Testimonials

One thing I love about Mrs. Brown's teaching method is her already present faith in her student. I've seen it myself - within moments of their very first encounter, the student feels this respect and is leaning in with interest and curiosity, even joyfully! As groups, they all sit with their ceramic mugs of water (not "paper cups, just in case,") while they work independently, focused and happy to learn. No troubleshooting necessary. I think they feel successful upon walking through the door!

The benefit of "Mrs. Brown's House" has been beyond anything we could imagine. Nicholas started at 3 years 5 months and attends once a month. Before we went back the second month he was reading three word sentences. After about 5 months Nicholas was reading with out pictures. As amazing as it has been to have our child with Down syndrome reading at 3 1/2 years old we are just as amazed at what it has done for his speech. It has helped with both the articulation and forming of more than one word sentences. "Mrs. Brown's House" is helping Nicholas to show his school and community how much our children with Down syndrome can accomplish when we don't let the disability interfere with their ABILITIES.

Jim and Miriam Kang

In 2004 The Down Syndrome Association of Southern Oregon hired me to run a reading program in our area using the techniques from Patrcia Oelwein’s book “Teaching Reading to Children with Down Syndrome.” Patricia came to Southern Oregon and provided us with one of her wonderful workshops which inspired us to kick things off.

At that time Patricia shared with us that Terry was running a program that she created utilizing many of Patricia’s techniques. We contacted Terry and she welcomed me into her home to observe her program.

Watching Terry with her students and seeing the amazing program she has created with her wonderful books, worksheets, and games was simply amazing.

To see the children she works with take such pride and ownership in her program was simply beautiful not to mention as a parent of a child with Down syndrome the fact that her students were reading so well.

Terry remains an inspiration to me. And since our visit 4 years ago I have worked with over 30 students and still find myself going to Terry for advice. Terry’s program is wonderful and has inspired me to teach the many children that we have been so lucky to enrich with the gift of reading.

Thank You Terry for your wonderful program and your true dedication to children and families with Down syndrome!

Joyce Rogers

Southern Oregon

Katelyn is so lucky to be apart of Mrs. Brown's House. She has benefited so much from the instruction, worksheets and books. Being able to create books with Mrs. Brown has also been amazing. These are HER books and she takes great pleasure in reading them to us, herself and anyone who will listen! This confidence spills over at preschool, too, where she is a model student, loyal friend and active learner.

It dawned on me that our kids with Down syndrome are finally able to achieve their potential. Seeing them work with you and succeed in such a loving environment, so focused, so confident, so happy to learn when given the chance just made my heart swell (and my eyes well). Thank you Terry Brown for giving us all the gift of hope and for creating a place where friendship AND learning can flourish. I can hardly WAIT to see what our kids are able to do in adulthood thanks to the terrific foundation they are getting from their Mrs. Brown experience!

Love to you and for what you do,

Kelly Reed

(Katelyn's Mom)

The title of this website sums up what Terry Brown does with our kids. They come to her house and are 'So Happy to Learn!'

Terry's method of teaching is all encompassing and meets the child where he or she is at. My son Joey, loves to go to Mrs. Brown's house and read.

His vocabulary of sight words is growing and he is having fun in the process. Terry uses high interest words from favorite foods,favorite movie characters and his brother's names, Luke and Matt, etc. Joey is learning how to work independently and gets high praise for that.

He began with the "I See" books that use one or two words on a page with pictures. We have read those hundreds of times and he feels so proud to have read each book. Joey loves to say "The End by Joey and Mrs. Brown".

Joey has benefited in countless ways, many tangible and many intangible. Terry has done what the school system has not done. Joey is learning to read-PRICELESS!

She has opened a door with the key that has the potential to change his life! His brain is unlocked and working and Joey sums it up nicely when he finishes a worksheet--I DID IT!

Terry, thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

Mary and Paul Pancoe

Mrs. Brown was instrumental in motivating our 5-year old son Jaden to read. We met her at a workshop in early 2007. We were inspired by her teachings on how to get children with DS to read.

Her video showing her students reading and learning at her house was most impressive. We contacted her right away after the conference and that started Jaden’s wonderful journey in reading.

Jaden is not only interested in reading the books created by Mrs. Brown, he is very fond of her and looks forward to visiting her on every first Friday of the month (though every Friday, he will say he’s going to see Mrs. Brown )

We were so inspired by her books that we started to create books for Jaden ourselves. The books include subjects and pictures that are of high interest to him.

Jaden continues to improve on reading, which gradually brought out his vocalization. He’s using more words to express himself every day, and often uses sentences in the books Mrs. Brown and we created.

