I am writing this letter of
recommendation for Rocky Point Academy because of the huge differences we have
seen in our son since taking a program.
Before Matt took the course at Rocky
Point Academy he was always getting in trouble at school.
He couldn’t seem to stay in his seat, he blurted out his thoughts in the
middle of class, he didn’t follow classroom rules and every day we picked him up
we were told “another problem” that he had caused.
Because of his behaviour he was rejected by his peers.
We gave him consequences, as did the school, but to no avail.
As a last resort we tried Ritalin on the recommendation of my son’s
school and our physician.
The medication made him calmer, but he
seemed tired, lost his appetite and was overall subdued.
It looked like he was “paying attention” in class, but he was just
daydreaming and his school work didn’t improve.
The school was pleased because the behaviors seemed to be a bit less, but
we were determined to find another solution.
We went to a psychologist for an
assessment and were referred to Rocky Point Academy, where we met Larry and
Stacey Smith. What they had to tell
us at the first presentation made so much sense to us- it was as if they knew
our son!
We attended Rocky Point Academy
when Matt was eight.
The first thing we noticed was his confidence boost.
They really spent a lot of time showing him what he was capable of and
how far he could reach. The first
day he got into the car at lunch and said, “If I’m too energized, just tell me
and I can control it now.” … and he
did!
By the end of the week we noticed
improved confidence, the
ability to look ahead before acting, less anger, more appropriate energy level,
much less fighting at homework time, he fell asleep easier, and reading went up
3 grade levels. All without
medication!
After the program, we seemed to be on
a pendulum for the next few months.
Some days were good and some were bad.
But the “bad days” were nothing like the “bad days” before, and they were
getting fewer and farther between.
Whenever Matt had a concern about slipping he could revisit his tools or call
Larry and then he would be back on track again.
We went in for a review about six
months after the program, because Larry recommended that we take another look at
sequence and order. After the
review, we saw Matt start to get organized.
He rarely forgot his homework anymore, he knew when most assignments were
due and his grades continued to rise.
I want to let other parents know that
this is not a quick fix for ADHD, but a process (like Larry said from the
beginning), it is seeing the little changes along the way and
watching your child begin to grow.
Now, it has been four years since the
program and Matt is completely “with it.”
He is on student council, has good friends, gets
good grades and is a happy young man.
I just want to thank Rocky Point Academy for everything that they have
done for Matt and our family and encourage them to keep up the important work
they do.
With gratitude,
Kerri
