On most days when Sally Dear, 41, picked up her daughter, Maggie, from school, the nine-year-old’s mood teetered on the edge of anger. “Maggie struggled with phonics, reading, and numeracy, and was perceptive of her peers progressing. She felt unhappy and angry.” Maggie shut down conversations about school, making it hard for Sally and husband Owen to comfort her.
“She had begun to believe she was ‘stupid,’ which was devastating. That was very hard for us because we see that Maggie is kind, observant, and intelligent, but her perception was the opposite.”
While Sally and Owen pursued support for what they suspected was
