BreakOut School was founded by a licensed Doctor of Pharmacy, Dr. Dallin Richardson, who has practiced eighteen years in the ambulatory care setting inside a clinic. Raising two children with ADHD was an education by itself, but counseling families of children with ADHD allowed Dr. Richardson to experience the spectrum of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder until he understood that the latest, greatest medicine, or the most lauded educational and behavioral approach could never hope to work for every child with ADHD. With his own children, he found that standard education was woefully insufficient to provide enough individualized assistance to help his children progress.
Even with an IEP (Individualized Education Program), the student-teacher ratio in his son's home room was far too high for the students to receive enough assistance to understand basic concepts. Time spent in a special education classroom proved helpful for his son but instructional time was lost in transition, upon returning he was not at the "same place" as the rest of the class and the stigma of leaving the classroom throughout the day for special help was ever present. His son's self-esteem was low and he "checked out" mentally.
Dr. Richardson and his wife Jennifer wished there was a school specifically dedicated to help children with ADHD, but such a school didn't exist. The couple's children struggled through school, always behind.
In stepped Joan Landes, a Master’s Level Clinical Mental Health Counselor with a passion for improving her own seven children's education at home and enabling them to establish and run their own successful businesses, Joan proposed a radical idea to Dr. Richardson: To start a private school just for boys with ADHD!
The idea seemed impossible at first; Could the bar possibly be set any higher? But after reading about a tradition called "forest schools" in Denmark and Scandinavian countries, and the rapid adoption of preschool forest programs here in the states, Dr. Richardson wondered if it were possible to start an innovative, evidence-based program that would incorporate outdoor learning into a regular part of school. Miraculously, the research was already completed which established the efficacy of "forest schools" for children with ADHD! So Dr. Richardson was intrigued and energized
Dr. Richardson's training in the medical field drives his research into evidence-based approaches with students. He is committed to following the science while innovating for cutting-edge programs. He has been an avid outdoorsman his entire life, a student of birds and mammals since he was a boy, and leader in the Boy Scouts of America for years. He is a safety-oriented prepper and survivalist along with being an active member of his church.
His wife, Jennifer Richardson, is equally enamored with the outdoors and brings with her a wealth of practical teaching experience via the public school system in Primary and Secondary education. Her warm and approachable demeanor puts people at ease while not overwhelming those who need to be seen and heard. She is Dr. Richardson's biggest asset!
Together Dallin and Jennifer Richardson have launched an amazing school to finally meet the needs of boys who have ADHD. At last, parents have another choice for their sons' education!