CHANGING lives

Carson Groulx, an inquisitive and gregarious child, began a pre-K program at a local church at four years old. He loved school, made friends quickly and his smile brightened the classroom. Kindergarten was a new exciting year, and Carson could not wait to arrive at school every day.

However, as the years passed, Carson began to display signs of frustration at school. His teachers were surprised to see him meltdown during the day, often with angry outbursts. Carson’s mom and dad quickly became discouraged as they could not pinpoint the source of his frustration. Why would such a bright child with so many friends be unhappy at school? What had changed from the days when he could not get to his classroom fast enough to having a dislike for school, accompanied by anxiety and worry?

His teacher shared that his intellect and curious brain did not match up with a child who could not read sight words, recognize letters consistently or read books on grade level. He could tell a story, full of detail and creativity, but when it came to reading someone else’s words, he was at a loss. Fascinated with the world around him, Carson looked forward to watching science programs, but when his mother realized he could not read the menu guide on the television, her concerns grew.

In hopes of bringing him up to grade level in reading, Carson’s parents enrolled him in vision therapy and hired a Wilson reading tutor. The vision therapy did not appear to produce any results, and although small improvements were seen with tutoring, it became clear that Carson needed more than just a few hours a week of help with reading. Carson was moved from public school to homeschool to hybrid school during his early elementary years as Mr. and Mrs. Groulx continued to search for the answer.

Meanwhile, GRACEPOINT School had just opened its doors in August of 2012 all in hopes of opening a whole new book for dyslexic children with a teaching style to meet their academic and spiritual needs while bringing out their God-glorifying brilliance. This was perfect timing for Carson, and he became one of the rst 8 students to attend GRACEPOINT.