Age: 13
Grade: 6th - Retained one year
Emotional State: Scared

Maureen came to the Institute having been told she would be at a third grade level in reading and math for life. She was given an active IEP in second grade (public school Individualized Education Program). Maureen was in a special education pull out program designed to give her special attention, but instead she felt singled out and isolated. All Maureen wanted was to be a normal kid. Every time she left the regular classroom she felt ashamed and stupid. She was failing in both reading and math even though she had extensive tutoring. When presented with any academic work, she looked up and stated "I can't."

Maureen came to the Institute twice per week. She went through the Institute learning therapy curriculum including cognitive, visual, auditory, memory and academic work. For example, she started reading nonsense words in her favorite colors, since we have found that children with learning difficulties are often right-brain dominant and respond to color. After children go through the program and their visual and cognitive systems are normalized, they find it easier to read in "black and white".

Results
After six months, we noticed Maureen started sounding out words and not guessing. She started reading big print, then progressed to smaller print and longer words. Maureen was thrilled to be reading the book Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer and felt very proud as she carried it around. For the first time in her life she felt normal. She smiled when she was asked to read out loud and confidently sounded out the words.

After 12 months, Maureen was reading at an 8th grade level and was at grade-level in math. She smiled and attacked her work because she got great satisfaction from her success. She was no longer afraid and is currently a successful 6th grade learner.

Career Aspirations
Maureen wants to be a National Geographic photographer when she grows up.