Our approach
Processing Skills Foundational Approach
From infants to adults, we navigate the world by processing information from our environment and the ability and preparedness of the body and the brain to welcome that feedback in an developmental heirachy and organized way. How we process and store that infomation organzies the body and the brain for future feedback and learning to occur. This is where Rise Therapy begins... how are we processing information that is impacting the body and the brain for the world around us.
Science of Reading Skilled Intervention
Evidence-informed componects of reading debvelopment are explicit and well researched. Reading porfiecency begins very early in life years before classroom readiness occurs. At Rise therapy, we evaluate and treat not just reading as a whole but the "reading rope" of skills that make a child a profeceint reader.
Testimonial: "My son has made more progress reding here with you this summer, than the entire school year last year with his reading interventionist" - Karen H.
IEP Advocacy
IEPs and 504 plans are essential to success for a struggling learner. There are strategic steps that must be taken to ensure every student is given a Free and Appropriate Education, FAPE. That is the law and its important evry parent know the laws that protect their child. We don't wait for a child to fail to intervene and we don't wait for a testing score, neither should you.
Can a child have an IEP/504 who is making A's and B's? Yes, they can!
Handwriting Testing and Therapy by Certified Handwriting Specialists
Handwriting skills are not developed by sitting at a desk and "practicing" handwriting. If your child is struggling with handwriting skills, more handwriting is not the answer. Handwriting ability is the highest developmental skill your child will have to learn. It involves many other oragnized systems of the body and the brain, even more than reading requires.
ONLY Reflex Integration MNRI Core Specialist in Alabama (400+hours of specialized training)
Primary reflexes are the building blocks of all other developmental and academic skills, including sensory development. Everyone is born with reflexes that support early survival until the body and higher brain centers can "take over," allowing reflexes to disengage as the primary method of body-brain connection. Sometimes, the reflexes remain active, not allowing the higher centers of the brain to efficiently develop without them making the body and brain work much harder to engage, attend, learn new informatio, and organize at higher levels.
At Rise, we are the ONLY Core Specialist in Alabama in MNRI reflex integration, the most reseached methodlogy of reflex integration.
Social Skills/Life Skills Training
Social skills extend well beyond communication with others, it includes the ablity to read and recognize body language and communication in others, how to initiate conversations, social safety in an rapidly unsafe media based world, and how to recognize authentic friendships.
Visual Processing Disorders Evaluation and Training
Visual processing disorders impact everything we do, from walking/running, playing sports, depth perception, near point tasks (reading and writing skills), coordination skills, and motor planning ability. Our eyes take in 80% of the sensory feedback in our environment and are particularly important in social engagment, safety around us, navigating obstacles, and performing hand skills of all types.
Vision disorders that impact learning are often undiagnosed and under recognized but present 40% of the time with learning differences.
Executive Functioning
Executive functioning skills are the brain's traffic control system. These are the skills of managing life independently, including remembering assignments/deadlines/taking out the trash on Mondays, focus/attention to tasks, organizing a multi step process (essay, project, group activity), emotional regualtion. initiating and completing tasks (turning them in on time), and planning short and long term goal oriented tasks in the future (1-2 weeks or 3 months down the road).
At Rise, we refer to these skills as Adulting 101. The skills we need to navigate performance out in the world. At Rise, we work with students to develop these skills and support families/students with life-long resouces for success with executive functioning.
Certified Irlen Syndrome Screenings
Visual stress, or Irlen Syndrome, is a visual processing disorder often present with learning differences and highly under recognized. The ONLY professionals qualified to screen your child can be found at www.irlen.com. Please be wary of anyone who says they can diagnose Irlen syndrome. The list of diagnosistians who have the certified credentials to diagnose Irlen Syndrome and provde lenses are also listed at www.irlen.com
Trauma and Anxiety Treatment
Trauma and anxiety are very real outcomes for many of our children who struggle to learn. Trauma and anxiety alters the brain's chemical make up over time. Children struggling with self-regulation and behavior concerns often enterally have been struggling for some time.
At Rise therapy, we work with families and a network of other professionals to support the family network with resouces and care that focues on safety, regulation, and resilience.
SSP - Safe Sound Protocol
SSP, Safe Sound Protocol, is an n evidence-informed listening approach supporting nervous system regulation and hypersensitivies to sensory feedback. This progam has the abiity to be admistered at home following evaluation and training sessions in the office for a at home option for families remotely or locally to imporve emotional control, behavior issues, and can be a great start to beginning therapeutic intervention with imprved ability to engage actively.
