As I look at your site, I see that it is ADHD treatment.
Well, ADHD students is sort of one population that we work with.
We really work with all types of students who have special education needs, including ADHD,
but also learning disabilities like dyslexia, autism, speech and language challenges, executive
functioning challenges, all types of special education needs. Yes, yes, yes. That is awesome.
And this will just be very random of me to state, but my daughter works with autism, children with
autism, and now she is the project manager to build buildings for the children of autism and
create sensory rooms and all that kind of stuff. So I find it in my heart that that's such a big,
big thing. And I know that it's like Dr. Phyllis or Oprah should say, but children are the future,
right? Wherever they are, we need to meet them where they are. And I see that that's something
that you are focusing on. How long have you been in business? Definitely. It's been about a little
over 20 years now dating myself, but it's time flies. But yeah, it's been about that long.
Wow. When you decided to get into this field, tell me about your vision for it.
Sure. Well, I kind of have an interesting story of how I got into it. I grew up in the field of
special education. My mother was the founder of a school for students with learning disabilities in
Florida, which is where I grew up. So I spent so much of my childhood working at my mother's
school, observing kids, working with kids, but sort of felt like I wanted to carve my own path and
at the time not follow in my mother's shadow. So I ended up going to Brown University and then I
actually did two years of finance, which is almost the polar opposite of education. And even though
it was a great learning experience for me, and I really learned a lot about sort of the business
side of what I do, I quickly learned that it wasn't my passion. It wasn't my calling. And so on the
side, when I was still working in finance, I personally started tutoring kids one-on-one who
had special education needs because I had this whole background of working with kids. And I really
quickly, pretty quickly saw a vision and saw what a need there was for more and more of these kinds
of services. I was only one person. I could only see so many kids, but I very slowly and organically
started to bring on other tutors who specialized in different skill areas, whether it was early
childhood reading or advanced math or writing, and just organically grew my business into what
it was today. So I saw the vision from the very beginning, but it's really been such an exciting
journey to really sort of see that vision through and to watch it continue to evolve.
Absolutely. Well, that now makes all the sense in the world. It sounds like it's in your DNA.
I take it in my genes. I tell people that a lot, yes.
Yes. And then to try financing. It's so funny how we try to go ahead and create our own journey
when our passion is actually who we are and in us. And now, you found that love and 20 years later,
you're still doing something so great for everyone, the world in general. What's your why?
Well, I love how gratifying my career is. I'm able to really touch and change the lives of so many
kids. And so unlike other fields, which some people may be passionate about, for me, having such a
real tangible effect on children's lives is really my why. It's why I go to work every day and why I
have so much passion in what I do. And that makes all the sense in the world. One thing that I love
about children is they're so honest and so appreciative. And I can only imagine the love
and the things that they say that keep you going every day. It's like, I didn't even realize that,
but they're so quick to give us a pat on the back. So I love that. I love that. What are some common
misconceptions about learning disabilities that you work through to correct when you're coaching
or you're talking to parents about how this will benefit their children?
Well, I think one misconception people often have with learning disabilities is that they think an
individual with a learning disability is not smart or has a low IQ. And it's usually the polar
opposite. Many of the most intellectually gifted, most brilliant people in the world have dyslexia
or ADHD or a learning disability. And what's interesting is that some of the greatest leaders
and visionaries in our world, in our country, have these learning challenges. And getting through
school is the challenge. But if they can get the right support and the right tools to get through
school, the possibilities are endless in terms of their career. So I would say that's probably the
biggest misconception. It's not at all about intellect. It's about needing to be taught in
a different way that's suitable for them to help them get through school.
Absolutely. And so when you have a family that's interested in coming and getting involved,
I know that it's probably something it's like, okay, now I have to help my child be acclimated
into a different environment. What is that like when they come to you and don't know much about
it? And then what's the transformation in them as you continue to work with their children and they
see what their misconception was? Sure. Well, usually that the first call we get is my child
is struggling. They're difficulty learning how to read. They're having trouble with writing. They
can't solve math, word problems or whatever it is. And the parent often doesn't really know how to
help their own child. They don't always work well with their own child. So they're really
looking for outside support and the outside support can make a world of difference in the
child's academic success and in their self-confidence. And I love watching parents
see their own child evolve and go from a struggling child with low self-confidence to
slowly and over time with this one-on-one support become a much stronger student,
feel good about their skills. It often helps them with their social lives, with their happiness.
