Collaborative Educational Consulting |

Meeting the Needs of Students with Learning Differences

A child with learning differences faces many frustrating challenges and pressures. The resulting feelings of isolation and despair may keep a child from reaching his or her full potential. Finding a school or program that caters to your child's individual needs can lead to increased self-confidence and a positive attitude toward the future.

Recent legislation requires accommodations for students with learning disabilities. Some schools and colleges offer a minimal level of support through general resources such as tutorial writing and math centers. Others provide the services of a specialist who arranges for individualized support services. Additionally, there are schools and colleges which are comprised exclusively of students with learning disabilities. With the wide range of options available to learning disabled students, proper research is needed before choosing an educational program.

An educational consultant gets to know you and your child. The assessment process entails more than just the gathering of test scores. Consultants spend hours meeting with both the student and family in order to gain a better understanding of the student's background and general interests. A consultant combines the knowledge gained through personal interviews with information from school transcripts, teacher comments and prior testing to form a complete picture of your child. This individualized approach is crucial to finding the most suitable educational setting.

An educational consultant may recommend specialized tests. To accurately identify your child's individual needs, a consultant may suggest further testing; some provide psycho-educational testing services in their office. Educational consultants work as a team with psychologists and other counseling professionals to understand your child's individual learning style. A thorough and objective assessment provides the consultant with the information necessary to help each student and family formulate a customized educational plan.

A consultant encourages your child's independence. Successful independence relies upon each student's ability to identify a specific challenge, develop appropriate compensation strategies, and advocate for him or herself. A critical part of each decision is knowing when to collaborate with a friend or parent, consult with a mentor, or follow through independently. Consultants support students as they seek a variety of opportunities to pursue their interests.

An educational consultant helps children define their own personal strengths and challenges and identify appropriate educational settings which accommodate them.

The consultant is skilled at matching your child's individual academic profile to a school or program that addresses his or her unique learning style.

A consultant has extensive knowledge of schools and their available support services. Educational consultants visit and evaluate hundreds of schools and programs each year. Their knowledge of each school's profile, including student-teacher ratio, teacher credentials, availability of learning aids like computers and tape recorders, and various characteristics of the student body, provides you with firsthand information about your options. Consultants also may recommend appropriate academic and vocational alternatives.

An educational consultant listens to your special concerns, thoroughly investigates the options and continues to monitor your child's progress to ensure that your child is placed in an academically and socially appropriate learning environment.

Hiring a Consultant

Advice for students and families
An educational consultant is a skilled professional who provides counseling to help student and family choose a school, college or other program that is a good personal match: one that will foster this particular student's academic and social growth. Educational consultants can provide a student and family with individual attention, firsthand knowledge of hundreds of educational opportunities, and the time to explore all of the options.

Consulting specialties:

�	College admission
�	Day & Boarding School
�	At Risk Teens
�	International studies
�	Learning disabilities

Collaborative educational consultanting (CEC) are professionals who assist students and families with educational decision making. The advantages of a parent using CEC are they:

  1. are skilled and experienced in matching a child's needs with the strengths of schools and programs.
  2.   have personally visited most of the schools.
3. know the facts .
4.  are part of a nation-wide network they can tap into.
  5.can save parents money by helping them avoid common "mistakes."
6. are parents themselves, so they have "been there."

We specialize in helping parents identify appropriate programs and/or services for children with academic or behavioral difficulties.