What is Educational Therapy?
- Sam Tolkin
- Jan 22, 2021
- 3 min read
Every time I mention to someone that I am an educational therapist, I am met with confused looks, or questions about what it is. To help increase awareness of what educational therapy is and how it can help children and adults with varying learning differences I am sharing a brief overview based on this article written by understood.org.
In the article, the authors do a great job outlining: What educational therapy is, the various ways educational therapists can assist people with learning differences, and ways to find and contact educational therapists.
What is Educational Therapy?
Educational therapy is the practice of providing one-on-one skill training/remediation to students (children or adults) with a learning difference (ADHD, Executive Function difficulties, Math struggles, and more). They are NOT tutors. While tutors can help students with specific problems or assignments, an educational therapist will help the student learn how to understand and overcome the underlying issue that is causing a problem. For example, a student who is having issues completing their homework could see a tutor, who helps the student complete the work. An educational therapist would take time to understand if the issue is that the student does not understand how to complete the homework, where to find the assignments, or their backpack is disorganized making it difficult to find the homework when they need to hand it in.
Educational therapists can have various backgrounds, so it is important to take time to research someone's background if they claim to be an educational therapist. Here at The Learning Navigators, we make sure our educational therapists have a mix of a certificate in Educational Therapy, are working towards (or have) a Master's (or higher) in an Education field or have a certificate/degree in a related field, for example a social worker or speech therapist.
How can Educational Therapy help a student?
Since educational therapy is provided in a one-on-one setting, the educational therapist can individualize their instruction to better suit the needs and personality of the student. Most educational therapists are trained to help students identify, manage, and improve on their academics struggles. They help fill the gap that exists between needing a tutor (who lacks the understanding of learning differences) and a doctor/therapist (who lacks the educational background required to help the student academically).
Educational therapists also help their students and their students' families by acting as a case manager. They bring together all parties involved with the student's education to make one collaborative team. They also advocate for the student, while teaching the student how to advocate for themselves and will often work with the schools to develop effective educational plans for the student.
How to find an Educational Therapist?
The best way to find an educational therapist is through the Association of Educational Therapists (AET) website. This is because AET does not allow educational therapists to be listed on their website without having them provide evidence of qualifications related to special education. In addition, they require all members who are educational therapists to meet specific continuing education requirements to ensure they are up to date with the latest research on effective teaching and remediation methods.
If you have more questions about educational therapy, or are interested in educational therapy services, please reach out to The Learning Navigators at northstar@thelearningnavigators.com for a free consultation.
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