Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel Herman.
Hi Rachel, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Learning for All began as a quest to help my middle son, who was bright but struggling with learning differences. Years of dismissing symptoms, misdiagnosis, and ineffective therapies lead to a crisis as he approached middle school and remained drastically behind in reading and writing. When we finally discovered that his difficulties indicated dyslexia, ADHD, and auditory processing disorder, I took a leave of absence from my university teaching position to work with him full time. Training myself in an Orton-Gillingham based program to remediate dyslexia changed the course of his life and mine. He finally began to make progress and the change in his academic trajectory, and more importantly, his self-esteem, was profound. As with any learner who shares his profile, he had a long journey ahead, but his hard work and perseverance paid off. Now 26, he is a Summa Cum Laude college graduate with a degree in business marketing and a full-time position where the creativity and innovation that epitomize his neurodiverse brain are developed and celebrated. Armed with the knowledge of how to help learners like my son, I started Learning for All in 2014 in my home office with 4 students. Hungry to help even more learners with more diverse and challenging profiles, I went on to earn numerous professional certifications in additional therapeutic protocols including Advanced Certification in Barton Reading and Spelling, licensure as a Professionally Certified Educational Therapist, and International Certification as a Feuerstein Cognitive Enrichment Practitioner and Trainer.
What was born out of my own desperation as a mom to understand and help my struggling son, became a mission to help both struggling and successful learners of all ages become better thinkers and experience lasting academic, social, and cognitive growth. Along the way I have been guided by some incredible mentors and educators who have poured support, encouragement, and guidance into my life, who have challenged me to think differently and grow past my own difficulties and setbacks to create a program that can address the needs of the whole learner in a compassionate and comprehensive way. Because of their investment in Learning for All, we now have effective strategies to develop new neural pathways for learners with dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, ADHD, nonverbal learning disabilities, Auditory Processing Disorder, comprehension and reasoning disorders, autism, developmental disabilities, PTSD, TBI, Mild Cognitive Impairment, memory issues, brain fog, and so much more. We have also created programs to help neurotypical and even thriving learners grow their critical thinking skills to make the most of learning in the information age. Today Learning for All employs a team of 20 therapists and support staff in two San Diego clinical locations and we have served over 1,000 learners and their families. At Learning for All we teach THINKING so everyone can LEARN.
As we look forward to the next 10 years, we are excited to continue advancing our services by leveraging the best new science and research to create meaningful, life-changing protocols for all learners. Look for emerging programs in growing and maintaining Memory and Cognition for Seniors, managing college and early career for Young Adults with ADHD, and developing and applying Critical Thinking Skills in the Age of AI for everyone!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Looking back, I can certainly say that I have learned more from the challenges than the successes. In the beginning, we experienced rapid growth and as a solo practitioner in private practice, I quickly realized I would have to make the choice between turning people away and hiring and training others in the protocols I had learned so we could extend our reach. Having deep experience in education, but no experience in business made renting a commercial space, developing protocols and procedures, and hiring and training a staff extremely daunting tasks. In the beginning I was constantly learning lessons the hard way, through mistakes and missteps. Thankfully, I have had some amazing mentors and supporters in both the business and education worlds who believed in our mission and helped me work through the growing pains. Their expertise, honest input, and tireless encouragement was invaluable and I am grateful to stand on their strong shoulders.
Then, in 2020, just after we had opened our third clinical location in San Diego, COVID hit and overnight we had to change everything. I worried our learners would not receive the services they desperately needed. I worried I would have to layoff my incredible team. I worried I would lose the business. One of the great grace moments in my journey was the fact that in November 2019, we had just launched and trained our staff on new protocols for working with learners online. Little did we know how crucial this would be only a few months later. We still had lots of work to do to pivot to online therapy, but we had a foundation in place that allowed us to adjust more quickly than most and we were back up and running again in a couple of weeks. As soon as we were able, we reopened our clinical locations, which required completely re-furnishing our offices and making drastic changes to comply with social distancing procedures. It was such a challenging time for everyone and we did end up closing one of our clinical locations, but the necessity of shifting to online learning required us to develop innovative new protocols and materials to work effectively with learners in online sessions and today we have a dynamic and engaging program that ensures learner success, whether online or in person. The challenges of COVID drove us to innovate, think outside of the box, and ultimately to serve even more families with exceptional educational therapy.
