Educational Therapy

ASSESSMENT

Educational therapy begins with an assessment of skills. At Lighthouse, we offer different levels of evaluation, ranging in breadth. Our assessment process is designed to help us determine a student’s needs and the results lead to specific programming recommendations. The goal of these recommendations is to support a student’s growth within his or her current educational setting, or to help families select the most appropriate learning environment. Therefore, the programming plan may include consultation with the student’s teacher on appropriate classroom instruction and accommodations, student participation in individual or small-group instruction, student participation in enrichment programs, parent training, school referrals, and/or evaluation and treatment with a specialist in another field.

INSTRUCTION

For most students, one-to-one instruction can provide the best results in the briefest period of time. A program that includes individual instruction should result in a minimum of four to five sessions each week of one-to-one instruction in a specific area of challenge or need. Group instruction may also be available, at a reduced cost, if an appropriate dyad or group is available.

For students with severe discrepancies between aptitude and achievement, or for students with weaknesses in multiple areas of functioning, up to twenty hours of individual instruction each week, using multiple programs, may be recommended. Instruction may take place online, in the student’s home, or at the student’s school.

PROGRAMS

Lindamood Phoneme Sequencing™

It has been identified that problems in reading and spelling are often caused by the inability to perceive and identify the separate sounds within words. This is due to weak phonemic awareness and this weakness can result in adding, omitting, substituting and reversing sounds within words while reading and spelling. Students with this difficulty may be labeled dyslexic and might read the word “sting” for “string” or “cats” for “cast.” These students may be very inaccurate spellers and their invented spellings may not appear to be closely related to the actual sounds or their order within the words. Lighthouse Learning Solutions utilizes Lindamood Phoneme Sequencing™ program (LiPS™) to address difficulties in phonemic awareness and phonetic processing by connecting sounds to letters and to the oral-motor sensation generated when producing those sounds.

Seeing Stars™

The reading process is not simply a matter of sounding out words, and phonetic processing skills are not enough to attain fluency in reading. Some students may have good phonemic awareness but still read and spell slowly and inaccurately. For those students, there is a weakness in the area of visual memory. They may accurately sound out words but, when they see those words later in context, they are unable to recognize them and thus sound them out again. These students may also spell phonetically but inaccurately- for example, writing “e-n-u-f” for “enough” or “l-i-t-e” for “light.” They may successfully memorize words for a spelling test, but then spell the same words incorrectly in context just a few days later. For these students, it is necessary to develop the visual memory for letters and words (orthographic memory), which will aid them in retaining and applying mental images of words for quick and accurate word recognition and spelling.

Lighthouse Reading Solution™

The Lighthouse Reading Solution™ was developed in response to the needs of students who struggle with all aspects of reading. It integrates the theory and steps of successful reading programs and applies these steps to cohesive text of increasing complexity. This program stimulates phonemic awareness, which helps students accurately sound out new words, and orthographic memory, which enables students to retain mental pictures of words for sight-word recognition and spelling. Most importantly, however, this program teaches students to connect language to their senses in order to accurately comprehend text. It is a comprehensive and engaging reading program that simultaneously addresses all aspects of reading difficulties, including reading accuracy, reading fluency, and reading comprehension.

Read Naturally™

Once students have strengthened the foundational cognitive pathways needed for fluent reading, lots of practice can provide the final step to bringing their reading to grade level. Read Naturally® offers a motivating and structured approach to increasing reading fluency. Daily practice and repeated reading provide the exposure to text that allows students to increase their sight-word base, develop confidence and speed, and improve expression while reading.

Visualizing and Verbalizing®

Students with comprehension difficulties may struggle with understanding what they read and what they hear. Often they may need to read information several times to understand it or they may just memorize information for a test without ever truly comprehending the material. They might have trouble paying attention in class, experience difficulty in following oral directions and struggle with test taking, organization and expressive language. The Visualizing and Verbalizing® program teaches students to visualize what they read and hear, and to create good images for others when they speak or write.

Talkies®

For students who are very young or experience significant challenges with oral language, the Talkies® program works to address receptive and expressive language difficulties. This program systematically and effectively teaches students to connect oral language to mental imagery, providing a foundation for increased oral expression and listening comprehension.

