2016
Just picked it up. Thank you for the quick turn around. Appreciate you fitting me in! Happy Holidays! (December 2016).
It was really nice to meet you as well. I had a holiday get-together last night and I was telling my friends how sometimes you meet people with such engaging personalities that you wish you knew them better. I felt that way about you. My daughter told me you recently lost your husband and I was so sorry to hear that. I hope you are able to tackle the holidays with some sense of peace and the support of family and friends. (December 2016).
Hi Dr. Muir- it’s been a year since you tested my daughter (SLD Reading and ADD inattentive) and I have a data point illustrating the benefit of her accommodations- [My daughter] took the PSAT in 10 grade, 2015 (no accommodations) and again this year in 11 grade, 2016 (with college board approved 150% time, quiet room and extra breaks). In 2016 she didn’t run out of time and was able to get to every question on the test, a victory in itself. Her overall percentile improved from 79 to 85 between the two sittings which feels huge! By the way, the verbal section by itself was a jump from 81 percentile to 91 percentile! She’s relieved and her confidence has jumped with her results. It’s been so comforting to see her self-esteem grow over the last year – thank you again! Regards (December 2016).
Our previous, client, who I am still seeing, now working at and attending NOVA and doing well. (Psychiatrist, November 2016).
Suzie, [My son] just got his first report card for 9 grade at St. John’s. He is doing great!!! He opted not to take any ADD meds and I’m glad he stuck to his guns because I don’t think he needs them. The school offered him a variety of accommodations but the only one he uses on a regular basis is extra time on tests. He is in honors math and honors biology and so his GPA is actually weighted to a 4.1. It is interesting to witness his success and wonder why he didn’t succeed like this at [his previous school]. I don’t spend too much time worrying about it, because all we can do is look and move forward. He is also personally happy. He played football and I’m sure that helps the transition a lot because the team really bonds. Anyhow, I’m excited to share this with you – and you must know that you own a piece of this. Without your help and guidance I am not sure he would be doing so well. Maybe extra time was all he ever needed. I hope you are having a good year. I’m sure you are crazy busy like I am… Sending you a big virtual thank you hug (November 2016).
Suzie: I can’t thank you enough for your help and thorough evaluation of [our college freshman]. I’ve been procrastinating thanking you properly because I want to do something special. In the meantime, know that she’s doing well, met with disabilities office and is getting the support she needs. A million thanks again for your help and understanding. Talk to you soon (October 2016).
Dear Dr. Muir, just wanted to say that we will most definitely refer anyone we know who could use your services. We remain VERY satisfied with your evaluation and report, which made a powerful impact in our initial 504/Special Ed consultation with Washington Lee High School. Best wishes, (October 2016).
Dr. Muir, I have been meaning to send this note for a very long time. As you assist students, I thought some feedback from us might be helpful. I thought I’d send you a list of the schools that [my son] applied to along with the results (accepted, denied, wait listed). He ended up going to Marquette in Milwaukee. He has done fine. He is using the accommodations and received 3 Bs and 1 C last semester. We shall see how this semester goes. He has said it has been harder than he thought. He also underestimated the impact of the cold weather. After 5 years in Arizona for undergraduate school, the lack of sunshine has been a shock to his system. He has found it to be depressing. I don’t know if he will stick it out at Marquette or will try to transfer. We shall see when his grades come out and he is home for the summer. Anyhow, here are the results from his applications last year. Listed in order of 2014 ranking ASU-D, Hastings-WL, Miami-D, Denver-D, LSU-WL, USD-D, West VA-D, Seattle-D, Indiana U-A, Univ of Louisville-A, Marquette-A, Univ of South Carolina-D, St Louis U-WL, Univ of Hawaii-D, Missouri-Kansas City-WL, Syracuse-WL, Gonzaga-WL, De Paul-A, Baltimore-A, Memphis-A, NY Law-A, Atlanta’s John Marshall-A, Cal Western-A, Charleston-A, Florida A&M-A, John Marshall Chicago-A, Loyola (New Orleans)-A, Suffolk-A, Text A&M-D. Warm regards (October 2016).
Hi Suzie. I think of you and your family so much, hoping each day gets a little easier. I am sure your children run you ragged and bring much happiness to your heart. [My college sophomore] is doing well. She is still in the VCU Honors college, was accepted into the DaVinci Certificate of Innovation program as a sophomore (she absolutely loves her first class this semester) and don’t tell her that I told you but earned a 4.0 this past spring. Suzie, she has blossomed. Meeting and working with strong, supportive women like you along the way has given her a good voice. Be well, and know you are in my heart. XO (October 2016).
Dear Dr. Muir, hope you’re doing well! Thought of you and have been meaning to send you a note about my GRE. Thought you would like to know your report paid off! My overall score improved by about 14 points- HUGE success for a horrible standardized test taker!! ? All the best (September 2016).
Happy Wednesday! I just got [my son’s] accommodations approved for St. John’s. He has only been there a week, but I have to say I am amazingly impressed how organized their system is. I can show it to you someday. There is a portal with all his assignments, the teachers give audio clip feedbacks on homework/tests sometimes, we have real-time information on all his assignments and grades. There is a parent portal so we see it all too. We get email notifications and so does he when something has been graded, or new assignments are posted. They make it very easy for him to stay on top of things. In the meantime, he is in honors algebra/geometry and honors biology. So, his intelligence is being challenged, while being given lots of support for his organizational deficiencies. So, all in all I have to say, so far so good! (September 2016).
