School to Hold Info Sessions on ADD

Print Story | Email Story
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The North Adams Special Education Parent Advisory Council will hold two informational sessions on Attention Deficit Disorder. The sessions, to be held on Dec. 13 and 14 at 6:30 p.m. at Brayton Elementary School, are open to parents, staff and other community members.

Monday, Dec. 13, Session 1: General Information of ADHD - Is ADHD over- or underdiagnosed? This general presentation will identify challenges in the assessment of children with attention problems. Presented by David Boyer, licensed psychologist, Hillcrest Educational Centers, Hillcrest Psychological Services.

Tuesday, Dec. 14, Session 2: ADHD at Home—This workshop will help parents understand how ADHD affects their child at home and the most effective ways to address the challenges that parents face with their children (including homework completion, organization, chores, etc.) Presented by Allison Billard, program director of Housatonic Academy, Hillcrest Educational Centers.

Hillcrest Educational Centers is a private not-for-profit organization providing treatment and special education services to children and adolescents with unique psychological and learning needs. Hillcrest operates the Housatonic Academy, Berkshire County's only therapeutic day school located in Pittsfield, as well as three residential treatment centers located in Lenox and Great Barrington. In addition, Hillcrest operates Hillcrest Dental Care, a complete general family dentistry practice providing preventative dentistry and compassionate, quality dental treatment to meet each patient’s individual needs. Recently, Hillcrest formalized an affiliation with Berkshire County Kids' Place, a fully accredited Children's Advocacy Center which serves abuse victims and their non-offending family members.

For more information or to register, call the LINCS Parent Center at 413-664-7512 or email lincs@napsk12.org. Childcare will be available for children preschool age and older; registration required.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Berkshire County Homes Celebrating Holiday Cheer

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

There's holiday cheer throughout the Berkshires this winter.

Many homeowners are showing their holiday spirit by decorating their houses. We asked for submissions so those in the community can check out these fanciful lights and decor when they're out.

We asked the homeowners questions on their decorations and why they like to light up their houses.

In Great Barrington, Matt Pevzner has decorated his house with many lights and even has a Facebook page dedicated to making sure others can see the holiday joy.

Located at 93 Brush Hill Road, there's more than 61,000 lights strewn across the yard decorating trees and reindeer and even a polar bear. 

The Pevzner family started decorating in September by testing their hundreds of boxes of lights. He builds all of his own decorations like the star 10-foot star that shines done from 80-feet up, 10 10-foot trees, nine 5-foot trees, and even the sleigh, and more that he also uses a lift to make sure are perfect each year.

"I always decorated but I went big during COVID. I felt that people needed something positive and to bring joy and happiness to everyone," he wrote. "I strive to bring as much joy and happiness as I can during the holidays. I love it when I get a message about how much people enjoy it. I've received cards thanking me how much they enjoyed it and made them smile. That means a lot."

Pevzner starts thinking about next year's display immediately after they take it down after New Year's. He gets his ideas by asking on his Facebook page for people's favorite decorations. The Pevzner family encourages you to take a drive and see their decorations, which are lighted every night from 5 to 10.

In North Adams, the Wilson family decorates their house with fun inflatables and even a big Santa waving to those who pass by.

The Wilsons start decorating before Thanksgiving and started decorating once their daughter was born and have grown their decorations each year as she has grown. They love to decorate as they used to drive around to look at decorations when they were younger and hope to spread the same joy.

"I have always loved driving around looking at Christmas lights and decorations. It's incredible what people can achieve these days with their displays," they wrote.

They are hoping their display carries on the tradition of the Arnold Family Christmas Lights Display that retired in 2022.

The Wilsons' invite you to come and look at their display at 432 Church St. that's lit from 4:30 to 10:30 every night, though if it's really windy, the inflatables might not be up as the weather will be too harsh.

In Pittsfield, Travis and Shannon Dozier decorated their house for the first time this Christmas as they recently purchased their home on Faucett Lane. The two started decorating in November, and hope to bring joy to the community.

"If we put a smile on one child's face driving by, then our mission was accomplished," they said. 

View Full Story

More North Adams Stories