One on One services
(in person in Orcutt, CA or online)
Engage parents and professionals & education students in the areas of speech, language, literacy, math, handwriting and advocacy!
Evaluations
We offer Speech Language & Educational Evaluations. Our evaluations are tailored to the child’s strengths and weaknesses and parent or school needs. We conduct private and Independent Education Evaluations. Evaluations can take as little as 1 hour up to 20 plus hours depending on the needs of the child and complexity of the case.
We diagnose speech, language, social and communication disorders such as: dyslexia, apraxia, autism, stuttering, and more! We use formal and informal measures to assess in all areas of suspected disability.
We assess in the following areas:
- Fluency (stuttering),
- Speech (articulation, motor planning),
- Language-spoken and written (listening, processing, speaking, reading, writing, pragmatics) phonology, morphology syntax, semantics, pragmatics,
- Literacy (phonemic awareness, reading, spelling, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension),
- Math (Kindergarten – Algebra),
- Handwriting (letter formation, sizing, and reversals),
- Augmentative Alternative Communication (AAC),
- Executive functioning, and memory.
Math Intervention
I’ve taken all the Making Math Real classes several times which took over 1000 hours and years of practice and mentorship! Specifically my math training included: Kindergarten, games, time and money, 9 lines (multiplication), 4 operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division), long division, fractions, decimals, advanced place value, mental math, geometry, pre-algebra and algebra.
I mentored with Making Math Real founder, David Berg through the Lab School Mentorship program for several years before he sadly passed away. Making Math Real is a simultaneous multisensory structured methodology used to successfully transfer hands on experience of concrete mathematics to specific reconstruction in abstract, symbolic form.
Children often show signs of failure when they struggle to memorize math facts, or struggle with long division, fractions or prealgebra. Many children struggle memorizing math facts or procedural learning.
Children need to learn math from a concrete body based place of having a firm picture of what the numbers represent. Math needs to be taught in a specific sequence which starts with a strong foundation of number sense, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
If a child is struggling with the foundational skills, they will without a doubt struggle with more complex abstract math like fractions , decimals and algebra! Let’s work together to give your child the strong math foundation they need to access higher level math with ease! Children deserve to authentically learn math and not depend on a calculator or using their fingers.
I have spent over 1000 hours of training using Structured Word Inquiry and Orton Gillingham methodologies. I have taken all the SWI classes I can find in addition to the Orton Gillingham certificate program. My learning never ends.
Our written language is not based on phonics. Our language is stress timed. “Sounding words out” will only get you so far. After you follow the false phonics rules, you are left with a bunch of “rule breakers” called “sight words.” There is no such thing as a “sight word.” That is phonics way of telling you that phonics is a flawed system for the English Language. Why else do you think our literacy rates are so poor and our kids can’t spell?
Our written language needs to be studied through orthographic linguistics, studying 3 elements together: etymology, morphology and phonology. Etymology is where the word comes from (Greek, Latin, Old English). Etymology has a big part in how we spell words. Morphology includes bound and free bases in addition to affixes. Phonology can only be studied in a word, not in isolation.
The phonology within a word family can change. Notice how the phonology of the <t> changes across the <act> word family: action, actual, acting, reaction, actor. Some letters say nothing at all like the <w> in <two> or <g> in <sign> or <i> in <family> or the <ugh> in <daughter>. There are good reasons why these words are spelled with silent letters. Studying these words using SWI will reveal the reason why we spell words the way we do and it is actually really beautiful.
We always study words within the word family. Never a list of random words that sound alike. We look at words that have the same base and same meaning. We read for meaning after all! Spelling = Meaning! Lets be a word scientist together!
Speech
Kellie has been certified in PROMPT since 2000 which is a method that involves the therapist using their hands to move the child’s lips, jaw and tongue. Some children can imitate speech movements but some children with severe motor speech impairments can’t imitate those speech movements, so traditional therapy doesn’t work. Targeted words are selected based on a motor speech hierarchy in addition to what is most meaningful and functional to the child.
AAC
Augmentative Alternative Communication (AAC) is used when a child is nonverbal and struggles producing sounds volitionally. Kellie has training and experience with a variety of AAC methods including sign language, direct select, auditory scanning, eye gaze and more! LAMP Words for Life is a method that meets most of my nonverbal clients needs because it includes unique motor plans and a robust vocabulary. Let us help you find the best AAC device for your child by conducting a feature match and AAC trials.
Handwriting
- Does your child have writing you can’t read?
- Does your child reverse letters and numbers when they write?
- Does your child hate to write?
- Does your child hold the pen with the wrong pen hold?
- Does your child use too much pressure when they write?
- Does your child start their letters and numbers from the bottom and move up?
- Does your child’s writing look like it is floating?
- Does your child struggle with proper spacing between words and letter sizing?
We can help!