We are most grateful to Mrs. Brown for bringing out the reading and talking potentials in Jaden. We hope that more children with DS will benefit from her teaching and her various tools (books, worksheets, to name a few) in helping our children to learn.

Mary and Calvin Cliff

Terry Brown has been an inspiration to Josh. He has been benefiting from her program for many years. If it wasn’t for Terry, I don’t believe that Josh would have been able to remain so motivated and focused on learning. It is wonderful to see ownership, confidence, and responsibility develop toward learning.

A few years ago, Terry introduced Brain Gym to her program. Josh likes to do the exercises and has incorporated them into his daily routine on his own.

It is really great to see him self monitor a moment when he feels overwhelmed, overstimulated, or just needs to put on his “thinking cap”. There really is NO PLACE like Mrs. Brown's house.

Terry Brown's amazing gift to our children is priceless.

It was just a couple years ago that Ava had no idea of her love of reading. She had no interest in even sitting still to learn words or attempt a work paper. All that changed when she met Mrs. Brown. While other educators had little faith in her, Terry Brown saw Ava in a different and brighter light.

Now, Ava's books that she has made with Mrs. Brown over the years are the most important things to her.

She loves reading so much, and will pick a book over a game any day. We are now moving into the level 1 and 2 printed books to read and enjoy at home and still she always includes books to read that she makes with Mrs. Brown.

As Ava's parents, we know how valuable Terry Brown has been to giving Ava this wonderful gift of reading, and that without her, Ava would not be where she is today not only in reading but in her writing, math and language skills.

Every day we see Ava reading or working on her papers we are reminded how lucky she is to have found Mrs. Brown's House.

Kelly and Robert Luna

Corey was fortunate enough to begin her learning relationship with Mrs. Brown when she was 4 years old. Corey is 11 now, and I am thoroughly convinced that Mrs. Brown has been instrumental in laying the foundation that helps Corey learn and retain her skills.

I can’t explain the ‘magic’ of Terry, I can only say as a parent of a child who is thriving academically, that her methods and insight are invaluable.

We live out of state now, but still regularly read our ‘Mrs. Brown books’ and do our worksheets – all of which are designed to foster Corey’s success.

We have visited a few times and Corey hasn’t missed a beat in jumping right in to her beloved sessions with Mrs. Brown.

‘Thank you, Mrs. Brown’ – only BEGINS to convey how fortunate we are to know and work with her!

Mindy Schneider

Luis is a wonderful 9 year old boy who has Down Syndrome. He loves reading and, moreover, learning in general. We attribute much of Luis’ love of learning to Mrs. Brown’s teaching style, which makes the learning process fun and interesting. Luis is included in a regular 3rd grade class and is reading at the mid- second grade level. He has been a student of Mrs. Brown for 5 years and has benefited tremendously from her teaching methods. We all marvel at the steady progress that Luis has made under Mrs. Brown’s guidance. He seems to have no limits to his learning abilities in this environment.

Mrs. Brown has also been a wonderful influence on Luis’ teachers throughout the years. Mrs. Brown’s materials have been used in Luis’ regular classes since kindergarten, supplementing the school curriculum. Two of Luis’ last four teachers have personally gone to Mrs. Brown’s house and observed her teaching style and methods. They marvel at Mrs. Brown’s technique and her gracious manner in which she shares information with them. Terry Brown has been a blessing to Luis and our family.

Jim and Mimi DiRosa

Terry Brown changed our life. I am a Teacher of the Deaf and I knew a lot about what one should do to teach reading and math. Yet, I still could not put it all together to help my daughter Molly.

In our first session, I knew I was watching a “genius” at work. Her calm, clear and intuitive demeanor brought clarity to Molly and myself. She was able to break down the steps of reading and math so that Molly could manage each step without becoming frustrated and even being excited about the work.

As the next months grew into years, she became my mentor and I became her greatest fan. I have learned so much from her and even feel confident in many ways. Yet still, there is not a time when I am with her that I do not learn and always leave wishing I had that “Terry Brown extra chromosome”.

There are a lot of facts and books and strategies on how to teach children with Down syndrome, but there are few people who so genuinely “connect” the way Terry does with kids with Down syndrome.

What a gift she is to our community!

Nancy Litteken

Club 21/Tools for the Journey

Terry Brown is the “Best.”

She has a unique ability to teach our children with Down syndrome. This truly is a gift that comes from a passionate heart!

My son Jimmy looks forward to Tuesday mornings at Mrs. Brown’s house. He is excited and motivated to learn!

