Julius is a sweet 10-year-old fifth-grader who is diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD.  Julius struggled in his public elementary school, especially with reading, despite having been identified as a student with a disability early on. Though Julius has the intellectual ability to achieve on grade level, he made minimal progress in first through third grades because he did not receive appropriate instruction. When his mom, Julia, reached out to Advocates for Children for help, Julius had become anxious, discouraged, and self-conscious about his academic difficulties. A special education evaluation halfway through third grade showed that Julius’ reading skills were severely delayed and he was falling further and further behind academically.

After attending an Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting where the school ignored the new evaluation and kept the same services that hadn’t worked for Julius in the past, Julia worked with AFC to find a new program that could provide the intensive reading remediation her son needed. With our help, Julius moved to a small, specialized school for students with language-based learning disabilities for fourth grade. At his new school, Julius got one-on-one support from a teacher trained to work with students with dyslexia, and things quickly turned around. Just two months into the school year, his mom texted AFC, “Julius is coming home excited to read to me!!! In such short time, he’s already making great progress. Thank you so much for everything you’ve done for us!”