We use chancery script which has clear starting points and pathways for all letters and numbers. We have also developed scaffolded worksheets for all the numbers, letters and graphemes which you can purchase in our store.
Advocacy
We can help advocate for your child to create amazing Individualized Education Plans. Understanding all the special education acronyms (IEP, IEE, SST, SLD, SLI, etc.) can be difficult to grasp. We can help you fully understand your child’s IEP and how you can best prepare yourself at every IEP meeting. We can also give you feedback on IEP including present levels, challenging goals, appropriate services, necessary accommodations and more. We can write challenging goals and even help monitor progress. We can graph scores from evaluations done over multiple years. We can review IEP evaluations and give guidance on any missing components in that evaluation. We can attend IEP meetings with you as well so you are never alone during this process.
We can help!
Coaching
Coaching is a one on one service provided to parents, teachers, SLPs, and educational therapist. We train, mentor and guide adults working with struggling learners to carry over and provide effective interventions. The coaching services provided are based on the needs of the adult. As a parent, teacher or therapist, are you feeling lost on how to best work with your child or student? We can help guide, mentor and train you!
Office Photo Gallery
Scheduling Options
FIXED MODEL
To reserve and keep weekly therapy sessions. I require clients to prepay for all sessions once a month using a tuition-based model. Prepayment is required to hold reserved weekly therapy sessions. The Fixed model allows families to keep their preferred day/time each week. A consistent schedule allows for maximum progress.
If you are on the fixed schedule and need to change your schedule (summer), the change will be considered permanent, and your previous therapy spot will be released.
You can cancel sessions as needed with 48 hours notice and schedule make up sessions.
FLEX MODEL
If families can’t commit to weekly sessions, therapy openings are offered as they occur. This works for families who want sessions every other week or once a month. The time and day of the offered sessions can’t be guaranteed and will vary week by week. Prepayment of 4 sessions is preferred which makes the scheduling process smoother as no session is held without payment.
This model works well for families that can’t commit to weekly sessions. Once payment is received, you can schedule the sessions and spread them out over a few months.
You can also schedule same day appointments which may be appealing to families who are concerned about the cancellation policy or have children that get sick often.
FAQ
Each student is different and needs a different amount of intervention to close the achievement gap and make progress. Progress is dependent on the following factors: severity of the condition, frequency of therapy, carryover practice and co-existing conditions (poor processing speed, poor working memory, executive functioning deficits, ADD, visual processing deficits, & auditory processing deficits).
In general, for a child that is 1 year behind, 1-2 sessions a week is recommended. For a child that is 2 or more years behind, 4-5 sessions per week is recommended. This number is an estimate and would change depending on the child’s unique needs and how many deficit areas are being addressed in therapy (speech, language, reading & math). Progress is very dependent on carryover practice, frequency of therapy, commitment to the process and co-existing conditions. There is no magic wand. A recommendation on frequency of services can be made only after an evaluation.
The youngest child is typically 18 months and oldest is adult. We specialize in serving children but have served plenty of adults as well.
The office is open Monday – Saturday.
The office is typically CLOSED a few weeks every year but please check with the director on those specific dates as they vary year to year. The office is always closed on Labor Day, Memorial Day, and Independence Day. The office is also closed a few days around Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, and a week in the summer (end of July/early August).
Parents are welcome to stay for the session or drop off their child. Some children do better without their parents for multiple reasons. Let’s talk about what option is best for your child. If you drop off, please return on time. Remember the sessions are all clinical hours (50-minute sessions).
Insurance is not accepted but a superbill can be provided for possible reimbursement. Call your insurance company to find out what the coverage is for speech language therapy. Common diagnosis codes (ICD10) are F80.2 (mixed receptive expressive language disorder), R48.2 (Apraxia), F84.0 (Autism) and the CPT code for Speech Language Therapy is always 92507. Lights On Learning would be an out of network provider. If insurance approves the reimbursement, the payment would be sent directly to the parent. Not all the services are covered by insurance. Some of the services that are not covered by insurance are: math intervention, IEP advocacy, meetings, parent consultation and report writing.
We do both! If you live in or near Orcutt, we always recommend in person services. We do service clients all over the world across many time zones! Zoom is the online platform that is used for all tele-therapy sessions. Teletherapy doesn’t work for all children. Direct tele-therapy typically doesn’t typically work very young children or severely handicapped children.
Please use a quality device and make sure you have a good internet signal.
We have a 48 hour cancellation policy.
We accept same day scheduling if you are concerned about the cancellation policy. Session availability varies day by day for same day appointments. Please check Calendly for the most up to date openings.
https://calendly.com/lightsonlearningacademy
Make up sessions are offered if 48 hours notice is given. Make up sessions need to be used within 30 days of the cancellation date.
If you need to cancel with less than 48-hours’ notice (due to the child being sick or traveling due to sports or vacation), please consider online sessions for the child, online parent consultation or any billable service such as progress reports, IEP feedback, parent training and more!
No refunds.