Learn Smarter Podcast

Dr. Chelsea Neumann joins Rachel and Steph to chat about her work as a psychiatrist. She talks about the difference between a psychiatrist and psychologist, what the relationship can be like with a psychiatrist, and how she supports the entire family system. She talks about the impact of COVID-19 and how it has led to some very common concerns and how ADHD is not a sign of stupidity. Dr. Neumann s...

Author and Neuropsychologist Dr. Rita Eichenstein joins Rachel and Stephanie to discuss her book, Not What I Expected: Help and Hope for Parents of Atypical Children. During this conversation, she talks about changing the language around parenting atypical children and honoring the parent journey. She talks about the pressure of exceptionality and how to look at your atypical child as a gift. They...

Kapp Educational Therapy Group’s Maria Eliades joins Rachel and Steph today to talk about how establishing boundaries has been revolutionary for her. She talks about how time blocking and establishing boundaries early in relationships has led to rapport. Maria also shares about how porous boundaries lead to ripple effects and how identifying her ideal clients has helped her to love the work she do...

Dr. Karen Schiltz and Dr. Amy Schonfeld join Rachel and Stephanie to talk about their book, Beyond the Label: A Guide to Unlocking a Child’s Educational Potential . They discuss the value of parents trusting and valuing their own instincts, the challenges of parenting and how intervention has to be insistent, persistent, and consistent to be effective. They also delve into a conversation about emo...

Dr. Peg Dawson, the author of several important Executive Function Skills books, joins Rachel & Steph on the podcast. She shares what led her to exploring Executive Function Skills, her framework for supporting executive skills, and the difference between foundational and advanced skills. Find out more about Dr. Dawson: Smart But Scattered Kids Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/le...

Celebrate! Rachel and Steph celebrate 200 episodes of Learn Smarter: the Educational Therapy podcast. They pull back the curtain on what podcasting means to them and how the podcast has informed their role as clinicians and business owners. Also they announce some exciting news about their Board Certification. Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/learnsmarterpodcast How to connect with u...

Educational Therapist and Dyslexia Specialist Denielle Adibi joins the podcast today to discuss her experience doing business coaching with Rachel. She talks about how her desire to create a bigger impact and have a higher level of satisfaction led to her decision to leave the classroom. She shares how coaching led to her understanding her ideal clients and boundaries. Rachel and Steph also coach...

Laura is a parent of one of Stephanie’s clients and she joins Rachel and Stephanie for a discussion about her parenting journey. She shares how hard it has been to get her daughter the help she needed and what brought her family into Educational Therapy. Laura shares how Educational Therapy has not only impacted her daughter’s academic experience but also how it has improved family and home life a...

Rachel and Steph share how they exit learners out of Educational Therapy. They share their thought processes and questions they ask to determine if learners are ready to mitigate or stop educational therapy.  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...

My Ed Therapist’s Laura shares her own learning story and how it has informed her teaching style. She shares her ability to reframe learning disabilities to “super abilities”. She talks about the importance of identifying their superpower and using it for good. She also digs into other superpowers that learners can have and Rachel, Steph and Laura also chat about their own individual superpowers. ...

We all are processing our senses all the time. Carol Kranowitz talks us through her story and explains Sensory Processing Disorder and how sensations come in. She talks about how the Central Nervous System is essential to our survival and why Sensory Processing Disorder is like a traffic jam in our brain. She talks about the differences between inside and outside senses, how to observe what your c...

Kapp Educational Therapy Group Learning Specialist and future Educational Therapist Nikkia Pannell joins today to share about her career journey. She shares what drew her into the Educational Therapy world and what she likes about the work that we do. She also shares some of the strategies she has learned in school and how she uses them in real life. Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/...

Rachel and Stephanie dig into how they feel about whether or not a learner “needs” a diagnosis. They discuss some of the reasons why parents avoid getting a diagnosis, why a diagnosis is NOT an excuse or crutch and how a diagnosis actually preserves a learner’s self-esteem or self-concept.  Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/learnsmarterpodcast How to connect with us: Join our FB...

Rachel and Stephanie welcome back Katie Nolan, the Clinical Director of Kapp Educational Therapy Group. Katie breaks down why she loves formal AND informal assessment. She also explains how intentional informal assessments are flexible tools for progress monitoring, leading to more questions and increased curiosity. Informal assessment also highlights resilience and tolerance levels. Learn Smarter...

The learners that Rachel and Steph work with at Kapp Educational Therapy Group and My Ed Therapist ALL have some emotional response to tasks that they avoid. Rachel and Steph dig into this–they talk about what it means, what it looks like, how to figure it out through getting curious, and some examples from their own experiences.    Learn Smarter Pro is back! Listen to find out more and apply here...

Ever wonder what Rachel and Stephanie think about at moments of transition? In this episode, they discuss what they do with clients at the start of a new semester or school year and share their principles for establishing success.    Learn Smarter Pro is coming back! Listen to find out more and join the waitlist here. Ep 134: Learn Smarter Pro Ep 185: Announcements and Updates Support us on Patreo...

Rachel & Steph take the time to share a quick message of appreciation and some well wishes for all Smarties. Learn Smarter Pro is coming back! Listen to find out more and join the waitlist here. Ep 134: Learn Smarter Pro Ep 185: Announcements and Updates 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 Ka...

It’s that time of year again! Stephanie shares her favorite games of 2021. If you’re on our email list, you already received her list in a freebie! If you’re not on the Learn Smarter email list, what are you waiting for? Join us on our website  www.learnsmarterpodcast.com . Learn Smarter Pro is coming back! Listen to find out more and join the waitlist here. Ep 134: Learn Smarter Pro Ep 185: Annou...

Understanding the “all or nothing brain” can be critical for learners. Rachel & Steph talk about what an “all or nothing brain” is, how it shows up in learning, school, and life. They discuss real world examples and why it is so important to understand the choices being made. Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/learnsmarterpodcast How to connect with us: Join our FB Group Join our e...

Rachel & Steph share 3 very exciting announcements! Rachel shares BIG NEWS and Rachel & Steph announce some new projects and Patreon updates! 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 ,...

Rachel and Steph are giving away their greatest study hack today. They deep dive into the 3 questions every learner should be asking on an ongoing basis, why it’s critical and what to do once your learner has implemented this strategy. 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...

Today, Rachel’s client from Kapp Educational Therapy Group joins the podcast to discuss her growth. Arielle started educational therapy in the middle of 11th grade and continued through her first year of college. In this episode, she talks about her early experiences in educational therapy with Rachel, how her home life has changed as a result of intervention, and the impact that procrastination a...

In this critically important episode, Rachel and Steph go through why every learner needs to learn how to do a proper portal audit. They go through just some of the reasons portals are problematic (scroll back to Episode 123 for more on that) and deep dive into the principles of a portal audit and what each learner needs to do on a consistent and persistent basis and why. Support us on Patreon (Ne...

We want all kids to love reading, and that’s why we’re revisiting this important episode this week. Stephanie does a deep dive on how she works with students who find reading challenging. She teaches us about how reading is comprised of two main components (fluency and comprehension). She gives a million ideas on how to support struggling early readers and students who struggle with reading in mid...

Rachel and Steph answer a frequently asked question they receive from parents in their practice and their Smarties audience: What questions should I be asking my learner’s teacher?  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...