What is EDUCATIONAL THERAPY ? 

Skills

Does My Child Or Adolescent Need Educational Therapy?

The need for educational therapy may be identified in a number of ways. If your child or adolescent has never been identified by specialists or school personnel, you may have observed some of the following indicators:

  • Early ear infections, delay in learning language, and difficulty maintaining concentration, remembering, and/or paying attention.
  • Loss of self-esteem regarding school performance.
  • Resistance going to school or participating in normal childhood activities.
  • Lack of progress at school and questions about ability to learn or to benefit from school.
  • Extreme amount of time and parent support to get homework tasks done.
  • Struggles with homework and school assignments that increase as schoolwork becomes harder.
  • Discouragement and withdrawal.

If your child or adolescent has been identified by a specialist or school personnel, you may still find that:

  • your child appears to require additional individualized interventions beyond those offered at school.
  • your child is receiving services from multiple specialists, and you need assistance in coordinating services.
  • you need assistance in interpreting reports and recommendations from various specialists who work with your child.[
  • (https://www.aetonline.org/)
Children naturally want to succeed in school. If a child continues to struggle despite interventions from parents, teachers, or private tutors, an evaluation by a licensed neuropsychologist or clinical psychologist specializing in learning issues is essential.
Rather than attributing a student's poor performance to lack of effort, it is crucial to identify the factors hindering their progress. Learning problems do not resolve on their own, making early intervention vital to prevent self-esteem issues and unnecessary stress.

Educational therapy is a form of individualized instruction designed to help students with learning differences or challenges achieve academic success. Unlike traditional tutoring, which typically focuses solely on subject matter, educational therapy addresses academic skills and underlying cognitive, emotional, and executive functioning issues that impede learning. 

Our Services include: 

Educational Therapy: We offer a range of educational therapy services, including:

  •  assessment
  • literacy-phonological awareness, decoding, encoding, comprehension, fluency
  • writing—handwriting, keyboarding, voice to text, content writing
  • math-number sense, procedures, problem solving to Grade 6( Elementary)
  • self-advocacy—understanding your needs, speaking up to get the best result
  • executive functioning—metacognition, organization, initiation and follow through, planning and prioritizing, flexing and adjusting, memory and attention, etc.
  • English language learning (ELL)
  • gifted/twice-exceptional needs
  • parent education and support
  • school education and support

PROGRAMS:

After we understand what a student needs and wants to achieve, we create a plan that may involve using one or more programs to help meet those needs. Among them are:

  • Barton Reading and Spelling System

  • Orton Gillingham         Wilson Intervention, Fundations 

  • FastForWord

  • Tutoring

  • Study Skills

Key Components of Educational Therapy:

  1. Assessment: Educational therapists begin with a comprehensive assessment to identify the student's strengths and areas of need. This can include standardized tests, observations, and informal assessments.

  2. Individualized Instruction: Based on the assessment, an educational therapist creates a tailored intervention plan that targets specific difficulties. This may include reading, writing, math, study skills, and organizational strategies.

  3. Cognitive and  Emotional Support: Educational therapy also addresses cognitive processes such as memory, attention, and problem-solving, as well as emotional factors like motivation, self-esteem, and anxiety.

  4. Holistic Approach: It often involves collaboration with other professionals, such as psychologists, speech therapists, and occupational therapists, to provide a holistic approach to the student's needs.

  5. Skills Development: Focus on developing executive functioning skills like time management, goal setting, and self-monitoring, which are essential for academic and personal success.

  6. Parental Involvement: Parents are often involved in the process to help reinforce strategies and support their child's learning at home.

Benefits of Educational Therapy:

  • Improved Academic Performance: Students gain specific skills to succeed in their academic subjects.
  • Enhanced Self-Esteem: Addressing underlying emotional and cognitive issues can boost a student's confidence and motivation.
  • Personalized Learning: Tailored instruction meets the unique needs of each student, making learning more effective.
  • Life Skills: Develops skills that are not only useful in school but also in daily life and future employment.

Who Can Benefit?

  • Students with learning disabilities (e.g., dyslexia, Dysgraphia, and Dyscalculia)
  • Students with Cognitive disabilities ( Autism and ADHD)
  • Students with emotional or behavioral challenges affecting learning
  • Students who need help with executive functioning skills
  • Students who are underperforming academically despite adequate effort

PROCESS

Location of Services:

I prefer to serve students in my home office.  I do not serve students in their home-boundary and attentional difficulties. 

Sessions are conducted one-on-one with the educational therapist and student working intensively together for 50 minutes. While it is recommended that students meet with the therapist for at least two sessions per week, the plan is individualized and discussed during the intake session.

We begin with a brief assessment of your child’s current skills, if any mentioned in the IEP or 504, and create an individualized plan to build upon current strengths and address weaknesses

COLLABORATION

Our Educational Therapist will meet weekly with parents to share progress and referrals (if needed). We also include your child’s classroom teacher and other related services in planning and progress reports.

Educational Therapy Vs Tutoring

Educational therapy differs from tutoring and classroom teaching. It addresses underlying learning skills such as visual and auditory processing, attention, focus, and memory. Academic skills like reading and writing are remediated through strategies necessary for learning these subjects. Educational therapists undergo graduate and often post-graduate training to work with diverse learners.

Tutoring involves reteaching academic subjects and assisting with homework, often provided by individuals proficient in the subject. Classroom teachers are responsible for educating large groups of students with varying abilities. While they may wish to work individually with struggling students, time and resources typically limit their capacity to do so.

Educational Therapy For Adults: INCLUZEN PROGRAM

Significant indicators for adults who would benefit from educational therapy include the following:

  • The adult is experiencing difficulty with learning expected tasks in the workplace.
  • The adult notes a need for complicated compensatory strategies to camouflage difficulties with reading and writing in the workplace.
  • The adult never attained skill levels needed to function in a workplace that requires reading and writing.
  • The adult has difficulty organizing tasks and managing time efficiently.(https://www.aetonline.org/)

EXECUTIVE  FUNCTIONING SKILLS COACHING

Executive functioning skills coaching is designed to equip K-12 students and young adults with Asperger's Syndrome, and ADHD with the tools they need to succeed academically and professionally to be functional and productive at work.

Executive functioning coaching focuses on developing essential soft skills such as metacognition, organization, initiation and follow-through, planning and prioritizing, flexing and adjusting, memory and attention, task initiation, and self-monitoring.
Students develop the ability to plan, prioritize, and complete tasks more effectively.
This coaching helps students build strategies to manage their workload, reduce procrastination, and increase productivity. By improving these foundational skills, students can enhance their academic performance, boost their confidence, and navigate the challenges of school with greater independence and resilience.
This coaching program is separate from our Educational therapy sessions. 

Would you like more detailed information about a specific aspect of educational therapy, or how we can tailor our services to fit your needs? Feel free to ask!

CONTACT US

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CONTACT US

619 535 0348