Educational Therapists
Berkeley Parents Network >
Reviews >
Therapists, Counseling , & Support Groups >
Educational Therapists
August 2010
Can anyone please give me a recommendation for a therapist
who can help me with procrastination and organization? I
have diagnoses of and take medication for ADHD (inattentive
type) and depression/anxiety. Would especially appreciate
someone with an understanding of the particular problems of
academic careers and parenting--special bonus if they can do
medication management along with therapy/coaching.
Appreciative
Alena Hutchinson, LMFT, is fabulous: (415) 397-8300. I've
been seeing her for half a year for ADD coaching and have
also appreciated her deep compassion, concrete tools for
daily living, and personal experiences with ADD and raising
a family.
Her website:
http://therapists.psychologytoday.com/rms/name/Alena_Hutchinson_LMFT_Oakland_California_41869
I can't recommend her enough. I only wish my health benefits
would allow me to see her more frequently!
Adult Happily Adjusting to ADD, Now
I am adult diagnosed with inattentive ADHD. I can highly
recommend Linda Lawton ET/P for whom you can find other
references on BPN Linda has been instrumental in helping me
establish sound, workable solutions to my procrastination, lack
of organization and lack of time management. I believe she also
has experience in education and ADHD parenting which may address
your other concerns. Working with Linda has been an important
part of my overall ADHD therapy which, in addition to her
coaching, has included counseling, diet, exercise and is soon to
include medication. You can reach Linda at (510) 559-3110 or
easy4you@sbcglobal.net.
Have you also looked into CHADD (Children and Adult with ADHD)?
It is a wonderful resource for discussions, literature,
professional references, local support groups etc.
(www.chadd.org)
Anon
July 2010
Looking for Educational Therapist for sixth grader with
dyslexia and inattentive type ADHD in the Berkeley Albany
area. There are not many recommendations in the archives,
so if you have a great ET that can help our son with reading
and writing, organization and self esteem around school, we
would appreciate having the reference. Thank you
If you need an Educational Therapist, I highly recommend
Richard Sugerman (http://www.richardsugerman.com/). He is an
experienced teacher, with an MA in Developmental Psychology,
and 30 years of experience working with kids. Been there
Try Jamie Keller (www.learnwithme.com). She is wonderful!
Rosie
May 2009
My fourth grader attends public school and struggles with the work
although he ''does fine'' on all of the tests at school. I just
had him evaluated for learning disabilities, which have been
obvious to me since the first grade however I was discouraged by
all from having him tested, and am now looking for the right
person to work with him. My child is very personable,
cooperative, has a good sense of humor and is a little shy.
School work is a huge stress for him.
His specific issues are: dyslexia, ADD inattentive type, slow
processing speed, phonemic awareness problems, poor working memory
(although great memory in general), which have all led to much
reading and even more writing difficulties. Does anyone know a
kind and skilled person in the Berkeley/Albany area that you have
had ongoing success with?
Thanks
My daughter was having a terrible time in school. She was tested, has some
LD (including ADD) but very bright. I had her see an academic coach who
helped her get organized, got her do her homework and turn it in. Now she
is doing much better. Nancy's info is www.stepbystep4success.com
Anonymous
Oct 2008
Hi, our first grade boy is having some trouble reading. Normally we
would not be too worried as he is still young, but he is getting
pretty frustrated. He excels and math and science, but is having
trouble figuring out the reading and writing. We, as parents have no
experience in this area and don't really know how to help him. We do
guided reading every night, but he seems to have hit a wall.
Does anyone have a suggestion for a reading specialist in the Berkeley
area who can evaluate him and help him maybe one day a week after
school? He's in a public school but it seems like kind of a hassle to
go through the public school process, and I don't want him pulled out
of class for this. He already feels badly enough.
anon
If your child is in Berkeley Public schools, I strongly recommend that
you ask about his eligibility for Reading Recovery.
Public School Reading Specialist
What you should look for is an Eduational Thearpist. I posted this just
a few weeks ago, so sorry if this is a repeat for you. The guy we used
is named Bill Baldyga. halcyonlearning.com is his website.
