A bright, interested student sits at a desk, head in hands, struggling to complete schoolwork. Nearby, a parent despairs at their inability to help their child succeed. This scene is played out in thousands of homes every day, and in many cases, an educational therapist can help.
Educational therapy is a one-on-one, intensive, individualized intervention that is designed to remediate learning challenges and build resilience. It is offered in homes, schools, clinics, and online. Therapists support children and adults coping with a wide range of learning differences and other learning-related struggles.
The process aims to stimulate creative and critical thinking, demystify learning differences, encourage awareness of strengths and challenges, use strengths to ameliorate weaknesses in addition to building academic and related skills, and help students and parents with executive functioning skills. Ed therapists work with learners who feel hopeless or helpless; bright or talented students who are not thriving at school; and twice-exceptional students whose needs might include both remediation and expansion.
This is not to be confused with the goal of tutors, who work with a wide range of typical and atypical students. Their focus is primarily on teaching specific academic content, developing explicit academic skills, and supporting classwork or homework. They can be an important part of a collaborative educational team, but the services they provide differ significantly from educational therapy. While both tutors and therapists work to build academic skills like reading, writing, math, and spelling, ed therapists focus on addressing the psychoeducational aspects of learning such as executive function, self-esteem, self-efficacy, self-advocacy, self-awareness, and motivation. Social/emotional aspects of learning, such as feelings of inadequacy or failure, or the relationship between emotions, behavior, and learning, are also a part of the process.
Consider that bright, interested student. If he had a diagnosis of ADHD and specific learning disability in the area of reading, with a history of poor self-image and school failure, an educational therapist might work on organization, time management, and mindfulness strategies, while implementing a systematic, sequential, multisensory, Orton Gillingham-based reading program, such as Wilson Reading, Slingerland, or IMSE. In addition, they might practice self-advocacy scenarios with the student to help them develop strategies to get their needs met in the school environment. The therapist would work in collaboration with teachers, parents, and the student to implement a comprehensive intervention strategy that could be supported in all environments, in service of the overall development of the student as a learner.
[perfectpullquote align=”left” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]The process aims to stimulate creative and critical thinking, demystify learning differences, encourage awareness of strengths and challenges, use strengths to ameliorate weaknesses in addition to building academic and related skills, and help students and parents with executive functioning skills. [/perfectpullquote]
Prior to beginning therapy, educational therapists use a broad range of sources, such as neuro-psychological assessment data, personally administered assessments, interviews, and observations to set goals and develop complex intervention plans for students. To implement these plans, they use an eclectic combination of specialized intervention strategies designed to meet the needs of the student as identified through the initial collaborative process. This collaboration continues throughout the therapy process and beyond.
Because the field is not a licensed or regulated profession — anyone can call themselves an educational therapist — it is important to make sure an educational therapist is qualified. Before you hire one, ask questions regarding background and appropriate experience for your child’s needs, as well as training or certification from a reputable source. While many educational therapists currently in practice began their careers as general or special education teachers, there are now programs offering training specifically in educational therapy, as well as reputable organizations offering rigorous certification processes, such as the Association of Educational Therapists or AET (the author currently serves as its president-elect and will become president on Oct. 1).
One way to ensure that your educational therapist has been well vetted is to look for either ET/P or BCET on their cards or websites. Obtain referrals from a reputable source, such as a trusted professional, or friend. In addition, the Find an Educational Therapist section of the AET website (www.aetonline.org) designates levels of professional achievement and areas of focus by location. Feel free to ask a lot of questions about history, training, philosophy, and methodology so you can find the educational therapist that is right for your family. A good therapist will welcome the depth of inquiry.
Once again, imagine our bright interested student, actively and confidently involved in a project or quickly completing a nightly assignment. Imagine that student proud of their accomplishments and eager for the next challenge. Envision the parent, relaxed and involved in their own endeavors, but available to help the student, if needed. Educational therapy can contribute to the development of this new vision, because it fosters self-confident, independent learners who understand their learning profile, advocate for themselves, and know how and when to use learned strategies to achieve their full potential.
