Discover Your Talent Within

Bryce’s Story
6/26/08

Bryce is a 12 year old boy who has lots of energy and enjoys life.  He has  struggled with reading for a long time.  At times he literally hated to read because he lacked the ability and thus confidence.  Even trying would put him in a defensive mood.   His frustration level was so high that he felt overwhelmed.

Since reading is such a big part of life and important to education, we were desperate to find a solution to his problem as this began to affect him in other areas of his life. He would not participate in other activities where he might be called upon to read anything at school or church.   
In the past we tried many programs, public and private, which ended in disappointment and discouragement with little or no progress.  He tried very hard but ended up feeling like a failure.

In first grade, during math time, he was put in a reading resource program, which caused him to miss his math lessons. In second grade he just kept falling further behind.  He would cry and feel upset when we would try to get through his home reading assignment. There were times when we couldn’t get him to go to school.

In third grade we made the decision to go to a private school thinking he would have better instruction.  This didn’t work and he grew further behind.  He was already below the level of the other children and this just compounded things. His teachers worked very hard but their approach did not work for him.   
As parents we spent extra time reading with him but when he tried the frustration would still overwhelm him. We bought books and games and encouraged him but it didn’t help. We found another tutor, an older girl who Bryce liked.  She tried but he still struggled.  Next we put him in another private school with more one on one.  He improved slightly but it was still not coming together.

The school district tested him and because he didn’t fit into and excel in their main stream programs, they labeled him and basically told us they couldn’t do much.  We were at our wits end and so was Bryce.

We decided to put things on the back burner for awhile and called for some drum lessons to help Bryce have a feeling of accomplishment in another area.  We were blessed very much to be led to Dan Whitley.  I called and told him I had an 11 year old needing music lessons. Our discussion led us to Bryce’s trouble with reading.

Dan has a program called “Reading with Tempo”.  It was worth a try, we thought. WOW were we ever in for a pleasant surprise.  This became the answer to our prayers.  Bryce was not too happy to start this but the incentive for him was the drumming part.  He was a little worried when I dropped him off the first time, but when I picked him up he came out with a smile on his face.  He was already learning to feel good about himself.  He came home and found an old brief case in which to put his reading and drumming supplies.

It appears that he was finding a new place in his brain to keep all this learning that was going on with the linguistic approach using rhythm and music.  As time went on and he played in his first recital, his self-confidence soared.  He was playing drums and reciting poetry.

He was in my Cub Scout Troop and used to sit back and not get too involved.  Soon I saw him participating and feeling like he had something of value to offer.  I felt him making a real effort for the first time and taking pride in his lessons. Dan’s program worked… it really worked!

We worked on each lesson until he could do it 100 percent tempo with 100 percent accuracy.  He started to read with smooth rhythm.  He knew when to pause and stop. With each lesson he sounded better and better. Dan recorded all his lessons on CD and you could hear the tone and confidence in his voice improve with each lesson.  He enjoyed listening to his own voice and played it at bedtime.
We feel this was the answer.  Dan’s efforts have paid off for our Bryce.  I know this will be a major part in helping him succeed in his life.  He is now 12 and has much more to smile about. Dan and his program has been a great blessing to us and I feel there are so many out there that could find this to be their answer as well. This is an inspired program.  Thanks to Dan for his patience, abilities, and talents that he has shared with us.

Jody Connelly