The following is what I said last time.
Bill is personable, quiet and very clam. He listens well and he
thinks outside the box using different techniques and approaches to
work with your child. He figures out what's missing and starts from
there. He worked very well with our daughter. She has a hard time
sitting still and focusing (she prefers to stand or move) Bill had
her stand on a balance board the whole hour he worked with her (on
reading etc) and she loved it. It helped her focus and made the time
pass more quickly for her. I think Bill is more expensive than a
''standard tutor'' but that is not what he is. He is much more and
definitely worth it.
Our daughter was reading below grade level is 2nd grade and by 3rd grade
she read all 7 Harry Potter books herself. It was such a relief when
she started to work with Bill, and her reading started to come along.
Nancy
Oct 2008
Has anyone used Bill Baldyga for tutoring? He is an educational
therapist. One posting said he was great. We are considering his
services. What is his personality like? Is he expensive? How did
your kids respond to his methods of teaching? Anything that would
be helpful would be great. thanks
In response to your inquiry about tutors, Bill is personable, quiet and
very calm. He listens well and he thinks outside the box using
different techniques and approaches to work with your child. He
figures out what's missing and starts from
there. He worked very well with our daughter. She has a hard time
sitting still and focussing (she prefers to stand or move) Bill had
her stand on a balance board the whole hour he worked with her (on
reading etc) and she loved it. It helped her focus and made the time
pass more quickly for her. I think Bill is more expensive than a
''standard tutor'' but that is not what he is. He is much more and
definitely worth it. He does so much more than just going over sight
words or math flash cards.
Our daughter was reading below grade level in 2nd grade and by 3rd grade
she read all 7 Harry Potter books herself. I actually recommend Bill
to alot of people, and I am happy to do so here as well.
Nancy
April 2008
What do educational therapists do? I have a teenager who
struggles academically and socially. Not a behavioral
problem but a kid who takes things pretty literally and
often misses the nuances of interactions, then will turn
around and surprise you with fairly profound observations.
I know about Orion and Arrowsmith, etc but our kid hasn't
wanted to explore any of those options. We want to make
sure we help our child make it through to college and
beyond. So...exactly what does an educational therapist do?
mom
Hi - this comes directly from the Association of
Educational Therapists website: http://www.aetonline.org/:
''Educational Therapy offers children and adults with
learning disabilities and other learning challenges a wide
range of intensive, individualized interventions designed
to remediate learning problems.
Educational therapy demystifies learning problems and
stimulates clients’ awareness of their strengths so they
can use those strengths to best advantage to overcome or
compensate for areas of weakness.
Educational therapists create and implement a treatment
plan that utilizes information from a variety of sources
including the client’s social, emotional,
psychoeducational, and neuropsychological context.''
If you decide that seeing an educational therapist might
be helpful for your child, you can get referrals through
the AET website or through the ET graduate program at Holy
Names University. It sounds like your child might also
benefit from a social skills or pragmatic language group
which could provide practice directly aimed at
understanding nuances and non-literal language.
Jan
At best, help your child improve academically. At worst,
take your money. Anyone can be an educational therapist, and
since there is no license for this profession, you need to
choose carefully. The best educational therapists are
special education teachers who are retired or teaching part
time. In additon to having a special education education
credential and/or masters in special education, they either
have a certificate in educational therapy or additional
coursework at a school approved by the Association of
Educational Therapists (aetonline.org). If an educational
therapist is not a member of the association or has never
heard of it, you should probably not work with that person.
Educational therapists are expensive, some charging up to
one hundred dollars a session four times a week, or more.
They help students overcome dyslexia and other learning
disabilities. Some educational therapists are so good they
can help students improve their reading and math skills by
multiple grade levels in a year's time. Others are so inept,
they are basically glorified tutors.
I would be suspicious of educational therapists who just a
year ago left jobs in corporate America to make a career
change. A few quarters of courses at UC Berkeley Extension
will not train a person to become an educational therapist,
if there isn't substantial special education teaching
background. I would also avoid psychotherapists who got
tired of working with adults and thought educational therapy
would be more fun as they may lack the special education
background so crucial for success in this profession.
