Success Stories – Changing Lives One Story At A Time!
It’s heartbreaking when your child struggles to read. It affects everything…even family life. But here’s the great news. Kids with dyslexia can overcome reading challenges and go on to be excellent students…when given the right set of tools. Here are just a few of our Bravo! Reading Success Stories!
Sophia’s Bravo! Success Story:
Age: 15
Grade: 9th – Retained in 2nd grade
Emotional State: Frightened
Sophia’s mom purchased the Bravo! Reading Program after being told Sophia would never rise above the second grade level in reading. After the school tested her, Sophia was given an active IEP (Individualized Education Program) which meant she was placed in a Special Education pull out program designed to give her extra attention. But Sophia only felt isolated and singled out. All she wanted was to be a normal teen like her friends.
Special Education Made Her Feel Ashamed!
Every time she left the regular classroom to go to the Special Education class, she felt ashamed and that the other kids were smarter than her. You see, Sophia was failing her reading, math, and language arts classes even though her parents had hired a tutor. When presented with any reading assignments, Sophia just looked up and whispered, “I can’t.”
Sophia has one of the most amazing success stories that Bravo! has ever seen. She started working on the Bravo! Reading Program three days a week for thirty-minute sessions. She loved the activities because they seemed easy to her and because she intrinsically knew what to do. The movement kept her going when she wanted to quit. “It’s the only thing that’s made sense to me,” she confided in a soft voice. “And I like reading with a dot dabber. It’s cool.”
Results:
After a few weeks, Sophia started sounding out words instead of guessing at them. She worked extra hard to move through the eleven levels of Bravo! Reading as well as the three decoding expansion packs. She discovered a huge part of her problem with reading was using trial and error reading as her main “strategy” as well as a few other bad habits. Once Sophia had strong decoding strategies in place for sounding out words, she discovered reading wasn’t so hard.
One day she popped out of her room, a huge smile on her face, telling her mom, “I just read Looking for Alaska by John Green. All by myself!”
For the first time in her life, Sophia felt normal. And best of all, she exuded a quiet confidence every time a teacher asked her to read out loud. No pushed back tears, no sweating bullets, and no fear.
After eighteen months, Sophia was reading at a 10th grade level and even attained grade level math status. The only thing holding her back in math had been her weak reading skills. She is still working on attaining grade level writing skills but is making huge progress.
“I can read now without getting embarrassed!”
When we asked her what she liked most about Bravo! Reading, she said, “I can read now without getting embarrassed. And now I’m confident about a lot of other things, too.”
Sophia is no longer afraid and is currently a successful ninth grader who loves hanging out with her friends, going to the mall, and volunteering at the local animal shelter. Her mom says that success stories like Sophia’s can be attained by any child…she only wishes they’d started with Bravo! sooner!
Career Aspirations:
Sophia wants to go to college and become a veterinarian.
Wyatt’s Bravo Success Story:
Age: 9
Grade: 4th – Reading at a Kindergarten Level
Emotional State: Withdrawn
Wyatt was a quiet, withdrawn boy who just seemed limp. Reading was his most difficult subject, and he was significantly behind in all subjects because of it. He was in the process of being tested for Special Education when his family purchased The Bravo! Bundle.
His parents confided that it was a desperation purchase and they didn’t think it would work. They knew success stories for kids like Wyatt were far and few between, but they had no choice but to give it a try.
Diving in, Anyway!
They dove in right away and started with four twenty-minute sessions each week. Although Wyatt knew letter sounds, he couldn’t blend them together to form a word, and spelling was a nightmare for him! When he tried to read, he stumbled over letters and words, his face turning beet red. Wyatt presented with indications of dyslexia, and it weighed heavy on his soul.
Wyatt was very athletic and loved to play baseball. He was obsessed with the movie, “The Sandlot.” However, when asked what kind of books he liked, Wyatt muttered, “I don’t read much.”
Dot Dabbers Made the Difference!
Since Wyatt was so physical, he loved using dot dabbers to pound out sounds. He giggled as he slid the sounds together, the concept of blending sounds together coming to him almost instantly once large motor movements were involved. Wyatt smiled! A lot!
Wyatt moved through the levels of the Bravo! Reading Program, passing each Bravo! Checklist the first time around. You see, Wyatt was smart; he just needed a decoding program that made sense to him. When asked what his favorite level was, he said without pause, “The Silent E Slide”!
Results:
After only eight months, Wyatt was reading at the second grade level. One day he strolled into his house from school and announced that he had read three baseball books that day!
Wyatt continues to use the Bravo! Reading Program’s decoding expansion packs. He attacks his school work with pride and confidence now because his reading skills are so much stronger. In addition, Wyatt reads words easily and can sound them out instead of guessing at them. He continues to be physically gifted and is proud of his baseball accomplishments as well as his academic achievements. His is one of the happiest success stories of all!
Career Aspiration:
Wyatt strives to be a professional baseball player.
Xavier’s Bravo! Success Story:
Age: 5
Grade: Kindergarten – Severe Dyslexia
Emotional State: Unfocused and Tense
Although Xavier attended a private school that worked hard to meet his needs, the kindergartner was so busy that he kept getting in trouble. He had been expelled several times, as once Xavier got wound up, not much could calm him down. His parents were thinking of medicating him, although it went against their moral beliefs. They were desperate for help and knew that success stories for kids like Xavier couldn’t be pulled from hats.
It was Hard Connecting Letters to Sounds!
Xavier was bright but struggled to write letters or connect that letters even had sounds. He threw fits when his dad asked him to do flashcards or phonics worksheets. Holding a pencil in his little hand was nearly impossible, and often it ended up sailing across the classroom out of sheer frustration. He avoided writing, coloring, and puzzles at all costs.
