Learning Foundations: One Mom’s Search for Help with Her Academically Struggling Child

Alamo City Moms Blog is partnering with Learning Foundations to share more about their services with our readers. This is a sponsored post. 

Jennifer is burned out and at her wits’ end because every night she has to fight the same battle. Her son Nathan has been struggling with school since he was in first grade, and although he is very smart and tries really hard, it takes him hours each night to complete his homework. He is frustrated because all of his friends are out playing as he sits working at the kitchen table. Jennifer is torn between guilt over his frustration and determination to make sure he completes his schoolwork. Night after night, they both begrudgingly—sometimes even tearfully—push through the homework struggle, yelling at each other and ending up exhausted. Meanwhile, Nathan’s little sister, who is reading at a higher grade level than Nathan, feels like she never gets any attention from Mom. She doesn’t want to make Nathan feel even worse than he already does, so she tries to hide her accomplishments and not make a big deal out of them.

Sadly, this is what a regular school day is like for families with a child who has a learning problem.

Jennifer had some concerns early on, but her husband dismissed them and told her she was worrying too much. She asked Nathan’s teacher around the middle of the school year, but the teacher told her not to worry. “Nathan’s doing fine,” the teacher assured her. “He’s such a smart boy. Boys just mature later than girls. Don’t worry. He’ll grow out of it. Besides, it’s too early to tell if he has a learning problem. We don’t really test until third grade.” Jennifer tried to let it go, but the nagging feeling that something was missing persisted. Time went by, and her son continued to struggle. 

As modern moms do, she went on the internet and found all sorts of suggestions to help her struggling son. She tried them all: changing his diet, supplementing, using essential oils, hiring a tutor, removing electronics, and creating a list of rewards and consequences. A few changes worked temporarily or partially, but they felt more like Band-Aids on a serious wound. Nathan continued to feel like a failure in school, and school continued to be a source of stress and anxiety for him and his family. Something had to change.

Although Jennifer didn’t like talking about Nathan and his struggles with her friends, she remembered that her friend Melissa’s older daughter had some issues several years ago when she was in elementary school. Melissa’s older daughter was in the honor roll now and doing great in school, but Jennifer remembers Melissa having to take her to a specialist to help her with her learning challenges. Melissa told Jennifer what she had gone through with her oldest daughter, and it all sounded too familiar. She was going through the exact same thing Melissa had six years ago.

Melissa told her that she had gone to a parent seminar at Learning Foundations, where she learned that her daughter Cassie might have some learning difficulties. She remembers feeling relieved afterward as somebody finally listened to her and truly understood her concerns. When the team at Learning Foundations talked about many of the students they had worked with for more than 45 years, it was like they were describing her Cassie.

It was at that meeting that she realized that her problems were not going to be solved by the school, and that she needed to get Cassie tested privately with their specialists. Melissa brought in Cassie for testing, and within a week, learned Cassie fit the dyslexic profile and showed weaknesses in her sensory development and therefore struggling in school because reading, writing, and spelling were challenges without help.

Melissa finally had an answer. Cassie wasn’t slow or lazy, nor was she in the wrong kind of school environment. She just learned differently. The director at Learning Foundations explained why Cassie was having such a hard time with learning, but most importantly, she formulated a plan for how to help Cassie become a confident and independent learner. Melissa signed up Cassie for one-on-one sessions with a Learning Foundations  cognitive trainer, who would work with her three days a week to train the foundational skills that were necessary for reading. The trainer basically taught Cassie how to learn and taught Melissa how to best work with her at home. After about a year, Cassie’s migraines and stomach aches at school were gone. She no longer threw fits when she needed to read at home, and she started asking her mom to take her to the library almost every week.

Melissa was so amazed at Cassie’s transformation that she used every opportunity she had to recommend Learning Foundations to friends, family, or co-workers whose kids were struggling. It truly changed her daughter’s life, and she couldn’t be more thankful to the team at Learning Foundations for helping make that happen.

Jennifer finally had hope. She quickly went to the Learning Foundations website. Within five minutes, she was calling them to make an appointment for Nathan. It was the most important thing she could have ever done for her son.

Nearing its 50th anniversary, Learning Foundations has helped thousands of struggling kids and teens overcome their learning and attention challenges and become confident and independent learners. Visit the Learning Foundations website to read more success stories like Cassie’s.

If your child is struggling and you are looking for answers, call (210) 495-2626 or sign up for a free parent seminar.

Alamo City Moms
Alamo City Moms is written by a collaborative and diverse group of mothers. We strive to provide moms with relevant, timely and fun information about all things mom here in the greater San Antonio area.