WHAT IS EDUCATIONAL THERAPY?

Educational Therapy takes place within specialized, one-on-one sessions that are tailored to meet the specific academic needs of the individual student. Various methods are used to optimize the student’s strengths so that they may subsequently be utilized to fortify his or her weaknesses. Because many students need to have concepts broken down into manageable “chunks,” the educational therapist approaches sessions with methodical organization and structure. Educational therapy also focuses on teaching a student compensatory strategies that provide clarity and thereby allow the student to experience success in the classroom and beyond. In addition to academic remediation and the strengthening of the sub-skills that comprise learning, educational therapy can also improve a student’s underlying processing skills so that learning new material can be facilitated.

Educational Therapy sessions are one-on-one, with the educational therapist and student intensively working together for 50 minute sessions. Although it is recommended that a student meets with the educational therapist for a minimum of two sessions per week, each student’s plan will be discussed on a case-by-case basis during the intake session.

Who needs Educational Therapy?

All children have the innate desire to be successful in school. As Mel Levine (a guru in the field of special education) remarks, “laziness is a myth” and “everybody yearns to be productive.” When a child continues to struggle despite parent-teacher interventions or private academic tutoring, he or she should be evaluated for underlying learning deficits by a licensed neuropsychologist or clinical psychologist who specializes in learning issues. Instead of placing blame on a student for not performing in school, it is imperative that the student is evaluated to discover what is thwarting his or her progress. Unfortunately, children do not “outgrow” learning problems, and it is important to begin intervention as soon as possible to mitigate and potentially prevent self-esteem problems and unnecessary daily stress.

Educational Therapy vs. Tutoring vs. Classroom Teaching:

Educational therapy addresses underlying learning skills such as visual and auditory processing, attention and focus, and memory skills. Academic skills such as reading and writing are remediated by teaching strategies necessary for learning to read, write, calculate, and problem solve. An educational therapist has been to graduate and oftentimes post-graduate school in preparations for working with all types of learners.
Tutoring focuses on re-teaching academic subjects and helps with homework. A tutor can be the high school student next door or anyone who is proficient with the subject at hand.
A teacher is responsible for educating a large group of students with varying learning abilities. Although he or she would like to individually work with students who may be having difficulties, time and resources usually do not enable the teacher to do so.

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ABOUT US

MEET ILLUMINATE

Andrea Chernin
Founder, M.ED, ET

At Illuminate Educational Therapy Group, we specialize in connecting students with independent educational specialists who offer compassionate support tailored to each child’s unique learning needs. With expertise in learning differences, we ensure personalized matches between families and the right educational therapists, learning specialists, or executive functioning coaches.

Our Approach

Personalized Matching: We carefully assess each student’s educational needs, learning preferences, and personality traits to refer them to the most suitable specialist. This ensures a thoughtful match with a qualified educational therapist, learning specialist, or executive functioning coach who can provide the most effective and supportive guidance.
Diverse Professional Team: Our team includes independent professionals skilled in various aspects of educational support. With extensive experience in learning challenges like ADHD and processing disorders, they are committed to helping students identify and develop their strengths.
Holistic Approach: We focus not only on academic skills but also on fostering executive functioning, attention, and self-confidence. Our referred specialists provide comprehensive support that helps students thrive academically and personally, empowering them to succeed both in the classroom and beyond.
Service Areas: We proudly serve students throughout Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, South Bay, Sherman Oaks, Encino, Calabasas, and surrounding areas, ensuring that our compassionate services are accessible to many families. Our sessions are either in-office, in-home, or virtual.

We invite you to learn more about our empathetic approach and meet our network of professionals who are dedicated to making a difference in your child's life.

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MEET THE EDUCATORS

SUCCESSES

STUDENT SUCCESS

"My son has been seeing Lisa on a regular basis and her caring and compassionate guidance helps me sleep at night. My child shows little interest in school or his homework except in Lisa's magical presence. He is enthusiastic about his studies when he is with her. She has boosted his self-confidence and his grades have improved. She capitalizes on his strengths and he is happy when he leaves her office. She keeps him organized and sends me regular reminders and educational tips to help him. She sees his brilliance when the school system does not and, as a mother, I am heartened by her achievements with him. We are lucky to have her!"