Xavier’s mom was happy to download the Bravo! Behavior Booster, choosing just one task to start with. He loved it when he got to mark off a task box by himself. And his family celebrated with him every time he got a reward.
Accomplishing Tasks Made a Huge Difference!
Since he was so busy and didn’t know many letter sounds, his mom purchased the Bravo! Beginner. Within days, Xavier knew seven letter sounds! Even better, he didn’t fight or throw tantrums when it was “dot dabbing” time.
Within six weeks, Xavier knew all letter sounds, including long and short vowel sounds.
Incredible!
It Started with Blending Two Sounds Together!
“I seriously doubted…after all we went through…that Xavier could ever blend two sounds together,” his mom confided. “But after using Level 1 of the Bravo! Reading Program, he was able to combine two sounds together! We had a pizza party that very night in celebration. To be honest, I’d almost given up on Xavier ever learning to read. His future was bleak, and we were at our wit’s end.”
Results:
Xavier was promoted to the first grade and is reading at the second-grade level. He can write a rudimentary sentence and his handwriting is legible. He finished his kindergarten school year without one expulsion, and his school was happy to adapt their program to meet his needs, instituting the Bravo! Booster task sheets as well
Xavier’s future is bright, and his parents are exuberant that their little boy didn’t need medication.
Career Aspirations:
Xavier wants to be a giraffe when he grows up.
Zoe’s Bravo! Success Story:
Age: 6
Grade: 1st – Indications of Dyslexia
Emotional State: Confused
Zoe’s parents were worried and scared about their daughter’s future, too. You see, Zoe was failing to learn and thrive. Although she still couldn’t read or recognize letters or their sounds, Zoe didn’t qualify for Special Education. Every day, she fell further and further behind without much help. They were tired of hearing about their friends’ children’s success stories and were ready to pull their hair out by the time the find Bravo! Reading.
All subjects were difficult for Zoe, and she struggled with proper speech development. She loved mermaids and unicorns but couldn’t say either word clearly. She went to Speech Therapy two times a week for thirty minutes, but it wasn’t helping much. Zoe’s parents explained that she was once an animated toddler but when they enrolled her in kindergarten, she slowly “disappeared” from them.
Finally, Zoe’s family decided to home school her and to seek out a curriculum that might work for her – not the many other kids at school. When they found the Bravo! Reading System and the Bravo! Beginner, they felt relief for the first time since she entered kindergarten.
Coming Back from the Dark!
“It made sense,” her dad explained. “Zoe is smart. She just doesn’t learn like other kids. And we couldn’t sit around any more and watch our little girl disappear from us.”
Zoe make huge progress in only a few short weeks of homeschooling and using the Bravo! Beginner! “We started seeing a glimmer of our funny, silly daughter come back to us,” her father added, a slow grin on his face.
Once The Beginner Is Mastered, Blending Letters Is Easy!
Zoe’s speech even improved, and after two months, she was reading two- and three-letter words with ease. From there, she was able to start in on the Bravo! Reading Program.
“For us…Bravo! Reading has been a miracle,” her mom said. “We knew Zoe was behind, but we didn’t know how to help her. When she happily grabs a book and pretends to read it, we’re so proud. Sure, she’s still a bit behind, but she’s showing interest in books for the first time since she was a toddler.”
Results:
After two years of being home schooled, Zoe is back at her public school and performing at grade level in all areas except spelling. Her family’s biggest happiness, though, is that through it all, Zoe has found her voice. She no longer hangs her head and “disappears” into the livelihood of their family and the world in general.
Career Aspirations:
Zoe wants to be a fantasy writer, and we have no doubt she’ll make it!
Alejandro’s Bravo! Success Story:
Age: 12
Grade: 7th – Performing at the 3th Grade Level
Emotional State: Angry
Alejandro has one of the happiest success stories of all! His mom was worried about her son. He had become stiff, quiet, and unreachable. Although he’d once been enamored with beat boxing and hip hop, he rarely even broke out his headphones anymore. Sure that he was depressed, she didn’t know where to turn or how to help him.
Even Talented Kids Lose their Way!
Alejandro was indeed a talented beat boxer and talked about a hundred miles a minute, but lately, he’d been tight-lipped. His smile had all but vanished. Reading was his hardest subject, and he often reversed letters and words while writing. Math had always been easy for him, but he was failing that subject as well. He had one C, two D’s, and three F’s on his report card.
“Dyslexia runs in our family, and I’m afraid Alejandro inherited it,” his mom grieved, wringing her hands. “Each year, his grades get worse and his self-esteem is in the gutter.”
Alejandro spent most lunch periods in school detention for not completing work, and he quit asking friends to hang out on the weekends.
Alejandro’s mom purchased the Bravo! Reading Program after a friend told her about it. She worked with him for three afternoons a week, thirty-minute sessions. At first, Alejandro refused to do the activities, but the dot dabbers finally won him over.
The Magic Bullet – Decoding Two-letter Words!
Taking him back to decoding two-letter words was the magic bullet for Alejandro. Once he could decode two-letter words, he found that three-letter words weren’t that hard and he started building reading strategies for the first time in his life. Before gaining a decoding foundation with Bravo! Reading, Alejandro would start to decode words but ended up taking wild guesses at what the word might be.
Finally, he started paying attention to music again!
Results:
Alejandro has made the honor roll three times now and is back to having beatboxing battles with his friends. He is even composing some music on his own. He walks with a bounce to his step again, and although he still doesn’t love to read, he’s able to read for meaning and pass tests with ease.
“Thank you for giving me my son back,” his mom told us.
Career Aspirations:
Of course, Alejandro wants to be a musician.
