Sierra's Story

We finally received a correct evaluation by a ceritified PACE (Processing and Cognitive Enhancement) and Master the Code Provider.  Specific areas of weaknesses were identified.  We also found out where her strengths lay.  Combining the information of the good and the bad, we had, for the first time, a clear picture of what our daughter had been dealing with.  I could have cried.  All the things I thought I was doing right had merit, but she simply lacked some of the underlying learning skills to do the work.  Where I thought we may have a behavioral issue, I learned that her avoidance of some forms of school work were merely a defense mechanism to prevent herself from coming headlong into failure.  It truly wasn’t a matter of “wouldn’t” but a case of “couldn’t”.  No matter how hard she tried she was incapable of doing some of the tasks I had set out for her because she did not have the necessary tools to work with.  This led us to one of those serious "AH HA!" moments in life. 

Finding out how Sierra’s specific learning skills translated into the difficulties we saw in her schoolwork and other behavior was a great starting point.  Although each child is different, and has different strengths and weaknesses, I would like to share some of the things we found with Sierra.

Sierra appeared to be reading very well, but refused to sound out unknown words.  Some words she didn’t know, so she either skipped or made up a word that began with the same letter.  Her spelling was nonexistent, her writing labor intensive, and her copy work took hours–resulting in broken pencil leads, tears and sweat, hysterics and hyperventilation.  She was reluctant to start new things.  I now know that this was a manifestation of her fear that anything new that she couldn’t master immediately would be something that she would never be able to do.

On the other hand, she could memorize anything from chapters in the Bible, to names of peoples, facts and data.  She had an uncanny ability to describe people and places with great attention to detail–even years later.   When reading books she could remember specifics and get the big picture.  When doing comparisons of books to their movie counterparts, she was able to discern when the director added, deleted or combined scenes.  We learned that her “reading” was in fact whole word memorization–about 2,000 words.

Sierra’s memory scored as a 16 year old.  But her auditory analysis (a strong indicator of dyslexia) and logic & reasoning (a fair indicator of ADD) scored only the equivalent of a 5 year old–A huge disparity!  In many ways, if she had scored low across the board she would have been psychologically better off.  With such a high score, in memory, she “knew” how easy it could be to learn and yet she also was able to discern that she was way below her peers in other areas.  This lead her to a state of mind where she perceived herself as smart at times and stupid at others.  It didn’t take long for her to get “stuck” in the mode of thinking that she was stupid across the board.  That’s when things really escalated and she started self-deprecating talk and behavior, including calling herself stupid and hurting herself physically.  

Finding PACE and Master the Code was a miracle in our lives.  In one moment we found out she was disabled, and in the very next we found out there was a way to resolve and “fix” her weaknesses to make them strengths.  Within 90 training hours, Sierra went from not being able to spell words like “spin” and “in” to spelling words as complicated and varied as “bellicose”, "nefarious” and “propinquity”.  Even though she may not always spell words correctly the first time out, she is willing to try any word now.  If she doesn’t get it first timeout, she rolls with it and recognizes now that she is still learning and will get it.  This is a far cry from my little perfectionist who formerly saw simple mistakes as “failure for life”. 

By the time she was done with PACE and Master the Code, Sierra’s scores improved dramatically.  Her auditory processing skills reached adult levels, as did her word attack skills!  Even her memory jumped to adult level!  Her processing speed skills and visual processing were not deficient to begin with, but even they were improved along the way.

I now have a child who sees possibilities instead of brick walls.  She is willingly trying new things daily.  I even saw her “taking notes” during a Brownie meeting while her fellow Brownies were telling their favorite things to the group.  That was a true first.  Sure she still has her moments–but she is still only 7.  She also has some behavior issues that stem from past poor habits and defense mechanisms she had built up, but those are also improving daily as she experiences more and more successes.  Her future is bright and the possibilities are open ended. 

Do you or your child:

• Have difficulty maintaining attention
• Have poor spelling grades or test scores
• Have poor reading comprehension
• Often ask to have things repeated
• Have difficulty organizing activities
• Have poor math grades or test scores
• Make spelling errors in written assignments
• Have poor study and work habits
• Take a long time to complete tasks
• Dislike(d) school
• Have difficulty sounding out unknown words
• Feel learning is too hard
• Avoid prolonged mental effort
• Receive(d) low test scores
• Avoid reading
• Habitually not get assignments completed
• Get distracted by other activities
• Have difficulty writing a paper
• Find reading to be slow or choppy
• Have difficulty remembering

If you answered “Yes” to any of these questions, especially when compared to peers, PACE and Master the Code may be the answer you are seeking.  The goal of The Brain Trainers is to offer you and your child an equally bright future by improving underlying learning skills that are deficient and tweaking those that are not.  Please check out the rest of our web site for more information on the services and products we have to offer, and read our Frequently Asked Questions.  If you would like to know more about Sierra's Story go to: