Learn Smarter Podcast

Rachel and Steph welcome Annie, Rachel’s client from Kapp Educational Therapy Group. Annie impressively deep dives into her own learning profile, thoughtfully talking about her educational therapy journey. In this episode she talks about how her ADHD has impacted her ability to function and how she has grown through educational therapy. Annie discusses deeply understanding how her ADHD manifests i...

This week, Rachel & Steph re-air their second conversation with Dr. Rishi Sriram from Baylor University. In episode 109, Dr. Sriram begins the conversation about “learning how to learn.” That episode is linked below. In this episode, Dr. Sriram delves more deeply into his GHOSTRIVER to the SEA mnemonic that guides the conversation for how learning occurs. Through this master class conversation...

Today, Rachel & Steph are re-airing one of their all-time favorite episodes! They welcome Dr. Rishi Sriram from Baylor University to the podcast. In this episode, they chat with Dr. Sriram about how learning occurs in the brain, how important and normal forgetting is to learning and the importance of interleaving, spacing and mindfulness. They have an amazing conversation about how essential p...

Rachel and Steph dig into the top 5 reasons why learners procrastinate.  Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/learnsmarterpodcast How to connect with us: Join our FB Group Join our e-mail list Rachel’s Kapp Educational Therapy Group website Steph’s My Ed Therapist website  @learnsmarterpodcast , @kappedtherapy , @myedtherapist Other episodes mentioned: Executive Functioning Series Client...

Rachel and Steph continue the conversation from episode 172: Why Learners Lie and discuss what they do about learners who lie, avoid reality and avoid the truth. They share some tips and tricks they’ve learned along the way that have dramatically helped the learners in their practices. Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/learnsmarterpodcast How to connect with us: Join our FB Group Join...

This week, we’re re-airing an important episode we recorded with attorney Grace Clark. Grace leads us through a fascinating conversation about what education laws are, IEP vs. 504 plans, and what parents can expect (from deadlines to interventions to goals to collaboration). She also shares her personal story of parenting a child with learning differences and going through this process as a parent...

 Rachel and Steph dig into the many reasons why learners lie in today’s episode. Be sure to listen in a few weeks when they talk about what to do about learners who lie.   Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/learnsmarterpodcast How to connect with us: Join our FB Group Join our e-mail list Rachel’s Kapp Educational Therapy Group website Steph’s My Ed Therapist website&#16...

Dr. Julie Caplan joins Rachel and Stephanie on the podcast to discuss how ADHD manifests differently in boys and girls. Dr. Caplan explains ADHD, how it shows up differently from “traditional ADHD” in girls, and why it often gets missed in girls. She further discusses the insatiability of people with ADHD and what parents should look for in their learners if they suspect ADHD.  Connect with Dr. Ju...

This week, we’re re-airing an oldie but goodie to help with the start of school and the anxiety that may be building around the challenging task of writing.  Writing presents a challenge for ALL students–it doesn’t matter if they have a learning or medical diagnosis that interferes with their ability to function in the classroom. Writing. Is. Hard.  In today’s episode, Rachel & Steph do...

Dr. Sharon Saline, author of What Your ADHD Child Wishes You Knew: Working Together to Empower Kids for Success in School and Life , joins Rachel and Steph to discuss her goal of improving the connection between parents and learners with ADHD through improving conversation. She walks them through her 5C’s of parenting which are self-control, compassion, collaboration, consistency, and celebration....

For the final episode of Dr. Braaten month, Dr. Braaten guides Rachel & Steph through a conversation about the differences between processing speed and sluggish cognitive tempo. She teaches that processing speed is related to performance and is measurable, often impacting academic performance. Sluggish cognitive tempo, on the other hand, is observed and reported by parents and teacher ratings...

Dr. Braaten month continues as she, Rachel & Steph dig into the impact of processing speed on social skills. Dr. Braaten redefines processing speed and shares that 40% of kids with processing difficulties will report social difficulties. She highlights that processing speeds impact social life in that children with processing difficulties often are the last one to do something or children miss...

