In 2018, I realised that my daughter was really struggling at school. Not only was she struggling to keep up, but she was unhappy and embarrassed at her ability to perform as well as the other students. Eventually, it got to the point where she cried every single morning, begging me not to send her to school because everything there was “just too hard.”
It was heartbreaking – and it was made even more so by my own feelings of helplessness.
At the school’s recommendation, we had already been doing speech and occupational therapy. The school had been very helpful in offering my daughter extra support, but it simply wasn’t working. Fortunately, a friend told me about an inspirational education expert she’d heard speak at a conference. Completely out of ideas, I reached out to the expert for help.
Her recommendations include a combination of various tests intended to hone in on my daughter’s specific learning issues. They took several days (and cost several thousand dollars), but they did the trick! The report helped both me and my daughter’s teachers get a better understanding of how she learns. By identifying her strengths and weaknesses, we could completely transform our educational approach and – in turn – her learning experience.
Within weeks, she was enjoying school again. Within six months, she was thriving.
Of course, I was overjoyed. Soon after, I visited the University where the expert worked to deliver flowers and a “Thank You” card. She was gracious enough to offer me coffee, and I spoke at length about what an incredible impact her recommendations had had on my daughter’s progress in and enjoyment of school. She was thrilled for me but told me she wished such assessments were more widely available. It was her hope that – someday – all school children would be able to access and benefit from the latest in educational research.
We thought, “How amazing would it be if there were an accessible, affordable option that would allow teachers, parents, and students to know where to start, what to do and who to go to?”
Not long after, we founded Edscreening.
