Our Story

Our journey started out like most parents:  thinking our son was the absolute most incredible human being there could be.  Jake was enrolled in the dual language program in the public school system and was doing alright with this in kindergarten through the early portion of 4th grade.  Jake was always an inquisitive child who never lacked self-confidence, had the support of many friends from many different areas (school, church, sports) and excelled in art, athletics, and math.  During the first few years in a public school, Jake seemed to adjust and do well.

By the time Jake had entered 3rd grade, we had learned enough about him and his challenges in school and we are eternally grateful to a handful of friends and trusted advisors that suggested we have Jake undergo psychoeducational testing and that is when Jake was diagnosed with moderate-severe dyslexia.  We hired an advocate to help us navigate the world of 504 accommodations in public school and we communicated diligently with his teachers.  With the start of each year came new teachers and a new set of expectations, though.  By halfway through his 4th grade year, Jake was completely ostracized, the laughingstock of peers and a source of frustration for his teachers.  He ate lunch alone, stayed on the playground alone, rarely participated in sports and his grades were passing although with B’s and C’s.  Being pulled from his classroom for his Dyslexia Accommodations each week, which seemed to further solidify to his classmates that he was indeed “different”.

About midway through 4th grade, we noticed Jake becoming more and more subdued, losing interest in play dates and group sports activities and then we learned that he spent his recess and lunch times alone…. every parent’s nightmare for their child.  His teachers were very frustrated with Jake and calling him down and reprimanding him for what we felt were silly situations as Jake was not a disruption to class ever.

Enter the Winston School of San Antonio:  our saving grace for our child!  Their mission is to provide a personalized college preparatory education to students with high potential and identified learning differences.  Immediately upon visiting the Winston, we were intrigued with their approach to learning:  this wasn’t a place where children were forced into a cookie cutter learning style but were encouraged to learn and develop at their pace embracing their learning differences as a gift.  We were impressed with the ability of the teachers to monitor and accommodate all the preferences of each child while still maintaining an orderly class environment.  It wasn’t a free-for-all, but rather and very organized and systematic approach to learning outside of the box.  They master this by holding classroom sizes to a manageable number (7-9 per class) and by the entire faculty taking an active role in the children’s learning.

As our second child integrated into the public school system post-COVID, we instantly knew it was going to be an uphill battle for him as we noticed many similarities with his older brother’s style of learning, only a little more heightened by his zest for activity  We decided Luke should also undergo a psychoeducational evaluation.  His diagnosis is somewhat like Jake’s in that he has moderate Dyslexia; however, he also has an extra gift of ADHD which brings a new component of care and management to our family dynamics.  Knowing the way Jake immediately took to his new school, we enrolled Luke within weeks of receiving his diagnosis and we have never looked back.  Once at this new school, our boys immediately began to thrive again.  Regaining self-confidence was the first thing we noticed with both boys and benefits kept coming!  Both began to find renewed interest in academic activities while also being offered opportunities to do amazing extracurricular activities such as welding, woodworking, digital media, and athletics.  The ability to flex their learning in the lower school grades provided an opportunity to excel in subjects that they were already comfortable while focusing on subjects that required more attention, therefore continuing to lift and encourage and support the whole child in the learning process.

 Our students with dyslexia are struggling in school and are dropping out at astonishing rates. Why? Because most of our districts have refused to teach them how to read the way they learn.  According to Yale University, 20% of all students have dyslexia and 85% of all students identified with learning disabilities have dyslexia. Despite these staggering numbers, schools too often do not identify, accommodate, or provide interventions for dyslexia except in very rare cases. That means that a huge percentage of students, even those who are identified as having a learning disability, never get the proper accommodations and interventions they need to learn. It is important to remember that the many students not identified as having a learning disability are not included in the statistics below and therefore, true numbers are likely much higher. According to the American Dyslexia Association, the dropout rate of dyslexics is 35%, twice as high as the national average.

We are passionate about helping our kids and other kids succeed through their gift of dyslexia.  My encouragement to other parents would be don’t wait to find a place where your child can be comfortable in their own skin, excel at their pace, be accepted for who they are and what gifts they possess and increase their self-confidence and self-worth.  After all, it is our job as parents to instill these traits along with many others in our children.

The Wunderfully Made Fund exists to help alleviate the financial hardships encountered by parents as they embark on the journey of psychoeducational testing and evaluation for their children, the first step in the process of ensuring that our children who are gifted with learning differences are given the tools necessary to ensure that school is not a burden but a steppingstone to a promising future.

Your tax-deductible contribution can help!  For more information on how to donate please email catherine@jdsmenterprises.com!