Finally, be careful of educational therapists who claim they
can test your child. While an educational therapist can give
assessments, only a licensed educational psychologist can do
bona fide testing. Often, educational psychologists will
work in tandem with educational therapists. The ed psych
does the testing and the ed therapist does the long term
one-on-one work.
Finally, there has to be a fit. Pairing a teen with an
educational therapist who only works with elementary school
kids probably won't work, and vice versa. Both your child
and the educational therapist have to be comfortable with
each other, if it is going to work. Remember, educational
therapy is a long term investment, not tutoring.
Anon
An educational therapist works with a student to expose a
subject's deep structure, to provide proper pacing, to
assist in memory development, and to shore up expressive
and receptive language. She deliberately integrates the
whole picture with the parts and introduces ''meta''
awareness to help the student build skill, ego-strength,
and self-trust. Through formal and/or informal on-going
assessment and diagnostic teaching, the educational
therapist helps the student and his parents look at unique
intellectual, attentional, and motivational needs in
relationship to increasingly complex school demands.
The one-on-one relationship is central to this academic
therapy. In an atmosphere of growing trust, the student
gains self confidence, improves her ability to stay
focused (including impulse control), learns to delay
gratification in order to achieve academic goals and
ultimately to enjoy learning and mastery for its own
sake.
C.
An educational therapist worked with my son for two years, and I can give
you my observations about what they did. They met for two one-hour
sessions each week and worked on homework, but they didn't simply do the
homework. She worked with him on how to do homework, how to organize
it, prioritize assignments, understand what the teacher wants, estimate
the
amount of work required, manage long-term projects, etc. As he worked
on assignments, she observed the process and identified areas where he
needed
new strategies or remediation, which she provided. She got him involved
with
the process of coming up with strategies. She also worked on boosting his
confidence, sparking his interest, and trying to make things fun. She
interfaced with our outside neuropsychologist's office and the personnel
from
the public middle school he attended, suggesting strategies and
accommodations. When teachers gave her advance information about major
assignments, she could help teach my son to organize the work. This
worked
well, and we saw my son became more capable working independently in
class and on the days he didn't work with the ed therapist.
You didn't ask about this, but you mentioned Orion and Arrowsmith, and we
have first-hand experience with both. Arrowsmith closed down almost two
years ago. Orion has a very specific program intended for a specific and
narrow population, students with diagnoses of Asperger's syndrome and NLD.
Our child who attended Orion did not exactly fit into either of those
categories and has learning disabilities that set him apart from Orion's
other
students. Orion is most definitely not a school for a general learning
disabilities population. They did not understand my son's learning
disabilities and instead came to deny them. Rather than accommodate his
needs, they punished him for what they claimed were behavior issues in
refusing to do work. It was a most damaging experience! Happily, we've
since found a situation that worked for him, his learning disabilities
have
been addressed, and he's doing well. I looked intensively on my own, and
when I finally found a school that resonated with me, I had the confidence
to
convince my son to take a look and let him decide.
another mom
Your teen sounds a lot like mine. He struggled with school
and has terrible social skills. We also looked at Orion and
Springstone (when he was younger) but decided on a
mainstream school. He was getting Bs and Cs and although
that may be fine for some but not for him - he tested in the
very gifted range. A friend recommended Nancy Chin
at Step
By Step. She was able to get him organized, have him do his
homework AND turn it in. Once this happened consistently,
his grades shot up to As. He is now enjoying school, getting
along with his teachers, and a much happier person. I highly
recommend Nancy her website is www.stepbystep4success.com .
Anonymous
I highly recommend that you contact Nancy Chin at Step By
Step. She works with students who are struggling in school
both academically and socially. Many of her students have a learning
difference/disability. They’re very bright yet struggle and
get mediocre grades. Nancy teaches organization skills,
time management and study skills. She made amazing
personal connection and progress with my son in a very
short time, however, her assistance has been so essential
that our son wants to continue with her indefinitely! You
are absolutely right to be concerned about making sure
that your son will be personally motivated to carry on his
higher education and be successful at it. Let Nancy help
you; she really can do it. Her website is
www.stepbystep4success.com.
