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A CHANGED IQ, A CHANGED LIFE - Patrick's story
Patrick Schermerhorn - Cresset Christian Academy. North Carolina, The United States. Therapist, Judy McGehee. Article written by Patrick's mother. Provided by Candy Velázquez, NILD, Academia Cristiana Internacional de Caracas.
"My son, Patrick, was the perfect baby, sleeping amid the noise of family, rarely crying, usually laughing and smiling. As the years progressed, however, I noticed that he did not understand simple commands and could not make simple choices. When given instructions, he had a flat expression on his face and there was no spark in his eyes. It was like no one was home.
As Patrick approached age 5, I sought developmental testing for him and was told he had learning difficulties but that they did not fall into any of the labeled groups. Immediate tutoring was recommended to ready him for school. The reports did not offer much hope for his academic succes.
After meeting with various levels of succes and failure, we found Cresset Christian Academy which was introducing a new program for students with learning disabilities. There was a concern that the program could not help Patrick as his test scores were very low. His psychologist retested him and the scores remained the same. However, He began educational therapy in the WINGS program at Cresset where he slowly began to make progress--an answer to my prayers. The children knew he had learning problems and accepted him as he was. Patrick's teachers were genuinely concerned, wanting him to be succesful as they worked along with the therapist. This was a challenge since his mind was like a sieve. He had a difficult time retaining and recalling what he had learned. However, as his brain received consistent stimulation in educational therapy, the light bulb began to come on for brief intervals.
For years, I have spent every night working on Patrick's homework. However, by 9th grade, his 3rd year of educational therapy, I realized the light bulb of independent functioning was getting brighter. The change had been gradual. At some point, I just realized my help was not being requested, yet the work was being done in a timely manner. He had learned how to pace himself and organize his study habits. In the spring of 9th grade, the unbelievable happened. My son received an invitation to the National Beta Club! He was so excited. I had to read the letter myself before I could believe it.
This school year has been hard, but Patrick has managed to keep his average. He has even taken his turn to offer tutoring assistance to others who need school help. What a switch! I truly believe that the WINGS Educational Therapy program has made the difference. I remember watching Patrick struggle to make a letter before he could do a line of Rythmic Writing. He resisted practice at home, but he has come to see the value of all the pieces of the program working together to make the whole. Now Patrick does WINGS homework unsupervised.
The value of the Blue Book cannot be overstated."Patrick missed a lot of concepts in education in the early years and this tool has helped him in all subjects. He has had to repeat and review information and concepts over and over to retain them, but the NILD techniques have helped him to train his brain to retain more easily.
Life will always be harder for Patrick than for many others, and the mother's heart that I have will ache again and again to see him struggle. But I have to remind myself to take a day at a time. I still call out questions for tests, proofread papers and help him in any way I can. But I also try to hold on to the belief that God does hear our prayers even when we are very frustrated. My son is a very special child of God. I have been truly blessed to be this child's earthly parent, and I am so proud of him. He has taught me so much. Praise be to God!".
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