Thank you for your kind words about [my daughter]! She is a keeper. And she really likes you (and she is VERY discriminating) especially about people that do what you do! (Try to help her). Thank you so much! (September 2016).
Ladies thank you very much. [My daughter] went to the Field School in DC. The school took your evaluation and worked with her throughout high school career. She was an A-B student with only a couple of Cs in four years. She actually took a class her school created for advanced students in History. The class included multiple 10 plus page papers, creating webpage presentation with links like the Smithsonian has, contacting and interviewing university professors etc. as first person sources on the papers, and ending with a 25 page paper. She received a B in the class!!! She also scored a 24 on her ACT test. She did this while playing volleyball on a travel team that was out of town every other weekend, some school days and practicing 3 nights a week. She loves volleyball and playing would not have been possible without your help. Your evaluations and the teachers understanding how to work with [my child] were invaluable in her success. She is starting her Freshman year at college and be of all she received an academic scholarship!!! She is also playing volleyball in college which is her dream. We can’t thank you enough. Have a great Holiday weekend. (August 2016).
Hi Suzie, I wanted to let you know how great you made [our daughter] feel about the testing and how much she enjoyed the conversations the two of you had. She started high school today with much less anxiety than the first day of school has caused in the past and I am sure this is in part because she felt good about having done the test. I look forward to having [my husband] and I meet with you to discuss the results. All the best, Melinda (August 2016).
Suzie: Thank you so much! You have been one of my favorite people that I count as “[My child’s] support group” and your advice has been spot on in so many ways. I am so delighted that we will be working with you again. (July 2016).
Suzie, I can’t believe that it’s been over three years since [my son] first did his testing with you, and can’t believe that he will be a senior [in high school] this year! It’s been an amazing journey for him, and while he has a long way to go, he has made incredible progress! I know a lot has happened in your life these past three years, I am so sorry about your husband. I have been following your story on Facebook. He looked like such a handsome, athletic and fun man to have in your life, and he seemed like such a great husband and father. I am sure his absence creates a huge hole in your family, and I also am guessing that the memories of him are what sustain you. I wasn’t sure if you were back to working or would have time to schedule [my [my child] in for an updated round of testing, but I would so love him to come back to you. I know he really enjoyed his testing with you (which says a lot for him), and I would like for him to have the testing repeated and for you to give us recommendations on support for him. He is planning on applying for colleges with support programs, and has already visited several of them. He is thinking on a gap year as well, but going through the college process with his peers with the mindset that he will make his decision on a gap year after seeing what comes back from his college acceptances, and if he gets into a college he is happy about, may then defer for a gap year if he would like. Let me know if you have time to re-test [my son]. We are [on vacation] until August 12, and he would need to be re-tested before November; in order to have the testing completed and able to be sent to his colleges. I hope it works, as I too would like to see you again, and I know [my son] would. Best (July 2016).
Suzie, thank you for all the hard and meticulous work you put into my evaluation. I now have a lot of incredibly useful data to work with to inform me on decisions I make for the rest of my life. I wish you all the best with your work and will definitely be referring you to others who seek such evaluations. Regards (June 2016).
Hi Dr. Muir, I hope all is well! I just received my ETS approval for accommodations and wanted to check if their interpretations sound correct to you. I have attached the approval letter below. I was approved for time and a half or 50% extra time. Please let me know what you think! Best (June 2016).
Dr. Muir, [My daughter] has been going through Barton reading remediation (outside of school) and appreciates the accommodations that her school has approved. We have had some difficulty with school’s approval of one of the recommended accommodations. They did not perform their own testing as we all agreed after accepted 504 eligibility based on your findings and quickly accepted the following accommodations: extra time, preferred seating, short breaks for long tests. In March, the vice principal and guidance counselor said “no” outright to read aloud because of a lack of resources. We were able to purchase a device and app. Over the next month [our child’s] history teacher allowed her to use Prizmo on certain few assignment that [she] requested (because [she] wanted to see if it was helpful to [our daughter] and to show that it was minimally disruptive. All parties thought it worked fine, minimal disruption, helped [our daughter], Best regards (May 2016).
[Our son] got extra time on both SAT and ACT. Thank you for all your efforts. Sometime when your schedule and ours settle down (hah) I’d love to sit down with you and [my son] to more fully understand the takeaways from your testing. (May 2016).
Hi Dr. Muir, I wanted to let you know my accommodations were approved for 50% extended time on the Illinois bar exam. Such a relief! Thank you for your help. I hope all is well. Sincerely (April 2016).
Dr. Muir, thank you for the report. I don’t have any questions at this time. I am truly impressed by the comprehensiveness and conscientiousness of your review. I had a great time working with you and thank you again for helping me to move a step closer toward reaching my goals. “Be the zebra!” Warm regards (April 2016).
Thank you for validating that we were doing all of the right things for our child. As parents, we rarely receive positive feedback and encouragement to continue to move ahead with what we are doing in regards to schooling, tutoring and therapy. (May 2016).
