I get to meet and interview a lot of people with my weekly Parking with MF series. One of those interviews was a lightbulb moment for me. Mackenzie Cameron shared her story of living with dyslexia and how a program changed her life, and I thought how it could help my youngest son.
Mackenzie was so impacted by the program, she launched a career to help people just like her. The Unlocking Potential program runs for 5 days and focuses on giving tools for success to a visual learner. The methods used to teach follow the Davis Method. The Davis method uses non-traditional yet very effective ways of teaching for those with Dyslexia and other learning exceptionalities such as ADHD and math comprehension frustration.
When we understand how we learn, everything is easier! Only when we understand how we think, can we ask the right questions to get the right answers!
I was so intrigued with the program for my son Marcello, that I enrolled him with Mackenzie. Consultations are FREE and take about an hour and Mackenzie can asses whether the child or adult is a fit for the program.
I see Marcello struggle with academic confidence and I want to support him to realize he’s amazing. His brain is amazing. Every day we recorded a video or picture to share our thoughts on the program. Here are our thoughts on the UP program.
Day 1 of Unlocking Potential
In this video you’ll notice Mackenzie and Marcello in the background pointing at a strip of letters and then clay letters underneath. There’s a reason for this. Generally speaking, those with Dyslexia learn visually (in 3D). By having Marcello create his 3D alphabet and calling out letters, he was able to put something 3D in his mind to visualize each letter and it’s shape.
Day 2
The second day of the program there was a shift in Marcello’s confidence. He was learning how incredible his brain is and that not everyone is an “image thinker”. For someone who thinks visually and in 3D, it’s hard to imagine what they see or don’t see when they think about their home and they’re not there. Acknowledging someone with dyslexia as an image thinker takes away some of the negativity society has attached to the diagnosis.
Day 3
Watching how Marcello learns has been a really uplifting experience. It’s definitely strange to Marcello that not everyone thinks in pictures. If you’re not a visual thinker, what do you see when you close your eyes?
Day 4
Look at that face and tell me that isn’t academic confidence coming through. It’s really a neat experience to watch. As a parent, you want to give your children all of the tools they need to succeed in life. But when your child learns differently than their peers, sometimes you have to look beyond the school system.
Day 5
After Marcello’s 5 days in the course, he feels like it was a worthwhile investment. When this video was shot, he had only been back in his classroom for 2 days and was already finding it easier. “Unlocking Potential” is exactly what we were able to achieve when we learned the way Marcello thinks and the tools he needed to succeed. Check out the way he uses clay to turn non-visual words into something visual.
Mackenzie offers FREE consultations and since this series she has booked dozens of children, but adults are also welcome to the program!
To book your free consultation and see if you or your child are a fit for the UP program you can email [email protected].
