Real Families, Real Change

Joshua was a highly verbal, happy child, but during kindergarten his family began noticing that reading, letter-sound and symbol recognition, spelling, handwriting, and writing were becoming increasingly difficult.

By second grade, school testing identified a language-processing difficulty. His parents knew that his strong verbal abilities and high intelligence were not reflected in what they were seeing academically, so they began searching for another approach and found David Hirst and the Davis program.

Joshua was homeschooled for third grade while he worked with David and focused on the Davis approach. His mother recalls a dramatic change in his ability to focus, read, understand verbal directions, and write. He returned to school for fourth grade with new tools, growing confidence, and the ability to approach learning differently.

Joshua went on to thrive academically and personally. In high school he participated in student leadership, serving as class president his senior year, and earned varsity letters in multiple activities. He later earned a bachelor's degree in Worship Arts and Ministry with a minor in Biblical Studies and went on to earn a master's degree in choral conducting.

Years after David first worked with Joshua as a child, life brought them back together. David was invited to witness Joshua complete his final project for his master's degree — a meaningful full-circle moment and a reminder of just how far that elementary-school student had come.

Aaron's challenges looked very different from his brother's. He was already reading by kindergarten, but struggled with math, organization, attention, behavior, and social interaction. His mother recalls that his difficulties were initially interpreted as ADHD, and the family was also told that he might be on the autism spectrum.

By third grade, his family decided to have Aaron work with David. Through the Davis programs, Aaron developed tools for understanding how his mind worked and for approaching learning and everyday challenges differently.

Although math remained challenging, he developed the skills necessary to progress all the way through calculus in high school.

Aaron later became an Honors English major. He writes for his university newspaper and has had his writing published in larger regional newspapers. He hopes to pursue graduate study in English and ultimately become an editor and college professor. Outside academics, he has also become an accomplished endurance athlete, completing marathons and ultramarathons of more than 100 miles, along with challenging outdoor pursuits including glacier ice climbing and major mountain climbing.