I’m a busy mother and writer, but I am also a passionate– dare I say– expert in the field of learning disabilities. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to turn off the teacher side of my brain.

In 2004, I earned my Masters in Education at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education– the number one school of education in the country. While studying there, I fell in love with the world of special education, specifically teaching reading and writing to children of all ages with various degrees of learning disabilities. From minor to significant dyslexia, to dysgraphia, to severe ADHD. I’ve seen it all. I tell parents that nothing shocks me anymore.

I reserve some time each week to work with students in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area to help improve their reading and writing abilities. My first step is always to help students feel good about themselves again. Many children fall through the cracks in our education system, and this isn’t a fault of the teachers; it’s simply because our schools are packed with So Many Kids.

One consequence of huge class sizes is that our children who don’t fit into the standard, middle-range mold feel lousy and often act out as a result. Negative behaviors can emerge because of the frustration children feel in the classroom, whether they are 5 or 18. So now you have a kid who is not only performing (the dreaded) “below grade level,” but is also getting sent to the school behavior specialist or vice principal…it’s hard on everyone, and the families especially feel it at home.

I am a licensed K-12 Learning Disabilities teacher, and I am trained in the Wilson Reading System, the Orton-Gillingham Reading System, and the Kansas Writing Strategies. All of these approaches, when personalized to the needs and skills of an individual student, WILL produce results. No matter what our starting point is, your child can learn and feel better about school, and I can help.

I can be reached here: JuliaSArnold@gmail.com. References available upon request.

~Julia