Education trend:
Did you know that our current school systems tend to focus on curriculum, content, federal mandates and benchmark goals Over the the very skills that help the students achieve higher order thinking skills or the skills necessary to succeed in college?
There is a pattern that we are seeing with our local students (grades 2 - 12) in the greater Austin area where they can complete classwork, a project or assignment, get a good grade on a test and yet they have gaps forming. We have moved away from embodied cognition, rote practice and requiring them to remember/build memory.
These skill gaps or lack of conceptualized understanding are anywhere from 1 - 5 years behind. It starts to really show on an ACT or SAT, and we have a tendency to say, “Well, my kid is not a good test taker”.
The truth is that foundational math skills must be strong and embodied so that they can be applied to higher order thinking. Reading fluency must be 225 - 275 words per minute to finish one of these tests and to function in a way that makes college level education and work load easier. Communication and writing skills must be solidified to write an in class paper (a new requirement in the time of AI) in order to exhibit mastery, comprehension and understanding.
We have the highest rates of graduation in our country’s history, yet the average high schooler in the United States is graduating at a third grade reading level. GPAs are inflated and most parents will never find out until it’s time to transition into the next level of schooling, or their child becomes one of the 40% of kids that enrolls in college and does not finish.
It is not because they are a poor test taker. It is because they are missing skills.
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Our personalized Student Empowerment Methods transform a student’s confidence and relationship to learning while also raising reading, writing, or math skills 1 - 3 full grade levels in 3 - 6 months.
05/29/2026
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05/27/2026
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It’s true. It is saddening, shocking and one of the most common things we have been seeing in recent years.
We see so many kids that are being passed through the system, have 4.0+ GPAs by the time the get to high school, and when it comes to college entrance exams, the data shows that their reading or math skills are anywhere between 1 - 5 years behind. Inflated grades are a reality across the United States.
It is even happening in our local schools here in Austin.
It is possible to catch them up. It takes time, thorough diagnostics, a strong strategy, and we do it everyday.
https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1DtGBFe6nK/?mibextid=wwXIfr
The first five years of learning benefits from purposeful play.
Play based learning that addresses fine motor skill can set a kid up to write with greater ease.
Play activities that support ocular motor coordination will help visual tracking when reading.
Fun activities that build fast letter recognition and phonemic expression will build fluency.
Counting pieces of snacks (grapes, goldfish, Cheerios) will help build subitizing skills (recognizing a group of 4 or 5 without having to count), number values, and number flexibility.
The following one is probably the weakest one we see among kids who mostly spend their days receiving information in the digital age…….
Having a conversation or having kids draw about a story you read to them will help build visualization skills that are essential to comprehension, expressive act of writing and even word problems.
https://www.facebook.com/share/r/18kk1QzkgS/?mibextid=wwXIfr
75% of students with neurodivergent tendencies have some type of ocular motor deficiency or obstacle.
We can spot it in their reading by looking for regressions, fixations, omitting sounds, or having a low fluency rate.
80% of classroom learning is visual. Imagine what it is like trying to read or learn for 8 hours a day without efficient visual motor function.
This is not the same as vision (like seeing 20/20). This is how your eyes work and team together to track through a reading passage, how they perceive, depth perception, and visual processing.
We work to support these skills by working toward cognitive embodiment and neuro-motor development exercises that build the academic skills needed to navigate learning over the course of a lifetime.
Kids with ADHD tend to function with adaptive behavior mechanisms like “fight, flight, fawn, or freeze”. These kids tend to be highly sensitive and will regulate from leadership’s regulated and authoritative stance.
This does not mean a stern and strict parent or teacher. This is a lead that knows where we are going, is clear on what they expectation is and their verbiage mirrors that.
A dysregulated nervous system can be regulated by leaderships regulated nervous system. So if leadership shows up with hesitance, question in their tone, or in a manner that suggests that the kids are in charge, don’t be surprised when the kids try to take the reigns.
Starting a new activity with words like, “Can you …. X, would you like to Y, or what do you guys think about Z???” Is an open invitation for the child or student to say no.
Janet Uribe Alexander
Kids with ADHD do well with imperative directives, not suggestive invitations. Imperative statements help create authoritative security for the child and they perceive it as strong leadership.
05/13/2026
This article hits the nail on the head emphasizing the importance of rest in between learning periods. This isn’t just about kids needing play and taking a break to let out steam. It is how cortical thinking and neuroplasticity works. It is how the brain evolves and develops.
Rest and breaks allow for greater, thicker and stronger neuropathways to form. Whereas overwhelm causes the brain to go into adaptive behaviors mechanisms like fight, flight, fawn or freeze. In today’s society adaptive behaviors are often diagnosed as ADHD.
No coincidences here!
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1444325744402013&set=a.361807955987136&type=3
New evidence shows that kids need pauses between concentrated bouts of learning so the brain can hold and store the information. https://www.kxan.com/top-stories/kids-of-all-ages-need-regular-recess-for-physical-and-mental-health-pediatricians-group-finds/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_KXAN_News
04/28/2026
We are humbled and honored to have been able to celebrate our 1 year anniversary at our new location. Thank you to our incredible community that trusts us with their children every day. You guys have become our family and we feel so thankful to get to grow with you. 🙏
And a big Shoutout to our neighbors Old Saigon Vietnamese Bistro for feeding us and our community! You guys are amazing and we feel so lucky to have such delicious cuisine next door!
Happy 6 month anniversary to you!
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2900 N. Quinlan Park Road , Suite 220
Austin, TX
78732