Although all of our clients experience varying levels of change, growth, and improved skills, many share that their lives have been enhanced dramatically after completing The Dyslexia Self-Management Training™. One of the significant shifts a person goes through during and after our training, is that their self-esteem and outlook on life becomes boosted and more positive. They no longer see themselves as inferior to others, learning disabled, or not as smart as everyone else. Imagine the power and renewal that this can give someone!

Besides improving their skills, this shift in self-concept alone can be instrumental in their future successes. We have collected several stories, comments, and letters for you to read. These may have been written by the parent of a dyslexic child, a spouse, the client, or educators. Read the stories of those who have completed The Dyslexia Self-Management Training™.

Lisa: Lisa, age 12, had been attending Special Education classes and couldn't read past the first grade level. After attending the DSMT™ her reading immediately jumped to the third grade level. Her grandmother, who also attended the program, wept as Lisa read smoothly and confidently. Lisa continued to make great progress; at age 14 she read on the seventh grade level and in high school she continues to progress in regular education classes with her peers.

Mark: "I lost the whole fourth grade. I don't know what happened to it. It's as if I wasn't there. Then the fifth and sixth grade were bad also. I was flunking everything and my parents were furious. The Dyslexia Training™ changed all that. My grades have gone way up, and I am present and accounted for in the world. I use the focusing techniques all of the time.

Damien: Damien, now in his 20's, went through the program in 1988 at the age of 14. He progressed from Special Day classes, where he was reading on the first grade level, to only one Special Education class in his senior year of high school. He graduated from high school reading on the 11th grade level. Formerly shy and unnoticed, he became one of the most popular students, taking regular academic classes and excelling on the varsity football team. He went to college on a sports scholarship!

Sylvia: Sylvia entered the training in the winter of 1993 at age 10. She progressed from second grade reading level to sixth grade level during the 27-hour intensive training program. She has received straight A's since that time, is on the honor roll every semester, and is one of the top students in her class. She went into the gifted and talented class after the program, and is now enjoying honors classes in high school. No one ever noticed her before her week with us; she was quiet, scared, and thought she was stupid.

Heather: At the age of 14, Heather was floundering in school before she came to The Dyslexia Center™. After the one-week intensive training program, she advanced several reading levels. Heather transferred to another school, where teachers were hand-picked for her every semester of her high school years. She soon made the honor roll. In her senior year she won five academic awards, ran track, was editor of the school newspaper, and was the student speaker for her graduating class. Heather spent a year in the Ukraine and returned to attend Santa Rosa Junior College, excelling in her classes.

Nancy: "I used to be so stressed and anxious that I had tremendous problems taking tests or remembering anything. This program built up my confidence to go back to school. It was a real stepping stone for me to return to the academic arena, and it inspired me to go ahead and realize my potential. I use focusing and visualization techniques now to help me grasp and remember concepts, perform well as a public speaker, and enhance my self-esteem. The program gives tools that can apply to your whole life in any situation, not just academics. Besides gaining mental stamina (last semester I achieved a 3.8 grade point average), I now feel more relaxed, diplomatic and comfortable in a variety of situations."

Gary: An accomplished man of 46, Gary owns his own business. He entered the training several years ago as a fifth grade reader. After the program, he was reading eighth grade material smoothly. Highly motivated, Gary eagerly participated in tutoring for several years, and now reads novels and writes business letters. His confidence and his business have blossomed.

Scott: "I was burnt out on education. My whole dream was crushed. I wanted to be a Certified Public Accountant, but I couldn't complete the course. It was like going to the Olympics and not getting the gold medal after so much training. I went to a workshop with Betty Judah and after four hours she broke through the walls of impossibility that I had set up. I then attended the DSMT™ and regained my sense of respect and validation. All my life I have felt as if I was left handed in a right handed world with no accommodations available. We live in a negative society with terrible misconceptions about learning differences. I was given proven techniques and tools I could apply to all aspects of my life. I learned that with training, dyslexia is a talent. I no longer feel like a handicapped person. I can do anything and be what I want. If you do this program you will feel like a million."

Ellen: I became a recording artist and I signed with a Christian record company. The company wanted to help me as a budding artist by asking me to look at who I am so that I could develop a ministry. The first thing they asked me to do was to read three or four books a month. That just sent me over the edge! I knew I couldn't read that many books.

That experience sent me on a journey to ask some life questions: Why is it so difficult for me to understand visual information? Why do I have to spend so much energy re-reading and getting so many different inputs back for one sentence before I can figure out what the heck the sentence means.

All that was three and a half years ago, before I came to The Dyslexia Center™ and had vision training with a developmental optometrist. In my concerts I tell people about my journey and what dyslexia means. Once you figure it out it is a cool talent to have; it doesn't only have a dark side to it. Discovering my dyslexia has been a major turning point in how I perceive life and myself. I have learned to accept who I am; this is how I am "hard wired." There is a lot of talent and potential inside of me. I know now that I am smart. I just don't learn in the conventional way."

Roxanne: "School was a failure, a struggle, and a nightmare. When someone tried to make eye contact with me, I would look away. I was exhausted and I didn't want to spend the rest of my life 'hitting the wall.' It took courage for me to come through the training but I am glad I did because now I have a different way of learning. I am more confident in all areas of my life. I am easier on myself, and if I make a mistake, I focus and try again. When I talk to someone, I look them right in the eye."

Parent: "We were being psychologically abusive to our child because of his learning differences. All we knew was how to get angry. The program helped us as parents to see who Michael really was. He is totally different as a student now."

Catherine: I could see Catherine, my youngest daughter, was struggling in school. It was almost indiscernable, something only a parent or a teacher on a one-on-one basis would notice. I did some research into it and the word "dyslexia" started coming up. Then, when I read a description of what dyslexics experience, I not only saw my daughter, I saw myself. We learned about The Dyslexia Center and went through the program together in January, 1998. Neither of us had ever experienced anything so enlightening. We looked at each other in amazement. It was like; "Oh, so this is why we see things the way we do." This is why people expain something to us and we don't seem to see it the way they do.

Things are very different now. It's like we gained a suitcase of tools we can use for the rest of our lives, and it's created a great bond between me and Catherine. We both know when we're having our dyslexic moments. Sometimes she'll bring me around and sometimes I'll bring her around. We're both happy for each other's accomplishments.

When I'm trying to accomplish too many things at once, I use the techniques I've learned for focusing and it really helps me.

Catherine's made the honor roll (which was her dream) for the last two quarters. All her grades went up in the six months since we went through the program. In math, she went from a C minus to a B. In reading, she went from a B minus to an A. On the last day of school I drove around to pick her up and she was standing there waving that second honor roll certificate like a flag. When she gets her grades I hug her and tell her how happy I am for her and how I love her and she says, "But thanks to you, too, mom." It's gone way beyond academia. It's nothing short of amazing to me. Aren't we lucky? It's changed our life.