Terry has helped Jimmy develop his reading, writing and math skills, but most importantly he has gained confidence, self-esteem and a wonderful sense of accomplishment!

Her positive approach makes learning fun!!!

We will always be thankful.

Denise English and family

Due to Mrs. Brown’s positive teaching methods and appropriate curriculum, Sarah loves to do her work anywhere and everywhere.

We were at my son’s baseball game and I had brought along some of “Mrs. Brown’s schoolwork.”

I asked Sara if she wanted to do some school work and she jumped up and down yelling YES YES YES!” A stand full of surprised parents turned to us and said ”How do you do that?” I said “Sarah loves to learn....she loves Mrs. Brown’s worksheets and books!”

We look forward to our new packets each month and it has been a most valuable part of our educational program. I have home schooled my other children and was at a loss of how to home school Sarah, thanks to your program that is no longer an issue!

Jan, Sarah’s Mom

Terry Brown has been blessed with this very special gift for working with our AWESOME kids!

Our daughter absolutely loves to come to Mrs. Brown's house and really enjoys learning as she is having fun at the same time!

It has been so wonderful, amazing & refreshing working side by side with someone who truly believes in each & everyone of our kids!

We are so grateful to Terry & her So Happy To Learn program, the results we have seen with our daughter are so impressive!

We have set our expectations so much higher & have dreamed new dreams for her as well!!

Sheri Lichtenwalter

Thank you for all of your support this year. Meeting with you really helped give me direction and ideas about how to help Luis really work to his full potential.

I've found the resources you have sent me to be a great help in the classroom. The worksheets are a motivator for Luis and allow him to work independently and continue to practice his reading and writing skills.

It has been so amazing and rewarding to see his immense growth in the short time I have known him.

It just reinforces the concept that we're all working together as a team and together we can help a child more than any of us could do independently.

Maggie Lopez

Third Grade Teacher

In May 2008, I had the pleasure of attending Terry Brown’s "Successful Techniques for Teaching Reading to Individuals with Down Syndrome Seminar" through Club 21 in Pasadenda California.

The information Ms. Brown provided was brilliant, extremely encouraging and insightful for each of my roles as a parent and educator.

I learned wonderful strategies that will assist any level in all areas of learning. Although my son is very young, I even learned methods that could benefit him immediately. Also tremendously important to me, I learned solid strategies to take back to the classroom.

As a certificated teacher, I have attended several classes and training courses to prepare me for my position. However, I have found Terry Brown's program to be the most beneficial conference I have ever attended. Ms. Brown provided video clips with a range of learning abilities and various scenarios that is rarely provided.

I especially appreciated her openly discussing the different difficulties teachers face with their learners. All of her material was exceptionally presented. I would strongly urge new and seasoned educators and parents of special needs children to attend her conferences.

Lectures like Ms. Brown’s are vital to the special needs community. Down syndrome children are usually placed in a special day class regardless of their learning ability.

Most special day classes normally focus on “living skills” (i.e. washing dishes, marketing, etc.).

Yet, we all know learning to read IS a living skill, but it is sadly often ignored!

So many classrooms are providing a disservice to kids. Our children have needs and rights therefore; successful programs like Ms Brown's should be implemented throughout all classrooms that cater to children with special needs.

Christina C. Barron

I wanted to let you know that I shared the handouts from your Club 21 seminar with Ryan's teacher at Rainbow Kids. She immediately begun implementing your process into Ryan's curriculum and has now created 2 books for him.

He is doing fantastic with them. I can't begin to tell you how proud I am of him. Never in a million years would I have thought my 5 yr old child with Down syndrome would be reading! It is truly amazing to see what it has done for his self confidence…..

Meaghan Gorski

First of all, a HUGE and heartfelt thank you for your presentation on Saturday. It was so apparent to me how you bring all the qualities of good teachers to your students: setting the tone, high hopes and expectations, all with a patience and positivity that creates excitement in learners.

It was reassuring to hear your emphasis on continual, patient modeling of proper language as opposed to constant correction.

I've witnessed this success with my own 2 yr old son, Graham, and in past teaching jobs I've held.

It reminded me, too, of various foreign language classes I've taken -- teachers who keep reiterating the proper way to say things, while also encouraging free expression and experimentation, do more to motivate learners than grammar sounds. So thank you!

Sara Hendren

You have such a great way with these little ones. This year, I especially liked the math component you've developed. It fits all the best research on math instruction. To build meaning with hands on activities, pairing it with language and then doing the calculation as a seamless lesson. Beautiful!

I talk about you often and share to all who listen!

Keep up the good work!

Katie Aeschleman

School psychologist