It really trickles into so many other aspects of their lives in a positive way. So I really
love watching that transformation. Absolutely. And I'm smiling because I'm like, I can feel it.
And it's super exciting for me to, number one, be introduced to you and have you on the show because
so many people that I speak with, their business differs from what you're doing right now. And I
love the fact that this is something that you've stuck to for 20 years and you still seem as
passionate about it today as you were when it began. One of the things that we often think about
is the approach from individualized learning and traditional educational methods. And what
are the advantages to the individualized learning for the children that you are helping?
Well, traditional teaching can work for many students, but just doesn't work for every student.
And especially if the child is neurodiverse, if they have a learning disability or an intentional
challenge, they really need to be taught in a different way. We pull from about 22 different
research-based techniques that are individualized to the needs of each student. And when we're able
to identify a specific method or sometimes a combination of methods that works best for a child,
it's amazing what a transformation we see. All of a sudden, they start to learn, they absorb
information, and they can retain it in their long-term memory. So it makes a tremendous
difference to have that individualized instruction, especially for a child who has a learning or an
intentional challenge. Yes. How big is your staff? We have about 60 tutors on board, and they each
specialize in different areas. Nice. Nice. And so once you get that call, do you just bring the
parent and the children in, and then they go through an assessment? Would you mind walking me
through that? Sure. So usually when possible, I like to be the one to have that initial call,
just to learn more about the child, to speak to the parent, to find out what's going on.
If the child has an IEP, which is an individualized educational plan or an evaluation that's been done,
it's usually helpful to read that as well. And then from there, we do an initial evaluation
of our own to really gauge where the student is at from an academic standpoint, so that then when
we begin the tutoring, we can come up with an individualized learning plan using the right
method or combination of methods that are most suitable for that child. Okay. That makes a lot
of sense. You know, so I'm thinking, right? All the stuttering is from my thinking, and I'm a parent
as well. You know, sometimes they'll send home that letter and they'll say your child is not doing so
well and, you know, reading. Usually it's, you know, ELAR, you know, reading language, any of that.
And then it sparks this thought in our mind, like, what are they struggling with? What is,
what's the challenge, right? Immediately as a parent, we're in the fix-it mode. And so we're
like, okay, we're going to call someone, we're going to go into it, and we're going to try to
figure things out and often feel lost in that. Is that some of those, is that like some of the calls
you get? Absolutely. In fact, that often happens around the time of parent-teacher conferences or
report cards where the beginning of the school year, the child's just getting settled, and then
the teacher starts to realize, you know what, something may not be right here, the child's
really struggling. And absolutely, that's where we can come in and really help the family, help the
child, learn more about what's going on. Sometimes we even work with the child's teacher and stay in
touch with them so that we can all work as a team in really making sure we turn that around and we
help the child's skills start to improve. You took the question out of my head because, you know,
when I speak and I'm just going to be very transparent when I do speak to my children's
teacher, I'm like, hey, we're a team. You know, wherever I send her to, I'm going to have to tell
you about it for this team effort. So I love that you said, you know, we work with the teacher
sometimes too because, you know, as a parent, we'll send them somewhere and never really have that
communication, and then they see your child doing better. That's another resource for the school.
So now my mind is being blown like there's a difference between traditional education and
individualized because it does give resources for the schools. Are you a resource for the schools
in New Jersey and New York? Definitely. Many schools will refer us as an option for families
if the child's having difficulty and they need extra support. And yes, we always find the more
we can work as a team, the better it is for the child. Definitely. And I believe you might have
answered this question, but I'm going to ask it anyway, definitely for the audience. But I
feel like there's so much you've said that does answer it. But what are the greatest joys of what
you do? Well, there are so many joys in what I do. I love, number one, helping children, watching
them thrive, watching them grow from struggling to just thriving and everything in between.
I love that I'm constantly learning myself. I try to stay on top of the latest research.
I listen to parents and I learn from them. I observe children and I learn from them as well.
I feel like I'm constantly learning and absorbing information myself. And I love new opportunities
that continue to come up in what I do. No day is the same. Every day is different. I have different
conversations with people on a daily basis. And I just love the uniqueness of that and the fact
that every day of my life is something different and something new that often comes up. Yes, yes.