Good luck with your teenager. Sharon.
Sept 2007
I wanted a referral for an Educational Therapist for a Middle School student, located in
the Orinda/Walnut Creek/ Lafayette/Moraga area. I wanted someone with a background with
Dyslexia and multisensory reading programs. Thank you!
Lisa
I highly recommned Bill Baldyga. He's worked with my son, and the
kids of a number of friends, and everyone has been thrilled with the results (including the kids).
His number is 415 216-8493, and his website is halcyonlearning.com. He comes to our home in the East
Bay. Good luck!
a parent of a now reading/spelling child
March 2007
Does any one know of a good educational therapist in the Albany,
Berkeley, El Cerrito Area? What is the going hourly rate? Also, has
anyone heard of the
Slingerland Method and if there are any programs in the area? Thank you.
anonymous
My 11 yo son sees Kristen Hawkinson. She's on Ashbury in El
Cerrito. We really like her and my son really loves her cause
she has 2 great dogs and they get to be part of the therapy.
My son has reading difficulties and thought organization. She's
helped him a lot this year with organizing his work among other
things. Her number is 526-8701. When I was looking for someone
last spring most of the ed. T's I called were booked but they
usually gave me someone elses number to try...eventually I found
Kristen who had summer openings and then into fall.
good luck.
anon
Go the website www.aetonline.org. You will find a list of
educational therapists in your area. They should be able to talk
about Slingerland (www.slingerland.org) as well as other
multi-sensory approaches.
Oakland Ed. Therapist
Feb 2006
I'm looking for a patient, creative educational therapist
to work with my 12 year old on core issues such as math
concepts, organization, etc. Recommendations please!
mother of math hater
My 12-year-old daughter has worked with Alan Perlberg for
three years. He has helped her immensely to get over her
fear of math and her feeling that she just can't get it.
Alan also works with her on organization, and serves as a
general academic coach. He has initiated meetings with her
teachers and the school's learning specialist. He is a kind
and caring man, and my daughter really vaules her time with
him. You can reach Alan at aperl[at]juno.com
anon
I have sent my son to Educational Services Associates for 3 years for fine
motor challenges in writing, organization and writing skills. He is a gifted
child who needed help accessing his abilities and learning new skills to work
around the challenges. ESA works with children of all ages and challenges. All
of the kids love it there. They are treated with respect and have fun there. The
kids may come in grumpy with their parent(s), but they leave after their
sessions happy and empowered. Ann Gordon is the director and her staff are
all wonderful. I highly recommend them. ESA is located at 230 Grand Avenue
in Oakland, next to Lake Merritt and St. Paul's. The phone number is 510
-873-0801. You may contact me if you wish to talk more about further. Good
luck.
tola
I recommend Linda Lawton. You can find her listing on the UC Parents
website (Oct. 8 2005), and also several parent recommendations of her
services. I am an early childhood teacher, and have known Linda as
professional collegue since 1980. She is caring, conscientious, and
knowledgeable.
Paula
June 2005
I'm looking for a literacy tutor who can help a child with
dyslexia and APD learn to read. I'd like someone who can give
me guidance on how to work with my daughter as well as meet
with her.
I think it's admirable that you want to work with you child. That
didn't work for us because our son got very emotional and was
easily frustrated when we did much beyond homework with him.
Also, we realized that when you hire an academic therapist, you
have someone who can help you navigate the LD maze at school and
at home. Finally, I think it's helpful to work with someone close
by so they can attend parent/teacher conferences and/or IEP
meetings at your son's school.
Here are three resources I can recommend to find someone in your
area who can work with your son:
(1) There is a wonderful section on how to locate, screen, and
work with Academic Therapists on this website:
http://www.dyslexia-ncbida.org/resources.html
(2) One of the first Educational Therapists I consulted with had
great things to say about the Reading Revolution program. I found
them to be a bit cheaper than going with a private ed therapist
but they didn't have any clinics near our home. Their main clinic
is in Walnut Creek. They also have a center in Oakland.
http://www.readingrevolution.com/CENTERS/locations.php
(3) Pam Scribner is the Director of the New Learning Clinic at UC
Extension. Her phone number is 643-8727. We called her, gave her
our zip code, and she gave me phone numbers for 3 educational
therapists in our area. Be prepared to pay $60-80/hour for
someone who has a Master's in Special Ed and a good amount of
experience.
