Katie Walsh
Katie's situation was very sad when my husband and I first met Jim Hooson, the founder of Learning Creations. She was diagnosed as being depressed and totally refused to go to school to the point where she would curl up in a ball and sob her heart out.Katie often said to me that she could not understand why she had been so clever in kindergarten and so 'dumb' in third class. Of course, I explained that she was still the same person and just as clever, but none of this made any difference. It was devastating as a parent to watch my daughter slowly become more withdrawn and depressed. She would try very hard, attending reading recovery sessions at school - nothing seemed to help. Intuitively she knew her academic progress did not match her intellect. Frustration and depression became her daily reality.
This was the situation when we asked Jim Hooson to help us. After much discussion it was decided that it would be best to take Katie out of school and let her attend the centre day to day, as well as attend the Macquarie University Anxiety Clinic. At the centre she was given a variety of developmental work, writing, reading and maths activities (and lots of art which Katie loved). She also began the five day Integrated Learning Program.
At Macquarie Uni she attended a weekly counselling session. With both these programs, her confidence slowly grew. As she progressed she was given heaps of praise and encouragement and was taught that it was OK to give things a go, even if she was unsure. She was slowly weaned off the centre and back into school but still attends a weekly tutorial session at the centre.
A unique characteristic of the centre is that, after assessing each child individually, there are a large number of professionals to whom your child has access: kinesiologists, homeopaths, naturopaths, massage therapists as well as clinics for auditory and vision testing.
It is this approach of looking at the child as a whole and at the body’s systems as a whole that makes Learning Creations unique.
For Katie it meant that, within eighteen months, she went from refusing to go to school to going happily each day. She knows she has support and that each day she is closer to where she wants to be academically.
She was terrified of animals but now brags that she can canter over a jump on a pony.
She avoided going to friends' houses, parties, sleep overs, seeing them all as threatening but now enjoys these activities.
She hated reading and avoided it at all costs but now curls up in bed with a book before she goes to sleep.
She was reluctant to interact socially and liked her own company but now enjoys friends and even her siblings. (Well, sometimes!)
Taking a leap of faith and coming to Learning Creations has certainly paid off for Katie Walsh. She is now a well adjusted 9 year old who accepts that Dyslexia is a gift. She enjoys being creative - drawing, painting, sculpting - things she loves. With all the support she gets from the Centre her academic progress steadily improves or, as her teacher said just last week, goes ahead "in leaps and bounds".
A 10 year old girl
It may be a well-worn cliché but I can sincerely say that Learning Creations has changed the life of my daughter and, indeed, my whole family.I am now aware that my story is typical of children with learning difficulties but I have the very rare happy ending,
When my elder daughter was 6 years old I was told by a child psychologist that although her IQ was average her brain functioned slightly differently to most, so I needed to accept that she would never read.
Over the next four years my daughter was enrolled in different programs with a variety of specialists in different fields. Each promised that if my daughter co-operated and worked hard she would be reading within a year.
I initially took six months off work (and handed over thousands of dollars) to help my daughter with the prescribed work. Four years later and no result. My daughter was disillusioned and her self esteem was non-existent.
By the time I’d heard about Jim Hooson at Learning Creations I had just about given up hope. On the phone Jim was understanding but it was a huge task to convince my daughter to do yet another assessment.
From the minute we arrived my daughter was shown respect for the many things she could do. This had a very positive impact on my daughter. Never was she made to feel inadequate; rather she received praise for everything she attempted in the assessment. For the first time in ages she was enthusiastic to learn and agreed to start the Learning Creations program.
In the car after the second day of the program my daughter announced that she could now read. After the total failure of every other program I had not seriously expected any results. I sat in with my daughter after lunch on day three of the program and was astounded as she read a couple of paragraphs to me.
My daughter is following the program and improving daily and I am a very thankful Mum that is delighting in the renewed self-confidence I see in my daughter.
I believe the main reason that Learning Creations has been so successful for my daughter is because her many talents (drawing, imaginative thinking etc) were identified and acknowledged from the outset. These talents are now the basis of her learning. Above all, at Learning Creations my daughter has been recognised as a clever individual who has been given love and understanding.
(The parent who wrote this testimonial did not want her name used, however she is happy to talk to anyone who is interested to know more and her contact details can be obtained from Learning Creations).