Integrated Play Groups®

Some students experience difficulty in developing play and social skills to a level that allows them to regularly experience joy and success with peer interaction. Challenges in this area can lead to feelings of frustration and isolation, as the social arena becomes more complex and demanding. Using Pamela Wolfberg’s model of Integrated Play Groups®, we evaluate a student’s current level of play skills and interests, and work to build upon these skills through facilitated social interactions with peers. For students who seem to prefer playing alone, this process provides a foundation for true enjoyment and comfort with peer play.

Social Thinking®

For students who lack some of the concrete language and behavioral skills needed for success in the social arena, individual or small group instruction provides opportunities to learn social skills in a structured format and setting. Using Michelle Garcia Winner’s model of Social Thinking®, we evaluate a student’s current level of skills, and work to build upon these skills through individual and small group instruction designed to develop understanding and appropriate use of typical social language and behavior.

On Cloud Nine Math®

For students who struggle with math concepts and computation, the On Cloud Nine® program addresses math weaknesses by starting with the creation of a good conceptual foundation for numerals, the number line, and numerical operations. Through this program students learn to visualize and understand math processes and to accurately visualize word problems to determine what they need to know and plan a strategy for solving. This fun and interactive program can be beneficial to students of all ages who struggle with math.

BrainWare Safari®

This program is for students who need support in developing the ability to focus, sustain, and shift attention. Students participate daily in computer-based cognitive skill building programs, designed to increase working memory and processing speed along with attention and response to relevant auditory and visual cues. The tasks take the form of games and students progress at their own rates to levels of increasing difficulty. The goal of this program is to engage students in the process of improving memory and training their brains to attend to relevant stimuli, thus making them more available for academic instruction.

Handwriting Without Tears®

This program is for students who need to develop handwriting skills in order to express themselves in writing with greater ease and legibility. Trained instructors consult with an occupational therapist and use the Handwriting Without Tears® curriculum to support visual motor development and improve legibility of print.

Organizational Skills

Even after students have worked to increase attention and focus through cognitive skills development, changes in routine and diet, and/or medical management, they may lack the concrete tools needed to stay organized and on top of the expectations of home and school. Participation in this program provides students with opportunities to engage in lessons and activities designed to increase self-monitoring and organization. Students are taught multiple strategies for learning and studying, and encouraged to identify and utilize the strategies that work best for them.

Subject-Area Tutoring

For a student struggling with a particular subject in school, the learning needs evaluation will help determine the underlying causes of the difficulty. The individual learning plan may include a period of intensive intervention devoted to strengthening foundational skills. Following this period of intervention, sessions will be designed to guide the student to begin applying those developing skills to the difficult academic subject.

Enrichment Sessions

For students seeking extra challenge in an area of strength, individually designed enrichment programs can be arranged. Weekly sessions can be conducted in a one-to-one or a small group format, and tailored to the needs and interests of the students. Some classes may offer accelerated programming with higher-level concepts and materials, while other classes may offer time to delve into and express understanding of a topic of interest, in great depth.

Homework Help

Students can schedule time between the hours of 2:30 and 6:00 p.m. to receive homework help or opportunities to complete assignments in a structured and supportive setting. Homework help is not intended to take the place of subject area tutoring. If your child is struggling or needs support in a specific subject area, individual tutoring sessions should be arranged.

RATES

Basic Academic Evaluation	$525
Comprehensive Learning Needs Evaluation	$1,275
Individual Sessions	$75-$110/hour
Group Sessions	$45-$65/hour
Training & Consultation	$150/hour

*Siblings and students enrolled in multiple programs receive 10% off services.
*There is no fee for any progress assessment conducted within 24 months of the initial evaluation!

 

Lighthouse Learning Solutions is NOT Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes nor is it affiliated with, certified, endorsed, licensed, monitored or sponsored by Lindamood-Bell, Nanci Bell, Phyllis Lindamood or Pat Lindamood. Lindamood-Bell – an international organization creating and implementing unique instructional methods and programs for quality intervention to advance language and literacy skills – in no way endorses or monitors the services provided by Lighthouse Learning Solutions.