Best of luck with your journey!
Sept 2003
I am looking for recommendations for educational therapists for
my 10 year old daughter. I have been given these names:
Linda Baker, Sabina Aurolia, Harriet Finkelstein and Marian
Marshall. I'm looking for experiences with these folks and
any other Educational Therapists in the East Bay (Berkeley, etc)
--Searching Mom
Dr.Ann Gordon of Educational Services Associates is the best
Educational Therapist I know of in the East Bay Area. She is
amazingly wise, kind and respectful when it comes to children.
The number is 873-0801 and her business is located on Grand
Avenue in Oakland. Good luck!
beh
Marion Marshall was involved in an evaluation of our son. She
told us she believed he had attention deficit disorder, although
he did not appear to have the symptoms that I read about. When
we had him tested by a psychologist, it turned out that he was
normal in every way except for his IQ, which was quite high.
When we gave the results to Ms. Marshall, she downplayed the
test results and started talking about problems with
his ''emotional intelligence'', yet did not offer any helpful
suggestions. I believe she did not really understand or like my
son and that clouded her judgment. I would not recommend her
for bright children.
anon
Earlier Recommendations
May 2001
We had had Pam Brandau as our educational consultant in 1999 (for a very
difficult child). We found out this year she was no longer doing the same
kind of educational consultating. However, she recommended Susan Skelton, in
San Jose (phone 408-296-5757). The two know each other well and work very
similarly. We used Susan's services recently and were very pleased. While
San Jose is a long way to go, we only needed to meet with her once and
everything else was done by phone, mail or email.
Debbie (May 2001)
Pam Brandeau, 547-1334, is an educational consultant used successfully by
our extended family to help a bright child who did well until BHS and then
promptly went down all the wrong roads. Pam helped find an appropriate
school and the "child" has now graduated, won early admission to the college
of her choice, and is a freshman there.
I want to second the recommendation for Pam Brandau as a college
counselor/educational consultant. My son and I have only seen her once, but
I felt she was the right person for him, has a lot of experience with kids
who don't fit in the usual "box" and are taking a different route. She
seemed to bring out the best in him and he liked her, too. The only problem
is that she is very busy and it is hard to reach her. Miriam
I have worked with Pam Brandau, Educational Consultant, and was very
pleased with her services. Her fees seem reasonable by comparison to other
consultants and I had heard good things about her from other parents. I
was consulting her for advice on boarding schools for teens.
Linnea
Pam Brandau Educational Resources (510) 834-4924
Can't say enough good things about Pam Brandau. She treats kids very
respectfully, seems genuinely interested in them as people,
determines their strong points, and keeps herself current on what's
available. What a relief it was to find someone who thinks
creatively and advocates for the best possible solution for your
child's educational and emotional needs.
Celia
From ML
With my daughter, we went to Nancy Colbert in Oakland and liked her.
Her phone number is 531-8789.
Re: Troubled daughter has stopped going to school (Jan. 2002)
to the person asking for information on wilderness programs etc. let me
suggest you go to this web site and then get in touch with michael connor,
he helped our family. http://www.education-options.com
good luck
joann
Susan Skelton
We had had Pam Brandau as our educational consultant in 1999 (for a very
difficult child). We found out this year she was no longer doing the same
kind of educational consultating. However, she recommended Susan Skelton, in
San Jose (phone 408-296-5757). The two know each other well and work very
similarly. We used Susan's services recently and were very pleased. While
San Jose is a long way to go, we only needed to meet with her once and
everything else was done by phone, mail or email.
Debbie (May 2001)
this page was last updated: May 27, 2012
The opinions and statements expressed on this website
are those of parents who subscribe to the
Berkeley Parents Network.
Please see
Disclaimer & Usage for
information about using content on this website.
Copyright © 1996-2013 Berkeley Parents Network