DDC CLINIC FOR SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN
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Mission Statement
To enhance the lives of people with special needs caused by rare genetic disorders.
About This Cause
DDC Clinic for Special Needs Children is a non-profit primary care and research facility serving patients with complex medical needs. Located in Middlefield, Ohio, we have been recognized internationally for our compassionate patient care and state-of-the-art genetic research. Our mission is to enhance the quality of life for people with special needs caused by rare genetic disorders. Founded in 1998 by five local Amish families committed to helping tomorrow’s special children, we now serve over 1500 patient families in 35 US states and 8 foreign countries. DDC Clinic is a unique collaboration of the Amish and non-Amish communities, dedicated doctors and researchers all working together to find answers for parents and treatments for children. The Clinic was built on the “medical home” concept defined by the American Academy of Pediatrics. We provide comprehensive and personalized medical care for special children with over 100 different rare conditions. Our in-house certified genetics laboratory provides rapid, high quality & affordable testing and we conduct patient centered research - always seeking faster diagnoses, better understanding, and improved treatments for our children. Our work within this community can have a broad impact as we translate our findings to the general population by increasing the knowledge base, improving diagnosis and treatment, with an eventual hope of aiding in disease prevention. Many rare genetic disorders actually share common biological and metabolic pathways with more commonly occurring diseases such as obesity and cardiovascular diseases, and thus these rare genetic diseases can greatly simplify complex biomedical problems and provide significant strategies against common diseases and health issues. As an outpatient pediatric clinic, we provide complete medical care for children with special needs. Families, even grandparents, come with the children during the initial visit. This is one of the first places where the difference in our clinic and other medical facilities becomes clear – our medical staff spends a great deal of time, often hours, with each patient to collect a complete family and medical history; diagnoses are confirmed through DNA testing. The physicians at DDC Clinic follow every child as his or her primary care physician; the medical staff monitors well-child visits needed to track development and keep essential immunizations up to date. In addition, we provide care the child might need when he or she is sick. Patients, and their families, benefit from the knowledge and skills of a medical staff who work exclusively with patients who have rare genetic disorders. Most patients we serve suffer from severe handicaps, which leave the families with overwhelming everyday costs for specialty medical supplies and equipment. As a community resource, we now have programs that help families with medical supplies and nutrition needs, we provide health education and support to families, we collaborate with the local, national, and international medical communities and we share research knowledge with prominent physicians and research scientists around the world. Though many of our patients reside in Geauga County and other surrounding Northeast Ohio communities, DDC currently provides care for over 1,500 patients from 40 Ohio counties, 35 states, and 8 foreign countries. Our physicians have earned a trusted relationship with the local Amish community and specific expertise in the genetic diseases that most often impact their families. Historically, the Clinic’s patient population is about 70% Amish and 30% non-Amish. DDC also shares its breakthroughs in testing and treatment with its broad network of respected collaborators across the country and around the world, ensuring that new diagnostic tools and revolutionary treatments developed in partnership with local Amish communities benefit thousands more patients in other Amish communities and in the general population. We offer personalized education and support services for patient families. No family is ever turned away based on ability to pay.