Summer

Question 1

What will happen if my child doesn’t get this kind of help?

Answer

Learning difficulties and struggles in school and/or social situations are most often the result of weak or inconsistent learning skills. These underlying skills cause interference to learning. Unfortunately, they do not typically improve with time or traditional tutoring. As a result, students become more frustrated and anxious about their learning challenges. Some students become angry or withdrawn. They may appear unmotivated. They may make poor decisions, feel like a failure, and quit believing in themselves. Others show signs of anxiety and depression.on go to app settings and press "Manage Questions" button.

Question 2

What can I expect this year in school and with homework as a result of this therapy?

Answer

At first it may be difficult to fit in homework, activities, and sessions at TLC. We sometimes suggest getting a “homework pass” in subjects that they can until homework gradually becomes easier and takes less time. Students become less anxious and more confident and willing to try things that they see as difficult. Attention both in school and at home increases. Interest in learning increases and learning becomes fun again.

Question 3

How long has the center been open?

Answer

Maria Bagby, owner and executive director of TLC, has been doing this work for almost 20 years now. She relocated to Solana Beach from Aspen, Colorado in 2012. Since then, she joined a network of like-minded professionals led by Jill Stowell. Jill has been doing this work for over 30 years as the founder of the Stowell Learning Centers in Chino and Irvine and the author of “At Wits End: A Parent’s Guide to Ending the Struggle, Tears and Turmoil of Learning Disabilities.” Maria has always continuously searched for the best programs to meet the changing needs of students learning challenges. In this way, she connected with Jill instantly and has grown and widened her scope of practice as a result of her connections to greater resources within the Fix Learning Skills network of professionals led by David and Jill Stowell. Members in the network are all over the US with a few working in countries outside the US.

Question 4

What are the clinician’s qualifications?

Answer

We have a fantastic group of energetic and passionate people on the TLC Team. Everyone has some degree of background in psychology. All of our staff has been thoroughly trained in all of the programs used at TLC. We continuously hold in-service training on new programs, intentional strategies and disabilities. Training and collaboration is a way of life at TLC. Clinicians meet regularly to consult with each other and with Maria in order to provide the highest quality and most efficient instruction for our students. You may learn more about each on the team on the About Us page.

Question 5

How long does it take before I can see results?

Answer

Very often students and parents will begin to see changes within just a few weeks. Our goal for each student is that he or she becomes the most comfortable, efficient, and independent learner he or she can be. How long this process takes will depend on the number and severity of the student’s learning challenges and the intensity of the therapy time.

Question 6

Do you guarantee results?

Answer

We wish learning was a formula that could be applied as neatly as a math problem, but being human is messy. We cannot have a set program guarantee. Here is what we can guarantee: What we do guarantee is that we will do everything we can to help each student become the best learner and most successful student he can be. If we feel that we cannot help, we will work with the family to try to find someone who can. Each student has a unique set of learning strengths and challenges. Therefore, students progress at different rates. We are working towards making permanent changes in the way students process information and learn. We do not just want to put a band aid on the issues. Permanent changes that bring success in learning require remediation that directly deals with the underlying processing skills. Our therapy and methods are designed to work on developing a solid foundation for confident, independent and successful learning.

Question 7

Do you work with Dyslexia?

Answer

Yes! TLC was originally focused with dyslexia as our focus. In fact, our original name was the Therapeutic LITERACY Center and was founded by Maria Bagby who worked as a reading specialist for 11 years. We’ve since broadened our scope of learning challenges and changed our name to the Therapeutic LEARNING Center, but we still have many different strategies and training programs that specifically address the needs of dyslexic students of all ages.

Question 8

Do you work with Autistic children?

Answer

Yes. We work with many high functioning children on the autistic spectrum. Working with the autistic population is something that we determine on student-by-student basis. Depending on the severity of the child’s symptoms and the parental goals, we may be able to provide therapy. After an initial screening, we will determine if we are the appropriate place for the child. If we feel there is something we can do we will work closely with the parents to create a program for the student. Additionally, TLC accepts students on the spectrum into our Arrowsmith Program. Students with autism are considered “a-typical students” in the Arrowsmith Program itself. However, TLC has seen fabulous gains in the students with autism that have participated in the Arrowsmith Program at TLC.

Question 9

What does your therapy look like?

Answer

All of our therapy is provided on a one-to-one, directed teaching basis. Some of our programs use specialized materials or equipment. Therapy is provided in individual therapy rooms, and we have room set aside for Core Learning Skills exercises which are always fun.

Question 10

Is all of your therapy one-on-one with each student?

Answer

Yes. Working on-to-one allows us to provide the intensity, individualization, and specific feedback needed to make significant changes in a short amount of time. Each student will have a specific schedule and clinician or team of clinicians that he works with on a regular basis.

Question 11

How do I get my child started?

Answer

The first step in our process is to help us get to know you, your child and your concerns within a scheduled individual consultation. During that meeting we will listen to your experience and goals and we explain exactly what we do to see if there is a good match. We will give you a chance to get all of your questions answered. What we do is very different from traditional tutoring or special help at school. Our goal is to correct the learning or attention challenges so that students can work comfortably and independently at school. The second step is to schedule an assessment so that we can explore both the academic challenges and the underlying learning / processing skills that are needed to learn comfortably and efficiently. Following the assessment, we will sit down with you and explain exactly what we saw in the assessment, what is getting in the way of your child’s learning or attention, and give you a roadmap for what needs to be done to dramatically improve or correct the problem. Then we will look at schedules together and get your child scheduled and started.