With that being said, there's so many people that will be watching this. And in my mind,
although you're the founder, you're also a leader, right? You're leading, number one, a team of 60
plus people. You're also leading these children in the right direction and being able to do that
has, is a lot, is a lot. What is the best leadership experience you've had? And not only
just being with the children, but as I mentioned, you have 60 plus staff. Yeah. I think the number
one thing for me is really being a good listener. I'm constantly trying to solve problems every day,
whether it's a big problem or not so big problem. I'm always having to come up with the best solution
for whatever the issue is at hand. And so I try to really listen to whoever I'm speaking to,
understand what the issue is, put myself in that situation, come up with the best solution based on
the information that I have. And I think that's kind of part of being a leader. You can't get
overwhelmed by situations that come up or problems that need to be solved, but really look at them as
a learning opportunity and an opportunity to continue to evolve and become better at what you
do. That is a big part of it. Yes. So I had this random, another random question. 20 years ago,
would you have believed you would be here 20 years later? I would say the answer is no. I don't think,
you know, looking back, I was so young and naive and, you know, didn't really know where my life
was going to go. I thought I was going to do finance and then I didn't, that wasn't going to
work out. And so I kind of was just in exploration mode. And when I started working with children,
like I mentioned, I saw a vision for creating something larger, but I didn't really know how
to do it at the time. I didn't know what kind of path it would take for me to get to where I am now.
And so the answer is no, I don't think I would have seen myself where I am now,
but I am so happy with my journey and where I am now that I couldn't really imagine it happening
any differently. Yes. And I'm cheesing from ear to ear because, you know, we don't know what our
journey looks like. And you have, you have reached a place to where you're now able to reflect over
the past 20 years and say, wow, you know, this is something that I would have never thought would be.
And I want to tell you how proud of you I am. Thank you so much. That really means a lot.
You're welcome. I mean, even just reading your website and seeing the passion in you and knowing
that you have so many others that's working together with you to make this happen, I think
it's so important. And because you've been in it so long, do you believe that it's becoming more
of a challenge for parents to lean on an outside source in order to help their children or has it
become easier? Well, I think that neurodiversity and having a learning disability or ADHD is much
more accepting than it used to be. I think more parents are open to having their child tested,
to receiving a diagnosis, to seeking the right support. I think there's less of a stigma than
there used to be. So in that way, I think it's really a good thing. I mean, Paris Hilton just
released a whole article on her ADHD and how it's her superpower. So I think the more awareness and
the more people like that that come out about how the positive aspects of this challenge is, the
better. So I really think in that sense, parents are more open minded and more open to helping
their child and less concerned about any stigma that might be surrounding it. And you used a
great word and that's what it is, is a lot of stigma. I know that even being a parent, I have a
29 year old and 29 years ago, I didn't think that this was something that would help out. And
a lot of people did not get their children diagnosed, right? Because they just thought it was
a learning issue. It's the class, it's the kids, it's the talking, it's this. And so having someone,
I encourage people, the minute you think that something is different, I won't say the word
wrong, different about your child and you find struggles, it's okay to reach out to people like
Dr. Libby. It's okay to ask questions. It's okay to want to get them help. And I'm super excited
for you. I'm super excited for the next 10 to 20 years that you have. And I'm just going to see
this big building. You're going to own like this whole building. Do you own a building already?
I don't own a building, maybe one day. And have you expanded? So are you in different locations?
How many offices do you have? We have two physical locations. And then,
really for the past four and a half years now, we have developed an amazing online platform for our
virtual tutoring. So we have kids not only around the country, but around the world. We have students
in Asia and Africa, and it's really exciting. And it's allowed us to really reach so many kids who
need this kind of specialized tutoring, Orton-Gillingham Instructure, but who may not
have access to it in their local areas. So that's been really exciting. And I hope that continues to
grow and evolve as well. And absolutely. That really excited me. You see me clap. I was like, yay!
Was it the pandemic that expanded that, may I ask? Sure. So we did offer virtual tutoring before the
pandemic, but it definitely took off. As soon as the pandemic started, I had to quickly pivot and
turn everything virtual and develop new materials that were virtual and really recreate a lot of
what we didn't have. So while it existed on a smaller scale, it's much greater than it was before
then. Thank you for being here today. I'm really happy that you tuned in to Vision Pros Live. I'm
looking forward to seeing your reactions as these episodes continue to move forward. This is going
to get more and more fun. We'll have more and more engagement as well. We'll invite people to
participate in the show. And thank you for giving us your time and attention. Have an excellent
time building out your vision and becoming a Vision Pro yourself.