ducational Therapy conjures up many unpleasant images in the minds of children. Lynne reports a child once asking if she were a teacher or a doctor. When she asked him why he wondered, he said that he had already seen enough of “those kind of people!” Her answer? She told him that she was a plumber. When he asked why, she told him, “Because I patch holes and fill cracks.” Lynne reports that the young man responded, “Ok! I can handle that!”
The educational therapist also strives to help parents work with their children at home, fostering independence, and supporting their students as educational challenges increase.
In day-to-day practice, however, educational therapy is so individualized that it is hard to describe. Lynne works on establishing a remedial plan for each student. In it, she examines reports sent by other professionals, school records, parent information, and brief on-site grade level tests. With this information, she is able to determine if a student needs help in one or more areas, including reading, spelling, written expression, and math. She also works with study skills—including note taking, test preparation, binder organization, backpack organization, homework scheduling, and efficiency. Lynne will do homework with a student in order to advance one of the skills listed above, however, the intent of educational therapy is not tutoring. She strongly feels that while tutoring may get a student through the week, correcting the underlying issue(s)—whether academic, conceptual, or organizational—will make the student into an independent learner who will then require much less outside assistance.
The educational therapist also strives to help parents work with their children at home, fostering independence, and supporting their students as educational challenges increase. Lynne says, “The goal of my programs is to teach a student and his family to help themselves with sound methods that foster educational excellence.” When this happens, Lynne says that everyone is successful and more time is available for the family to enjoy other activities in a home free of schoolwork related tensions.
When more comprehensive evaluation is necessary, Lynne refers to a neuropsychologist, whom she states “provides the blue-print for educational assistance.” For more information, see [email protected]
The National Center for Learning Disabilities describes executive functioning as "A set of mental processes that help connect past experience with present action." Executive functioning includes planning, organizing, strategic thinking, time-management, spatial awareness, and detail memory. It is an everyday function that allows us to plan, initiate, track time, access past learning, evaluate ideas, research, and manage impulses.
While this skill is necessary for everyday life, it is imperative for the school-aged population. Lynne Merrill helps students learn how to organize, plan, and use test-taking and study skills to achieve higher grades and long-term recall of information. To be successful, students will learn to develop long-term memory of information needed for educational progress.
An executive functioning disorder often involves other skills at home and in the community. In some cases, an executive functioning disorder is accompanied by an attentive disorder (i.e., ADHD, ADD, ADD-NOS) that is typically addressed by a neuropsychologist through diagnosis and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Appropriate referrals are provided to families who are seeking this type of assistance.
For more information about executive functioning please visit the National Center for Learning Disabilities website...
When I first met with Lynne, she assured me that our daughter would be okay—that she was an intelligent girl with Dyslexia and Executive Functioning problems. We had pursued so many programs at so many other places, and I thought we were being lead down the same road.
I couldn’t have been more wrong. Everyone at Merrill Educational Center is welcoming and warm. Lynne, who calls her students “my kids,” takes a deeply personal interest in their success. She is upbeat and positive—all of the time. You can sense the love that she has for what she does and the children she teaches. She is the quintessential teacher; we are glad she is in our lives.
Our daughter will never “NOT be Dyslexic,” but listening to her read with fluency and comprehension, you would never know that! Lynne did what she promised, and it has made a difference for our whole family.