Rachel & Steph welcome Dr. Ellen Braaten back for Dr. Braaten month! Dr. Braaten discusses how time perception is an incredibly important part of understanding processing speed and ADHD, and she shares some tips and hints to help respond to time perception issues. She explains meta-time blindness and has a discussion about when it is important to keep track of time and when it should be let go...

We are revisiting this important episode we recorded with Dr. Ellen Braaten to kick off an entire month of episodes featuring her! Dr. Braaten is a leading expert on processing speeds and she joined Rachel & Steph to have a wide-ranging conversation about what processing speed is and how it impacts daily functioning. Her book Bright Kids Who Can’t Keep Up further explains what processing speed...

Marcelle Waldman joins Rachel and Steph on the podcast to discuss her company, FeelLinks , an intentional tool related to social/emotional learning for young children. Emotional intelligence is understanding, labeling, and managing feelings while knowing and understanding how others are feeling. Emotional intelligence builds responsible decision making, self-awareness, social awareness and empathy...

College Counselor Melanie Tasoff specializes in helping neurodiverse learners and learners with specialized needs navigate the college process. She takes a well-rounded, whole child approach, talks extensively about best fit and what that means, and gives us the latest information on SAT/ACTs. She discusses the specific fears and concerns that parents are navigating through this process, the impor...

Rachel and Steph dig into what re-entry into in-person school will look like and feel like. They discuss the fears, questions, and adjustments learners, parents, teachers, and educational therapists are experiencing as they navigate a slower re-entry into a post-pandemic world.  Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/learnsmarterpodcast How to connect with us: Join our FB Group Join our e-...

Rachel & Steph continue their conversation from episode 159 with co-authors Dr. William Stixrud and Ned Johnson.  In the second half of their conversation, they dig into self-determination theory even more. They further discuss the parenting shift from helping kids feel safe to helping them learn to be brave. They talk about how figuring out who is responsible for what is critical, how to offe...

Rachel & Steph are giving away their number one study hack! Tune in to hear this easy, simple, and effective strategy that works across ages, grades and subjects! Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/learnsmarterpodcast How to connect with us: Join our FB Group Join our e-mail list Rachel’s Kapp Educational Therapy Group website Steph’s My Ed Therapist website  @learnsmarterpodcast ,...

Dr. William Stixrud and Ned Johnson, the co-authors of The Self-Driven Child, join Rachel & Steph on the podcast. This important conversation is critical for all those invested in education–so everyone! In addition to talking about stress and why life is stressful, they discuss happiness and shared delusion disorder while further exploring how motivation and control are so linked. Rachel...

Rachel & Steph chat again about active studying vs. passive studying. They talk about how flashcarding can be an incredibly useful tool for studying when done properly, thoughtfully and intentionally. They chat about how time spent on “studying” does not correlate with performance on an assessment. They further open up about what active flashcarding is and how to make it productive for learner...

Parenting coach and trainer Diane Dempster of www.impactparents.com joins Rachel & Steph on the podcast to discuss the anatomy of a trigger. She takes us through the stages of triggers (aware, alert, alarm) and discusses how different people have different triggers. She talks about raising the level of consciousness and understanding the story that you have told yourself (and then the reaction...

Pierce Siebers, the sound engineer of Learn Smarter Podcast, joins Rachel and Steph on the podcast to celebrate their third anniversary of the Learn Smarter Podcast. In this wide-ranging conversation, they talk about the origin of educational therapy, how Rachel and Steph connected originally, and what it was like to launch our businesses and then launch this podcast. They also chat about what the...

Rachel & Steph welcome back Penny Williams for a retrospective on her parenting journey. She talks about what she wishes she knew, how she didn’t know what she didn’t know, and how the grass isn’t always greener. She also talks about the work she’s done on her own mindset to help her become the parent she wants to be.  Connect with Penny: www. Parentingadhdandautism.com   www.behaviorrevolutio...

After 153 episodes, Rachel & Steph still get asked what parents and learners can expect from educational therapy from their practices, Kapp Educational Therapy Group and My Ed Therapist . In this episode, Rachel & Steph dig into what to expect from the educational therapy process. Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/learnsmarterpodcast How to connect with us: Join our FB Group J...