
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