What is Educational Therapy?

I have been asked numerous times, "What does an educational therapist do?"

According to the Association of Educational Therapists, www.aetonline.org
Educational Therapy offers children and adults with learning disabilities and other learning challenges a wide range of intensive, individualized interventions designed to remediate learning problems.

Educational therapy demystifies learning problems and stimulates clients’ awareness of their strengths so they can use those strengths to best advantage to overcome or compensate for areas of weakness.

Educational therapists create and implement a treatment plan that utilizes information from a variety of sources including the client’s social, emotional, psychoeducational, and neuropsychological context.

In Psychoeducational Perspectives, Dorothy Ungerleider wrote, “…the educational therapist’s role as case manager is as fundamental as the role of remediator.” As case manager, the educational therapist must gather all relevant historical information about a client. It is as if the client is a puzzle and the educational therapist must gather the pieces of the puzzle before attempting to put them together. This includes, but is not limited to, a complete family history, educational records, educational assessments, and psychological and physical information. Observations within both the school and home environments are also critical components in order to gather a clear image of the cultural, familial, social, and academic factors affecting the client.

Once a careful analysis has been made, the educational therapist, as case manager, must conscientiously, compassionately, and diplomatically communicate with all parties involved in the client’s educational development. All children, adolescents, and adults have innate strengths, gifts, and potential. The case manager must not only understand the client’s individual pattern of learning strengths and deficiencies, but she must effectively communicate these strengths and weaknesses to the educational team responsible for the client’s learning. This educational team consists of family members, teachers, and allied professionals. Furthermore, knowing how and when to refer the client’s problems to outside resources and finding the right setting in which the child's potential will flourish are no small accomplishments.

The roles of the remediator and case manager blend in defining, creating, and managing a treatment plan. This treatment plan must take into consideration the social and emotional aspects that affect learning. The educational therapist as remediator must keep abreast of all the best practices in educational intervention and prevention. As remediator, the educational therapist implements the most effective and appropriate programs and teaches the strategies that will help develop tools for independent learning while maintaining the uniqueness of each client. Each child’s unique situation, needs, and goals are paramount and must be addressed in order to instill self-reliance, self-respect, and pride so that clients and their families can lead more productive lives.

Fundamental to the psycho-educational process is relationship. As case manager and remediator, the educational therapist must build, nurture, and sustain a relationship with the client and the family. Children deserve an opportunity to be happy, successful and productive. They can achieve these goals when given the respect, understanding, and support they deserve within a competent and caring environment. A relationship built upon dignity, respect, integrity, and compassion is vital to the educational process.