Today was one of those days that makes you want to put a sticker on the calendar, the day you want to write home about, the day you want to share with everyone…

So I am sharing it with you.

I truly believe the work I do at Breakthroughs impacts the destiny of each client that sits across the desk from me. It is a joy to watch each student get their breakthrough in learning and each adult find a breakthrough in their search for a career. My favorite days are the ones where the client’s growth is verified through the free retesting we do. In our weekly sessions we work on jumpy eyes, forgetful memory, listening challenges and much more. The goal is to turn these struggles into abilities or strengths.
I have been working with an eight year old girl for the last eight months. Depending on the results we get from the original educational assessment, we are able to tell clients they may begin to see some small changes as early as the twelve week mark. We love to hear this feedback from parents and teachers. These success stories are a big part of what makes this work here so rewarding. In some cases we aim to do some individual skill retesting at around the 24 to 30 week mark. In this case we did the retesting at week 27 and, WOW, were we ever excited by the results!
This eight year old made a full year of growth in the way she is able to organize her thoughts and think in a logical pattern. These are skills that should have developed on their own, but for either genetic or environmental reasons have not and as such fall further and further behind grade level. They need consistent and targeted exercise to develop them. She went from being low average for her age to average. She will be able to have a better flow with how she communicates both when writing and speaking.

In the area of listening comprehension she made three years of growth! Yes, that’s right! Three years! Not a type-oh. Three years in just 27 weeks! She went from having a listening tank that functioned in the disabled range to being able to listen for an extended period of time that is appropriate for her grade level. This will considerably reduce frustration for parents, teachers and the girl herself as her ability to listen to and follow instructions has greatly improved. Amazing!!! And that isn’t even the best news! The last retest was in the area of speed of word recognition. Brace yourself! She went from a disabled to more than able level. FIVE years of growth in only eight months! She went from correctly identifying 9 words on the assessment to ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY words! That is fantastic!

As she settles back into school this fall, her new skills will begin to enable her to keep up with her peers. There is still more work to be done, but this is a great start. Reading levels are a prime indicator of future academic success and she has a whole new future on her horizon.

What an inspiring day.

I hope you and yours have an amazing breakthrough and remember, today is a seed planted for your tomorrow’s breakthrough!

About the Author

From an early age Matthew loved to talk, and now he gets paid to do just that.

Having grown up with Learning Disabilities and overcome them, Breakthroughs is an opportunity for him to give back. Now Matthew is an Educational Therapist with over 20,000 hours of experience working with children and adults with learning challenges.

When not in the office Matthew can be found seeking adventure with his wife and children, preferably on a mountain or in a kayak.

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