by Beth Sims
The Beginning of Our Story
Five plus years ago, I held my two-year-old daughter, Abigail, as we received the words that would forever change our family’s trajectory: autism spectrum disorder. In that medical office, surrounded by developmental charts, pamphlets, and medical terminology, I felt my world shift. But what I didn’t know then was that this diagnosis would not define my daughter’s limits—it would simply redirect our path toward discovering her incredible potential.
Abigail was nonverbal until age four. Four long years of wondering what thoughts lived behind those beautiful, expressive eyes. Four years of watching other children her age chattering away, while my daughter communicated through gestures, tears, and an intuitive connection that only a mother could understand. When she finally began to speak, her words came slowly, deliberately, each one a small victory we celebrated with tears of joy.
But speaking was only the first hurdle. As Abigail grew, we discovered that her journey toward literacy would be equally challenging. Significant delays in phonetic ability made reading feel like an insurmountable mountain. Social adaptation with peers became another layer of complexity as she struggled to connect with children who seemed to effortlessly navigate conversations and friendships that felt foreign to her world.
My “moment” that I remember so vividly is sitting with my husband, inconsolable and saying, “will I ever hear my daughter say: I love you, mommy”.
The Search for Solutions
What followed were years of relentless advocacy, endless research, and a bank account that reflected our desperation to unlock Abigail’s potential. Private speech therapy sessions twice a week. Occupational therapy to help with sensory processing. Reading tutors who specialize in children with learning differences. Behavioral interventions that promised breakthrough moments felt frustratingly elusive. Early Intervention therapists who were sent to us straight from above and made me believe in the power of community and the true meaning of “it takes a village”.
I became a mother transformed by necessity—equal parts researcher, advocate, and emotional support system. I pored over studies about autism and literacy. I joined Facebook groups at 2 AM, seeking advice from other parents walking similar paths. I scheduled meeting after meeting with specialists, hoping someone would have the magic formula that would help my daughter flourish.
The gains were there, but they were small. At times, painfully small. Each tiny step forward felt like both a victory and a reminder of how far we still had to go. There were nights I cried into my pillow, wondering if I was doing enough, if there was something else I should be trying, if my beautiful daughter would ever experience the joy of reading a book independently.
Our Guardian Angel in the Classroom
Then we met Ms. S, an early childhood special education teacher who changed our story—not by performing miracles, but by shifting our entire perspective. Where other educators focused on Abigail’s deficits, Ms. S. celebrated her strengths. She saw a child who was incredibly observant, deeply empathetic, and brilliantly creative in her problem-solving approach. “Let’s focus on what Abigail CAN do, the rest will come, and we will set goals there, but don’t let that be where we focus,” she would say during our monthly meetings, “and use those strengths to build bridges to what she’s still learning.” Ms. S. helped us set realistic, achievable goals that built upon each success rather than dwelling on the gaps. She taught us that progress doesn’t always look linear, and that small victories compound into life-changing transformations.
Under her guidance, Abigail began to see herself not as a child who “couldn’t read like the others,” but as a learner who approached challenges in her own unique way. Ms. S’ unwavering belief in Abigail’s potential became the foundation upon which our daughter began to build her confidence.
A Family United by Challenge
Our journey wasn’t just about Abigail. Our son Chris, who has Asperger’s Syndrome, was simultaneously struggling within a system that couldn’t seem to provide the support he needed. Despite my husband’s year and a half of experience as a public educator, we found ourselves caught in bureaucratic delays, with Chris languishing on an IEP evaluation waitlist for over a year. Both Abigail and Chris were diagnosed at the same time due to our lack of understanding about neurodiversity as parents when Chris was younger.
The pandemic of 2020 brought everything to a head. Schools closed, support services disappeared overnight, and families like ours were left to navigate remote learning with children who thrived on routine and structure. Watching my husband struggle to support his own students while our children’s needs went unmet sparked something in me that I couldn’t ignore.
I realized I couldn’t wait for the system to help our children—I needed to become part of the solution. In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, I decided to transition into the field of educational supports and services. If I couldn’t find the help our family needed, perhaps I could help ensure other families didn’t face the same barriers. We made other changes as well. Abigail’s inherent desire to serve others and help those in need is astounding and is core to who she is. We realized that her disability didn’t define her through this relationship with Ms. S. Our family is heavily committed to serving our community and working with our local faith family to give to others what we have been so graciously given. We stopped finding sitters and family to keep Abigail in the evenings and on weekends and began taking her with us so that she, even as a little child, would be able to grow her gifts and make a difference alongside us.
A Brilliant Mind Behind the Challenges
People often talk about autism as if it defines a child’s intellectual capacity, but anyone who truly knows Abigail understands that her challenges with communication and literacy never reflected limitations in her thinking. Abigail and Chris can solve puzzles that stump adults, notice patterns and connections that escape others, and demonstrate emotional intelligence that takes my breath away, EVERY SINGLE DAY.
