Case Study: Amber Is “Out of the Darkness”

Surprising Difficulties With Reading

From the start, Amber’s parents knew that their firstborn was smart and attentive. So they were understandably shocked to discover how much work she had to put into reading when school began and even blamed themselves when she didn’t improve.

She struggled with speech and reading in first and second grade and was grouped with students with seemingly more serious learning disabilities for instruction. Amber was repeatedly tested by the school, but the hours of assessments only left her feeling dumb or stupid.

She stopped caring about herself and her work. Family moves led to new schools, but the experience was always the same: being pulled out of class with other students, feeling like expectations were lowered, and declining self-esteem.

Understanding, Despair, Then Action

Her mother was told she needed to accept that Amber was not as smart as she had thought.

Amber retreated to a very dark place and called herself a waste of space. Her mother felt as though she was watching the dreams and ambitions of her sweet, kind-hearted little girl get thrown away.

An internet search on why her fourth grader couldn’t read led to information on dyslexia. They’d previously been told that Amber didn’t have this learning challenge, but the more her mother read, the more she understood that it was a spectrum of reading disorders, which, after testing, was identified as dyslexia caused by working memory and recognition deficits.

The Turning Point: In 4th grade, a joint reading session left both Amber and her mother in tears. Her mother took matters into her own hands, researching help for dyslexia online and discovering the dyslexia reading programs by Gemm Learning.

The Protocol

Amber’s mother liked that the program was cognitive-training-based and admitted she must have called Gemm Learning about 20 times. She was grateful to the Gemm staff for always responding and “never pushing” her to sign up.

Once she decided to join, she committed to a 12-month protocol and had Amber do the exercises before school.

It did not start well. Her daughter hated the software at first because it quickly honed in on her main areas of weakness and vulnerability. But she did it anyway.

Support Strategy: About 3 months in, though, mom noticed Amber paying more attention to the family cat than to her program. Amber’s mother began sitting with her daughter during sessions to help with motivation and effort.

Results & Outcomes

“Thank you, Gemm Learning, for giving my sweet, loving, kindhearted Amber back to me.”
— Amber’s Mother

Within two to three months, Amber’s mother noticed her daughter was speaking more clearly on the phone. Prior to this, it had always been difficult to understand her when they weren’t face-to-face.

Within a year, Amber experienced a total academic and emotional transformation.

1. Academic & Cognitive Breakthroughs

• Reading at Grade Level: Achieved a 6th-grade reading level on the STAR test—a jump of three grade levels compared to her past performance.
• Comprehension & Speech: Now achieves 100% on Accelerated Reader (AR) tests. Her spoken clarity over the phone improved noticeably within the first 3 months of starting the program.

Amber has recently started reading complex literature, completing Flowers for Algernon and Of Mice and Men, and plans to read Lord of the Flies. She is a launched reader.

2. Emotional & Social Growth

• Restored Confidence: Described by her mother as a “different girl,” Amber is now happy, confident, and has a strong circle of friends.
• Leadership: She actively assists struggling students at school, helping them reach their potential.

With her cognitive energy freed up, Amber has blossomed into a fantastic wildlife artist, photographer, and musician (playing both piano and cello).