Educational Therapy Services in Rochester, NY

Educational therapy is a type of service where experts of various backgrounds work one-on-one with children outside of their school hours to provide individualized support with specific difficulties or problems that they may have that are interfering with their ability to succeed in school and socially. They are able to provide support for almost any kind of learning or thinking difference to build the child’s academic skills through study skills and organization, with the goal of building the child’s self-confidence. Educational therapy is not purely focused on academic success but on ensuring that the child has all of the skills they need (and if any of those skills need to be modified to fit the child’s individual needs) in order to exceed in all aspects of their life. The educational therapist will be able to teach the child different accommodations for their particular struggles while also teaching them coping strategies for any mental health conditions that may be interfering with the child’s ability to learn in a classroom, such as anxiety or ADHD.

The most significant difference between educational therapy and tutoring is that the tutor will likely have an approach that is purely academic based while providing support to the child who may be struggling in a specific subject or topic in school, whereas an educational therapist will be focusing on the child’s ability to learn in a school environment as a whole rather than focusing on one specific area. While many children only require tutoring to focus on a particular subject, they may not be getting the necessary one-on-one time for the topic from their teacher. In many cases, especially for younger children, there are other causes at play that are affecting the child’s ability to learn what is being taught at school. Educational therapists provide support beyond what a tutor is expected to in order to address any underlying causes that the child may have that are affecting their ability to succeed at school or socially, such as anxiety (math anxiety is a common issue that affects a child’s ability to succeed at math in school), ADHD, dyslexia, confidence, and much more.

The first step to finding an educational therapist who is a good fit for your child is to determine what kind of support your child may need. The Association of Educational Therapists will be able to provide you with recommendations of educational therapists in your area who may be a good fit for your child’s needs. The educational therapists that will be available have varying backgrounds, ensuring that there will be someone who is a suitable fit to address any of the specific concerns or issues that your child may be dealing with. Once you have picked an educational therapist, they will begin to work with your child to familiarize themselves with your child’s learning challenges as well as emotional and behavioral issues that may be impacting their ability to succeed in school. The educational therapist will then teach your child strategies that will improve their work habits, focus, time management, and organizational skills through a customized educational plan that includes assessments and progress tracking. The educational therapist will provide a safe environment for your child, acting as a link between their school and home life and allowing them to talk about any potential issues they may be facing while teaching them to self-advocate.

The goal of educational therapy is to provide children with the specialized support that they may be missing from school or at home to identify and address any underlying causes of their troubles at school. Most children have differences in how they learn and think, but it is impossible for a teacher to be able to address all of the needs of each individual child, so educational therapy will be able to identify those differences and provide accommodations that the child can use moving forward that will make succeeding academically and socially much easier. The long-term goal is that the child will have improved self-confidence and will be able to use what they learn through educational therapy in all aspects of their life.

To learn more about educational therapy, visit us at Westfall Associates. For more information, contact us or schedule an appointment online. We are conveniently located at 919 Westfall Road Building B, Suite 60 Rochester, NY 14618. We serve patients from Rochester NY, Brighton NY, West Henrietta NY, East Rochester NY, Irondequoit NY, Greece NY and surrounding areas.