-Jessica K.

"I have been a student of Kasie's since I was in the 4th grade. She has helped me through elementary, middle, and high school. I don't think I would have gotten through elementary school, much less graduated high school if it wasn't for her. Kasie truly cares about her students and works to see them succeed in both academic and personal life. She has pushed me when I thought I couldn't go any further and proved to me that if I really want something, I can achieve it. Kasie is a compassionate, caring, devoted teacher and friend who I will strongly suggest to anyone seeking an educational therapist. I have seen Kasie twice a week, every week for the past ten years, and it will be very strange next year not seeing her at my regular appointments when I am in college. Kasie truly helped me achieve my goals and has been an amazing friend along the way. I am truly blessed to have her in my life."

-Kelly K.

“Dear Amanada, Happily, my daughter has been doing so well this year, not just academically, but socially and emotionally. She has been such a joy to be with this year. I think that among other factors, her work with you has given her the stability and confidence of getting her organizational and time management skills working better as well as her reading and writing skills. I think, too that because she feels you are so much on her wavelength that you can function as a confidante which means that you are her ally and there is never any conflict about coming to see you. That hasn’t been true of many other appointments that she was “forced” to keep. Ultimately, I have been able to stay out of her homework and out of her face about her homework (unless very occasionally asked for help) and she has been doing exceptionally well. Her midterm grades (which I should copy for you) showed a current 96 or 97% in core! Imagine that a year or two ago! She is very ho-hum about the grade because it isn’t final, but I reminded her what a remarkable accomplishment it is in itself. She smiled a slow wide smile as she recognized the truth of it. So thank you for all your work and support .”

-Tiffany F.

"For over 5 years Anel was my daughter's educational therapist. She saw her raw strengths and nurtured them. Anel was aware of her range of skills, helped her navigate through her weakness, set high and realistic expectations and validated hard work. My daughter grew and flourished under her guidance. Anel is knowledgeable about various learning styles and employs appropriate modalities to support her students. My daughter was always given words of encouragement and was rewarded with praise. Now as a college student, she views Anel as a mentor and envisions working in a similar profession. As a parent, I found her to be a extraordinary communicator and collaborator."

-Marion H.

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"One of my boys has ADHD, the other is high-functioning on the Autism Spectrum. They would not have made it through middle and high school without Sarah's guidance and coaching. They both saw her for 6 years and she was a lifeline. She kept them focused on homework, projects and deadlines and took the pressure off of me. The boys looked forward to seeing her each week and I was surprised how much they accomplished in an hour; she really kept them on task. I highly recommend Illuminate to anyone looking for an experienced educational therapist."

-Ann M

All I regret about Manny is that I did not find her earlier! All I know is that Scott has been working with one of her tutors for a bit over a year twice a week and his progress report was outstanding, his parent/teacher conference glowing. He comes home, he takes off his shoes/mask/bookbag and puts them away, and starts his 30-40 of homework with excitement; prior he threw his stuff everywhere and I was yelling at him to write 1 paragraph. He reads because he LOVES it. He asks me to order books. This was a kid that I was begging to read. He will do football/baseball/tennis and after going to whomever’ s house after the sport and before dinner with them, asks if he can have 30 minutes of time in a room alone to get his homework done before eating dinner with them. Do you understand how HUGE this is? And more importantly, this ed therapist has not changed the vibe of Scott – still charming, a people person, all about relationships, funny, witty and can think out of the box -- same amazing Scott, but with a passion and direction for school. He sees the point of school. A Scott that can advocate for himself if he doesn’t understand something or needs more time. A Scott that doesn’t just guess at a test and rush through it, a Scott that takes his time, thinks about what he’s learned, shows his work and checks his work. No way can a parent or tutor achieve that. No way.

-Nancy M.

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