Brody and Brooke are both severely dyslexic and are able to attend a specialized school for children with learning disabilities thanks to Variety.

Brody & Brooke Porter

My name is Jennifer Porter and I have two wonderful children now aged 15 & 17. Our journey began when my son, Brody started school. He struggled with everything; from tying his shoes to riding his bike. He was delayed on everything.  As a mother, it was so hard to see him come to the realization that he just could not keep up with his friends. In Grade 1 he began coming up with all sorts of ways to get out of going to school.

We had him tested ourselves with a phsychoeducational evaluation. We discovered he was very dyslexic and that he would be best suited in a special school for dyslexic children. This was not possible for us as we lived in Squamish and the school was in Burnaby.  As he entered Grade 2 things got worse, he began having constant stomach aches. The torment of not being able to write his own name on paper when all the kids around him could read became too much. We decided we would sell our house and rent in the city. We were willing to do whatever it took to improve Brody’s life and get him the special education he needed.

We sold our house in Squamish and moved to North Vancouver. We had to up root our business and entire family and start over. This was a large challenge. We had a new business, a mortgage and now a child’s school costing well over $11, 000 a year. We took in exchange students to help cover costs.

When Brody was finally able to go to Kenneth Gordon School we were thrilled to see the change in him.  He finally saw that he had the ability to read and write, he just needed the tools to do it.  He was so happy at his school that we were doing what we could to keep him there. It was just like a dream come true - my son feeling great and succeeding in school.  

Towards the end of the school year we began noticing some signs that our daughter, Brooke, was struggling at school. We had her tested and were told that she too was severely dyslexic. My world fell apart. I had no idea how I would be able to afford to send two kids to private school.  When my son saw how upset I was he offered to return to public school because he didn’t want Brooke suffering and wanted her to have the opportunity to attend Kenneth Gordon. So Brooke entered private school and she blossomed. She was doing cursive script so amazing the school was sending out samples of her work. While Brooke thrived, Brody worsened once he was back in public school. He did not understand what to do in the large class setting.

We called Kenneth Gordon and the principal worked with us to get Brody back in the school. It was then the school told us we could contact Variety – The Children’s Charity for help with funding.  We were so thrilled to receive Variety’s help.  Our children would not be able to read and write without the one on one help they received at Kenneth Gordon.  All this was made possible by Variety.