Grateful. Humbled. Surprised. These are the words that come to mind as I reflect on the last 10 years of Learning for All. There have been mountains and valleys along the way, but this journey has taught me the value of teamwork, resilience, innovative ideas, and passionate calling. And none of it would be possible without the incredible dedication of our Learning for All team, our parent heroes who show up every day with their time, energy, and investment for their kids, and our learners, whose hard work, perseverance and ultimately, belief in themselves, is the real game-changer. They are the reason Learning for All has changed the lives of over 1,000 students at our San Diego clinics and around the world through our live online program.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Learning for All?
At Learning for All we offer one-on-one educational therapy, small group classes on thinking, learning, and memory, learning assessment and consultation, and professional development and training. Many people are not familiar with the term “educational therapy.” Educational therapy is an interdisciplinary practice at the intersection of education, psychology, and neuroscience. By combing the latest research and best practices of all three of these fields we are able to address any condition that impacts thinking and learning in a comprehensive way. Whether clients are children, teens, adults, or seniors, struggling with neurodevelopmental disabilities, processing disabilities, acquired conditions, or just want to improve or maintain thinking, learning, memory, attention, Learning for All can help.
What sets Learning for All apart from many other clinics and programs is the simultaneous integration of cognitive skill building with academic or functional remediation. Some programs, like schools and tutoring centers or executive functioning coaching, focus primarily on academic remediation and functional systems. These are often ineffective for struggling learners because they have foundational cognitive deficits that are not being addressed. They are unable to progress with academic or functional programs because they have global challenges with things like working memory, sustained attention, visual-motor integration, and processing speed that impact all areas of learning.
Conversely, brain training centers work on often developing foundational cognitive skills but they do not connect them explicitly with the academic or functional skills that are lacking. Without the intentional integration of cognitive skills with academic and functional deficits, learners become proficient at playing “brain games” but cannot apply those skills to school, work, or life.
At Learning for All we understand that cognitive skill building and academic or functional skill building must be integrated and taught simultaneously in order to develop new neural pathways and that consistent, intentional, systematic work over time is the key to lasting change. Every client at Learning for All has a personalized therapy plan based on their unique needs, challenges, and goals, that integrate these two spheres of development. At Learning for All, We Teach THINKING So Everyone Can LEARN.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
Learning for All is working on three new programs to address the greatest needs we are seeing in the areas of thinking and learning in 2025.
Many young adults are failing college, having difficulty finding and holding good jobs, and struggling to achieve independence at an unprecedented rate. Whether it is a clinical diagnosis of ADHD or difficulties with sustained attention and executive functioning exacerbated by the COVID learning interruption, or the overstimulation of our digital culture, young adults need help to navigate the post highschool years. These learners benefit from a comprehensive program that focuses on reinforcing critical thinking skills, growing sustained attention, and developing systems that create habits for success and independence. We look forward to offering this new program focused on managing college and navigating early career choices for Young Adults with ADHD.
Artificial Intelligence, the Information Age, and online learning are changing the landscape of education daily. The unprecedented instantaneous access the world has to information is an incredible gift but comes with dangers. Unless we teach critical thinking as a skill, we will fail to use the glut of information effectively, or worse, depend on computers to do our remembering and thinking for us. Information alone is not enough if we cannot use it to think, analyze, and make decisions. When we stop flexing and growing the critical thinking and memory parts of our brain, they will naturally atrophy. We must teach critical thinking skills, the essential human component that separates us from computers. We want to reach everyone with these essential skills for navigating life in the information age with our new program, developing and applying Critical Thinking Skills in the Age of AI.
Worried about memory loss? You are not alone. A UCLA/Gallup poll found that 22% of middle-aged and 26% of older adults worry about memory loss. Diagnosis of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) are on the rise and our aging population is seeking opportunities to flex their brain muscle so they can stay sharp, stay social, and continue living independently. Backed by science, our 10-session Memory and Cognition for Seniors program is a small-group class designed to improve thinking and memory through targeted brain training. Your brain is constantly learning, and with the right exercises you can boost your ability to remember, plan, and stay connected with daily life. Don’t let memory concerns slow you down. The Thinking Memory Program offers a non-invasive approach to memory enhancement that works! Start today and keep your brain sharp for years to come.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.learningforallsd.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/learningforallsd/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/learningforallsd/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/learning-for-all-inc/
- Twitter: https://x.com/learning4allsd
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfaP8QIyowm4NjepiZbIU9w
