Specialties Include: Reading Instruction and Remediation-Support, ADD/ADHD, Processing Disorders, meeting the needs of Visual-Spatial Learners (Right-Brained dominant) who tend to struggle in the Auditory-Sequential (Left-Brained) structure of school; Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia

Kelly Cavanaugh is an educational therapist, learning style and reading specialist, and school improvement consultant who is passionate about her work with many children across the learning style spectrum.  From kids who are challenged with anything from dyslexia. processing issues, and attention deficit disorder (ADD/ADHD) to highly gifted children (or maybe a combination of all!) to help them gain confidence and reach their full potential.

Kelly has a diverse range of students with varied needs and learning profiles; most, but not all, identify with some type of learning disability or challenge. Some have heightened perception abilities which cause them to be highly impulsive, easily distracted or struggle with focusing on the task at hand, others are tactile learners who need to move in order to learn, and some are visual-spatial learners who need to “see things” in order to conceptualize and master the skills they are learning.  Some kids simply need the one-to-one attention that tutoring offers in order to help get them on track and moving forward with confidence. 

Kelly’s dedication to her students is not surprising. As the characteristics of dyslexia (specific reading disabilities) are a genetic traits and run in her own family, Kelly struggled through the school years herself– but, once free to study what was of interest, she excelled at the college level and earned a Bachelors Degree in Speech Pathology and Audiology from the University of Florida and went on to earn a Masters Degree in Education from Rollins College. Kelly not only has empathy for her students but often draws on her own challenging experiences to bring out the absolute best in them. She works one-on-one with all of her students and believes that a relationship built on trust is significant to their success. Kelly instills confidence in their abilities and improves their enthusiasm for learning. In fact, her popularity is evidenced by her waiting list for new clients.

Kelly also attributes some of her success to techniques she’s learned from her friend and mentor, Jeffrey Freed, author of,  RIGHT-BRAINED CHILDREN IN A LEFT-BRAINED WORLD. After working with ADD and gifted children for a period of time, Kelly made a simple, yet revolutionary discovery: Most gifted, and virtually all children with ADD/ADHD/Dyslexia, share a similar learning/processing style. Freed suggests these amazing right-brained children are “highly visual, non-sequential processors who learn by remembering the way things look and by taking words and turning them into mental pictures.” 

In his book, Freed offers parents a simple and clear strategy for helping their ADD/dyslexic and gifted children excel both in and out of the classroom. By spending only 10 minutes a day, parents can help their children realize immediate results in spelling and noticeable results in reading and math in two or three months. They also will develop the self-esteem necessary to succeed in other areas.   This wonderful resource is highly recommended!

Kelly has a HUGE heart for kids and has worked in the field of education for more than 27 years.  Her Master’s degree in Education is from Rollins College and her Bachelor’s degree in Speech Pathology and Audiology is from the University of Florida.  Her experience with struggling students is extensive.