Family of five learns to manage and thrive with ADHD

Wednesday, February 27th, 2013, 4:03pm

(WXIA) -- The Taylor-Klaus household is passionate.

"I really like going from soccer to softball and softball to ultimate," teenager Sydney Taylor-Klaus said bursting with enthusiasm.

They're also high-energy and extremely focused and organized.

Elaine Taylor-Klaus, a mother of three, makes sure her children outline their homework, nightly. But it wasn't always this way.

"Our life before we really understood all of this was pretty crazy," Elaine explained.

In their Buckhead home, 11-year-old Josh, 15-year-old Sydney, who prefers to be called 'Syd', and their oldest sister, Bex, who has moved away from home, all have ADHD.

"We're learned to manage our lives and understand the way we work and think," Elaine said.

This mother of three says 'we' because she and her husband have also been diagnosed with the common neurobehavioral disorder, which many believe is inherited.

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Worker driving raised cherry-picker arm knocks out power

Submitted by Don Buckindail, Manager of Digital Content

Wednesday, February 27th, 2013, 2:45pm

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. -- A worker in a cherry-picker truck knocked out power on Clairmont Road near I-85 in DeKalb County Wednesday morning.

Police say the driver mistakenly drove down the roadway with the arm raised, pulling down overhead power lines in the area.

No one was hurt but about 150 customers had their service interrupted.

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CDC bioterror labs cited for security flaws

Submitted by 11Alive News Staff

Tuesday, February 26th, 2013, 9:25am

ATLANTA -- Laboratories at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been
repeatedly cited in private government audits for failing to properly
secure potential bioterror agents such as anthrax and plague, and not
training employees who work with them, according to "restricted"
government watchdog reports obtained by USA TODAY.

"These weaknesses could have compromised [CDC's] ability to safeguard
select agents from accidental or intentional loss and to ensure the
safety of individuals," according to a 2010 report by the Department of Health and Human Services' inspector general.

The IG probed federal lab security after a scientist at an Army lab was
implicated in the anthrax attacks in 2001. The IG also noted problems
with CDC lab security in reports from 2009 and 2008.

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Gov. Deal signing order removing 6 DeKalb school board members

Submitted by Paul Crawley, 11Alive Reporter

Tuesday, February 26th, 2013, 1:40am

Gov. Deal signing order removing 6 DeKalb school board members

ATLANTA - Gov. Nathan Deal announced Monday he'll remove six of the nine members of the DeKalb County School Board, but a federal court order now has to be addressed.

Deal said in a news conference that he was naming six persons to determine who should replace the outgoing board members.

"The stakes in this case are high; the future of almost 100,000 students hangs in the balance," Deal said in a statement.

"Therefore, I have accepted the unanimous recommendation of the State Board of Education to suspend six members of the DeKalb school board. I have met with Superintendent Michael Thurmond, and I believe he can play a vital role in getting the system back on track. I look forward to a positive working relationship with Superintendent Thurmond on behalf of the children of DeKalb County."

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CDC: Flu vaccine just 9 percent effective for seniors

Submitted by Atlanta Busines... on Monday, February 25th, 9:33 am

ATLANTA -- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says when it comes to people over the age of 65, this year's vaccine has a dismal 9 percent success rate combating this year's more prevalent strain of flu.

And overall, this year's flu vaccine has proved to be 50 to 65 percent effective, which is slightly below average compared to previous years.

"We simply don't understand totally why the elderly did not develop a really immune response to this vaccine. And that's something we're going to have to continue to look at and study more closely," CDC spokesman Tom Skinner said.

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The Autism Gap: What Works

Submitted by Jaye Watson, 11Alive Reporter

Friday, February 22nd, 2013, 9:49pm

EMORY, Ga. -- "Every family we meet is struggling."

As the Assistant Director of the Emory Autism Center, Michael Morrier says he gets more than a half dozen calls from desperate parents every day.

"I get phone calls from parents, probably seven a day, that want to know what we offer and we tell them, and they say 'I can't afford that.'"

But for those who can afford the $25,000 dollar a year tuition, The Walden Early Childhood Center at the Emory Autism Center can be life changing for a child with autism.

MORE | Sign the petitions for or against mandating insurance plans cover autism and see our complete The Autism Gap special coverage

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Army sequestration cuts could affect 17,000 jobs in Georgia

Submitted by Holly Pennebaker, Community Web Producer

Friday, February 22nd, 2013, 9:46pm

Army sequestration cuts could affect 17,000 jobs in Georgia

(ATLANTA BUSINESS CHRONICLE) -- If automatic budget cuts of sequestration go into effect, Georgia would see an impact on 17,163 jobs and lose $931 million from its economy, according to a statement from the U.S. Army.

Impacts on jobs include federal employee furloughs and layoffs, reductions in the contracted workforce because of reduced military investments and construction, and reductions in base operation support, reported an affiliate of the Atlanta Business Chronicle, the Washington Business Journal.

Economic impacts would be the result of sequestration and restrictions on new programs that come with the continuing resolution to fund the government, WBJ reported.

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