Learning Resource Integration for Students with Learning Differences
Cooper Consulting was founded to help students with learning differences achieve academic success…with reduced stress!
Taking the First Step
Identifying Your Student's Learning Difficulties
A number of children struggle to keep up with their peers when it comes to schoolwork. These difficulties may be longstanding or could be emerging as schoolwork becomes more demanding. When beginning the process of researching learning resource integration for your student, it is important to ask yourself some of the following questions:
- Is your child underperforming?
- Does your child have problems reading or writing?
- Does your child have problems with math?
- Does your child have difficulty remembering information?
- Do your child have problems paying attention?
- Does your child have trouble following directions?
- Does your child have problems staying organized?
- Does your child have difficulty listening and taking notes simultaneously?
- Does your child experience test anxiety?
- Does your child have problems with social relationships?
1-in-5 students in the US
has at least one learning difference
Attention Deficits | Dyslexia | Executive Dysfunction | Dysgraphia | Decoding Challenges | Dyscalculia | Language Processing Disorder | Slow Processing Speed | The Lingering Effects of Concussions
WHAT WE DO
Diagnostic Consultations for Students with Learning Difficulties
The process of identifying your child’s specific set of issues, surfacing resources, exploring accommodations and obtaining appropriate support and documentation can be daunting. The options and obstacles may be unclear for parents and Cooper Consulting was established to help navigate these challenges.
Whether our engagement is short-term or long-term, I always begin with a thorough Diagnostic Consultation. This includes a review of transcripts, reports and testing along with an interview of the student and a separate discussion with the parent(s). In some situations, it may be helpful to speak with tutors, testers or teachers and I occasionally conduct classroom observation as well.
Each student with a learning difference needs an individually customized game plan to identify and leverage the resources and accommodations available. Families also need an objective “project manager” who is experienced inside the learning differences community.
- Choose testers and testing
- Translate test results into an action plan
- Select tutors with good chemistry and fit
- Help secure accommodations from the school and SAT/ACT
- Prioritize expenditures within a fixed budget
- Maintain momentum: Time is not your friend when it comes to remediating most learning differences. The longer you wait, the more hardwired the interference becomes.
- Coordinate all learning activities, make mid-course corrections and boost the student’s condience
Learning Resource Integration
ADDITIONAL SERVICES
Retainer Support Services
Often, the diagnostic process is only the beginning of our relationship. Once the plan is in place, families keep me on retainer to monitor and manage the process. This includes facilitating communication between all the parties involved, making in-course adjustments and coordinating the elements of the plan as described above.
- Monitoring progress
- Observing your student in academic settings
- Coordinating support services
- Obtaining accommodations for standardized testing
- Meeting with parents, schools, testers, doctors, tutors/coaches, life coaches, and college counselors
What Our Clients Are Saying
About Jennifer
Jennifer is the Director of Learning Support at McDonogh School in Owings Mills, MD. For more than a decade, she has worked with hundreds of students and their families to help them navigate the complex world of a student with learning differences.
Prior to joining McDonogh, Jennifer was a consultant and executive function coach at Bowman Educational Services. She began her career as the Director of Learning and Development at Alex Brown in Baltimore.
Jennifer has a Masters degree in Organizational Behavior from Johns Hopkins University and a second Masters degree in Special Education from St Joseph’s University. Perhaps more importantly, she is the mother of three daughters who have collectively battled dyslexia, ADHD, executive dysfunction, neurodevelopmental disorder, anxiety and severe concussion. Becca graduated from the University of Maryland, Rachel graduated with Honors from Princeton University and Julia is an undergraduate at Stanford.