Every Child a Light
Every Lesson
Instills Hope
A faith-based microschool in Toronto serving students in Grades 1st through 8th, Lights of Wonder Academy is designed for children with diverse learning needs, especially those who feel unseen or unsupported in traditional settings.
Our Mission
We blend research-informed practices with heart-led teaching to support children with learning differences. Our nurturing environment empowers each learner to grow academically, emotionally, and spiritually, at their own pace and in their own way.
We serve children in Grades 1st through 8th with diverse learning needs in a faith-based, inclusive setting that honors spiritual, academic, and personal growth. Our approach aligns science, faith, and humanity through structured teaching, executive functioning support, social-skills development, and sensory-informed practice. As a nonprofit organization, resources are reinvested directly into our mission, supporting families within a safe and welcoming community.
Nonprofit Mission Model — As a nonprofit organization, all entrusted resources are reinvested directly into serving students and families.
Specialized Autism & Neurodiversity Program
Our Autism and Neurodiversity Program is grounded in the AMUP Model (Adaptive Multi-Sensory Unified Program), recognizing that regulation is the foundation of learning. AMUP gently replaces self-stimulatory behavior with safe, purposeful, and rewarding sensory experiences that help children make better choices, stay calm, integrated, and ready to learn.
Sensory-Designed Learning Environment
Our program incorporates sensory workouts, calming melt activities, executive‑function coaching, social‑skills education, and will‑training strategies that guide children toward self‑awareness and healthy choices. Learning unfolds in a prepared environment that honors continuous progress, curiosity, and dignity.
Structured & Creative Learning Model
Our 20-minute direct instruction paired with 20-minute creative application model blends guided teaching with expressive exploration. This rhythm supports both academic growth and meaningful application of skills.
Meet Our Founder
Sister Solana D’Cunha, C.E., is the Foundress and guiding heart behind Lights of Wonder, a microschool created for children who learn, communicate, and flourish differently. Her vision is deeply personal. Growing up with NVLD (Non-Verbal Learning Disorder), she understood early what it meant to be capable yet overlooked. As she reflects, “Growing up with a learning disability… school often felt like a world where I had to either swim or sink.” This lived experience became the foundation of her lifelong mission: to build learning environments where every child is truly seen.
For more than sixteen years, Sister Solana has served in exceptional student education, working with children across a wide range of learning profiles. Her career spans roles as a Special Education Teacher, Executive Functioning Strategies instructor, and program founder. At Ave Maria Preparatory School in Florida, she taught social skills, conflict resolution, elementary art, geography, and executive functioning under the direction of the founder, Sister Gilchrist Cottrill (1947–2025), while also receiving training in Orton-Gillingham, S.P.I.R.E., crisis intervention, and Love and Logic.
Her leadership helped launch The Epiphany Excel Center for Learning Disorders and Autism, where she served as Founder and Tutor under the Director, Sister Gilchrist Cottrill (1947–2025). There, she provided Orton-Gillingham reading instruction, math support, cursive writing, social skills development, executive functioning coaching, parent advocacy training, and pet therapy, while co-piloting a new autism program (AMUP). AMUP was created by Sister Gilchrist Cottrill (1947–2025).
Sister Solana holds a B.A. in Special Education from Western Governors University, post-secondary training in Exceptional Student Education, and ongoing Orton-Gillingham certification through the Claremont School in Toronto. She is a recipient of the Florida Step Up for Students Teacher Excellence Award (2018) and a member of the Council for Exceptional Children.
Meet Our Co-Founder
The Secrets of Champions Foundation was developed in 2012 under the leadership of Dr. George L. Carlo, a world-recognized medical scientist, best-selling author, attorney, and Chairman of the Secrets of Champions Group. The broader Secrets of Champions initiative was founded in 2005.
The foundation focuses on healthy living and a science-based neurodivergent balance program called Thrive.
It employs research-supported protocols addressing features of Autism, Developmental Delay, ADHD, Emotional Disorders, and various neurological disorders.
Since 2012, Secrets of Champions worked with Ave Maria Preparatory School in Florida on a research-based program demonstrating success in reducing symptoms of autism, ADHD/ADD, developmental delays, and emotional disorders. The program operates under the scientific direction of Dr. George Carlo of the Science and Public Policy Institute in Washington, D.C.
Epiphany educational projects have incorporated Dr. Carlo’s 'Secrets of Champions' principles into instructional practices, showing positive neurological stimulation and repair of inefficient or damaged cells, supporting emotional and intellectual balance.
Overall, the Secrets of Champions Foundation centers on neurological optimization, cellular health, and balanced daily rhythms to enhance learning outcomes for neurodivergent children and individuals with developmental and emotional challenges.