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Success Stories

Parents and children tell us Success in Mind makes a difference. Whether it’s gaining confidence about learning, making better grades, or feeling more optimistic about the future, there is no better reward than when we hear from a parent or child about the success they’ve found since working with us.

DOUGLAS –3^rd grade

When Douglas entered Kindergarten, he was as excited about Elementary school as a freshman heading off to college. Then, after only two weeks into the year, his mother noticed something different in Douglas' eyes, "It was like watching a plane slowly descend before a crash." Mrs. Coley met with Douglas’ teacher, who recommended testing. Due to Mrs. Coley having read Jane Healy’s book, Your Child’s Growing Mind, having seen Dr. Levine’s interview on Oprah, and subsequently having read Dr. Levine’s books, she was familiar with the neurodevelopmental approach to learning. She didn’t want an assessment that was going to provide a label, but one that would provide answers for how her son could succeed.

The Coley’s came to the clinic for an assessment in December of Douglas’ Kindergarten year when he was six years old. "Douglas views this day as a major changing point in which all good things began to happen for him in school. He adores that place," his mother relayed. Although Douglas’ progress in school did not change drastically right after the assessment, the Coley’s implemented the Learning Plan and scheduled follow-up support, which allowed Douglas to advance to first grade. A year after the original assessment, the Center sent a learning specialist to observe Douglas in the classroom and minor changes were made in his accommodations and interventions. Mrs. Coley believes this type of follow-up support is key and she continues to contact Dr. Briere regularly via email. "She has never steered me wrong."

After a successful summer working with a reading specialist, the head of school and his teacher noted Douglas’ major progress. Douglas has continued to improve during the school year as well. His second grade teacher wrote in the February progress report, "Wow! is all there is to say. He has come leaps and bounds in all academic areas."

Douglas consistently scores 88% or above on spelling quizzes, where he used to score 50%-60%. He loves to read with his mother and really enjoys stories with a sophisticated plot, like the Harry Potter series. He is starting to share in the reading of these books, which is amazing considering Douglas’s difficulty with reading. Douglas is also more efficient. Last year, it would take him one to one and half hours to complete his homework. Now it is just 10 minutes on math and another 15-25 minutes on spelling. "It took about two years", says Mrs. Coley, "but we are breathing much easier now."

RILEY - 8^th grade

Riley had struggled since he was young. Having had speech and occupational therapy since before first grade, his parents knew some things would be difficult for him in school. Private schools and small class sizes helped, but the move to a large public school in second grade made his learning differences become more obvious.

Very quickly he was struggling, especially with math and writing, but also socially. It impacted every area of Riley's and his parents' lives. "His spirit was broken, his self-esteem and self confidence were gone over night," described his mother. In going through the IEP process with the school, "it became very clear as parents, that we were still missing a piece to a much larger puzzle than we had ever imagined."

In the spring of third grade, Riley came to the clinic for an assessment. The day was a success. "They not only identified Riley's struggles, but also gave us hope for all the things he can do well. They helped him and us focus on his strengths, and gave us several suggestions we had not already tried. They gave us a plan for his way of learning. What hope it gave him to have someone other than family tell him ‘Wow, these are the things you are really good at...'."

Riley has since moved to a private school where he is thriving. He has learned to speak in front of large groups, do PowerPoint presentations, has been elected to student council, and gained a tremendous amount of self-confidence, not to mention making A's and B's.

His mother reports, "The hope for success we received from your team, along with wonderful teachers, and a lot of hard work has allowed Riley to achieve things we once only dreamed might be possible. Riley knows that you helped put us on the right path. We have found that there is no standard blueprint for the child who learns differently. We have trusted our instincts and sought out the best for our child. The true measure of success comes from the fact that Riley often reminds others that he is not learning disabled, he just learns differently. He is able to do whatever he puts his mind to, although he may not do it in the traditional way."

CALAH – 12^th grade

Mrs. Ford-Smith first noticed Calah's learning challenges in third grade—particularly with spelling and math. She decided to have a full neuro-psychological assessment at the local hospital, hoping it would provide answers to Calah's struggles and an action plan for moving forward. They came back with a diagnosis of ADD and a directive to put Calah on medication.

Mrs. Ford-Smith and Calah's pediatrician did not agree with the diagnosis and both were against medication. Since no strategies were given as part of the neuro-psychological report, Mrs. Ford-Smith read A Mind at a Time by Dr. Mel Levine and tried to employ some of the strategies in the book. By sixth grade, Calah was still struggling and Mrs. Ford-Smith decided to home-school her daughter.

Two years later, when Calah was in 8th grade, she and her parents traveled to North Carolina for a comprehensive learning assessment. Calah was apprehensive—she did not like school and did not know what to expect. During the assessment, however, she realized it was actually "kinda fun...there wasn't anything I couldn't do." Although Calah stated that she did not suffer from low self-esteem, she did say she always felt "a little dumb" and the assessment process gave her a needed confidence boost.

For the first time, Mrs. Ford-Smith felt like she "got something we could work on" with her daughter. When they received the report, they read it together. Together, they learned to recognize certain situations that would call on Calah's learning weaknesses, like tasks that employed Active Working Memory.

Calah is now a junior in high school and still utilizes strategies outlined in the Learning Plan, which has been revised through follow-up support over the years. Following her latest follow-up appointment, Calah began reading Ready or Not, Here Life Comes by Dr. Mel Levine. This book encouraged her to utilize her strengths and affinities when exploring career options. As a result, she is now thinking of becoming a chef, which will allow her to take advantage of her great long-term memory and creativity.

Although school continues to be challenging, Calah has a deeper understanding of how she learns and Mrs. Ford-Smith has a keen understanding of when to seek extra support. Next year, Calah will be a senior in high school and plans to take one class at the community college to get her feet wet before college.