When learning starts to feel different
Mason was nine when he came to Growing Choices for a one-to-one intensive programme, while his parents completed the parent course alongside him. He was thoughtful, communicative and curious, but school had become difficult for him.
He had experienced anxiety, a lack of confidence and daily tears around school for more than a year. Over the days that followed, Mason began to experience learning in a very different way.
At the end of his first day, he told his family, “I love it! It’s fun! And it’s working!” By Day 2, he was asking, “Why don’t they teach us like this at school?”
Finding tools that worked for Mason
As Mason worked with the tools, he began noticing changes in his ability to focus. He found that the strategies helped him become more focused when reading, writing, and listening, and he became increasingly certain about what he was doing.
He also noticed changes in his reading. After learning to work with punctuation and Picture-At-Punctuation, Mason said that his reading sounded better and, importantly, that he understood what he was reading as he read. He also became more confident with forming letters, developing greater certainty about their shape, size, and dimension.
More than reading and writing
For Mason, these changes were about more than reading and writing. They were also about how he felt about learning. Before coming to Growing Choices, he had experienced anxiety and a lack of confidence around school, with daily tears for more than a year.
A few months into the follow-up, Claire noted that Mason had completely forgotten that he had experienced that anxiety and lack of confidence. His mum later brought him back so he could read Claire three pages of a story he had written, with perfectly legible handwriting.
A much bigger dream
Perhaps one of the most memorable moments from Mason’s programme was what he imagined for the future. He told Claire, “When I'm big, I'm going to build a school so that all the boys like me will be able to learn this way!”
For me, this says so much about what can happen when a child begins to experience learning in a way that makes sense to them. Mason wasn't only thinking about what he could now do; he was already imagining how other children could have the same opportunity.
When learning begins to make sense
Mason’s story is a reminder that sometimes a child doesn't need more pressure to try harder. They may need the opportunity to understand how they learn and to develop tools and strategies that work with them. When a child begins to experience greater certainty, focus and confidence, learning can start to feel very different. And sometimes, as Mason’s story shows, the possibilities can become much bigger than we first imagined.
Could your child be learning differently?
Could your child be struggling with learning, reading, writing or focus?
There may be another way to understand what they are experiencing. At Growing Choices, we help children and families explore how they learn and find tools and strategies that can support them.