Her “handicap,” as some might call it, began with her ability to speak and evolved into her relationship with reading and writing. But what I’ve learned is that these challenges were never about intelligence—they were about finding the right key to unlock the brilliant mind that was always there, waiting for the right opportunity to shine. It took footsteps over time to unlock her brilliance.
The Day The Lights Really Came On
Fast forward to May 27th, 2025—the day I officially joined the team at Footsteps2Brilliance. I had spent years advocating for better tools and educational technology, never imagining that the solution I’d been seeking for my own daughter was about to become part of my professional journey.
Two days later, on May 29th, Abigail began using the Footsteps2Brilliance platform. At seven years old, heading into second grade, she still wasn’t reading at a kindergarten level. She knew her letter sounds—we’d worked tirelessly on those. She had mastered some sight words, though not many. But the fluid, confident reading that seemed to come naturally to her peers remained frustratingly out of reach.
The F2B platform became our summer companion. Abigail would use it independently during designated learning time, and my husband and I would join her for interactive sessions in the evenings. The program’s multi-sensory approach, combining visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning elements, seemed to speak directly to how Abigail’s brain processed information.
A few weeks into our summer routine with Footsteps2Brilliance, I was working when something made me glance over at Abigail. She was sitting on the couch, iPad in her lap, and she was reading. Not just recognizing isolated words or slowly sounding out letters—she was reading actual sentences. Three and four-word sentences flowed from her lips with a confidence I had never heard before.
I stopped breathing.
Five years of therapy sessions, tutoring, interventions, and sleepless nights worrying about my daughter’s future suddenly crystallized into this single, perfect moment. My daughter—the child who doctors said might never speak, who struggled for years to connect sounds with symbols—was reading independently.
Through my tears, I fumbled for my phone and hit record, capturing those precious sentences that represented not just words on a screen, but the unlocking of an entire world of possibilities. I immediately sent the video to my husband with a message that probably made no sense through my emotional typing: “SHE’S READING. Really reading.
Three Months Later: A Transformation Beyond Our Dreams
Today, at the end of August 2025, I sit here writing this with a heart so full. Three months. Ninety days of consistent use of this remarkable platform has transformed not just Abigail’s reading ability, but her entire relationship with learning. She asks constantly, “Mommy, can I play my book game now?”
She’s now reading complex texts on the application with enthusiasm and confidence. But perhaps even more remarkably, she’s taken that confidence into her physical classroom. Last week, she volunteered to read a book in front of her entire second-grade class—something that would have been unimaginable just months ago. Her teacher messaged me that afternoon, her pride mirroring what I felt that first day I watched Abigail read those sentences.
“She’s not just reading—she’s excited about reading.” – her teacher is awesome, as an aside.
More Than Just Technology: A Key to Connection
What Footsteps2Brilliance provided wasn’t just a reading program—it was the missing piece of a puzzle we’d been trying to solve for years. The platform’s adaptive technology met Abigail exactly where she was, providing just enough challenge to promote growth without overwhelming her developing confidence. The engaging graphics and interactive elements captured her attention in ways that traditional workbooks and flashcards never could.
But beyond the technical features, F2B gave our family something invaluable: hope. For the first time in years, I stopped worrying about whether Abigail would ever love reading and started marveling at the reader she was becoming.
A Message to Other Parents
To the mothers and fathers, grandparents, foster parents, aunts and uncles, and siblings reading this who are walking a similar path: I see you. I see you researching therapies at midnight and celebrating the smallest victories because you know how hard-won they are. I see you advocating fiercely for your child in IEP meetings and wondering if you’re doing enough, if there’s something else you should try.
Your child is brilliant. Their challenges do not define their potential—they simply make their eventual triumphs even more magnificent. Sometimes the breakthrough you’ve been praying for comes in the most unexpected package, at the most unexpected time.
For us, it came through technology that finally spoke Abigail’s language. It came through a platform that saw her potential rather than her delays. It came through the patience of educators who believed in her and the persistence of parents who never gave up.
The Journey Continues
As I watch Abigail tackle new books with the same enthusiasm she once reserved for her favorite toys, I’m reminded that this journey isn’t ending—it’s just beginning. She still faces challenges. Autism doesn’t disappear because a child learns to read. But what has changed is our family’s understanding of what’s possible.
Abigail’s voice, once silenced, has found its expression through literacy. The little girl who couldn’t speak for four years is now reading stories aloud to her classmates. The child whose future once felt uncertain now approaches each new book as an adventure waiting to unfold.
This is the power of the right intervention at the right time. This is the magic that happens when we refuse to give up on our children’s potential. This is the story of one little girl who found her voice through the written word, and of a mother who discovered that sometimes the most profound transformations happen not through force, but through finding exactly the right key to unlock what was always there, waiting to shine.
If you’re supporting a child with learning differences, remember that every small step forward is a victory worth celebrating. Trust your instincts, advocate relentlessly, and never underestimate the power of finding the right “footsteps” to unlock your child’s unique “brilliance”.