Today we’d like to introduce you to Jill Stowell.
Hi Jill, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
When I was 14, I decided that I wanted to go into special education and by the time I had completed my first year as a Resource Specialist, I had fallen in love with the population of students that fall under the umbrella of learning disability. These kids were smart, fun, talented, clever, and very misunderstood kids who struggled in school – mainly with reading.
Then Frankie walked into my cubbyhole of a classroom. He was a charismatic kid who commanded respect and fear from the other students (and some of the teachers). He was already in a street gang at 12 years old. Frankie was very bright and street savvy. He was my student because he couldn’t read – at all.
I really liked Frankie and I promised him I would teach him to read, but at the end of the school year, he got passed along to 7th grade as a near non-reader, going nowhere fast. In spite of my best efforts, I had failed him. I didn’t know how to get to the root of the problem – I had no idea what the root of the problem was, but I knew it couldn’t be right that bright kids would have to spend their lifetime covering and trying to find ways to get around their dyslexia or learning problems.
When Frankie left my school, so did I. I had to find answers and that started me on an incredible journey of studying with experts from around the world who were doing the research on the brain, attention, and learning. The journey continues to this day, but in 1984, I opened my first learning center and applied the little bit of knowledge I had gained to help change the trajectory for students with dyslexia and learning disabilities.
What I learned was that every student was different and every researcher had a piece of the puzzle – but only a piece. Now I understand that there is a whole continuum of skills that support confident, effective learning. Almost like a ladder, the underlying supporting skills (things like memory, attention, motor skills, and auditory and visual processing) are the rungs that need to be solidly in place in order to function well at the top with school, social skills, and higher learning.
My husband David has worked by my side all these years and our mission continues to be to make it common knowledge that the struggles associated with dyslexia and learning disabilities do not have to be permanent. Those underlying skills can be identified and developed and the brain can change!
To that end, I have written four best-selling books and opened four learning centers in southern California. We have trained public and private educators from all over the world and coach a network of centers around the country to do this work. Parents are dying a little bit each day watching their bright, struggling students get bullied and pegged as lazy, dumb, or unmotivated. Because these children and teens are good at masking their challenges, it may only be their parents that see the anxiety and trauma they internalize every day because they can’t keep up in school and they don’t understand why.
This has to change. There are answers and it truly astounds me that with all the research and evidence out there, Stowell Learning Centers (and one LA colleague – Bright Beginnings Pediatric Services in LA) are still virtually alone in saying that dyslexic struggles and learning disabilities do not have to be not permanent and are providing the treatment to prove it.
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?
It is a common belief that if you have dyslexia or a learning disability, you just have to learn to get around it – to have accommodations or build coping strategies. This myth is so ingrained that people really struggle to understand and believe that real change is possible. It makes our road quite lonely at times.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Stowell Learning Center?
Children, teens, and adults with dyslexia and other learning and attention challenges are not broken. They’re not lazy or manipulative or unmotivated. Unfortunately, the world often sees them this way and assumes they’ll just have to accept less in their lives. This is not true.
At Stowell Learning Centers, we have helped thousands of students over the last 35 years to permanently eliminate their struggles associated with dyslexia, auditory processing, and other learning disabilities and attention challenges.
We work one-on-one with students of all ages (5 – adult) using a wide variety of specialized, cutting-edge, neuroscience and research-based programs and strategies to develop the underlying visual, motor, auditory, and cognitive processing skills that are weak or inefficient and at the root of the problem. Then we can remediate the reading, writing, spelling, or math and it will stick!
What makes us different? We don’t put a bandaid on the problem. We actually address the root of the problem so that students can go on to love learning, thrive in school, and become successful adults. Everything we do is based on and guided by the Learning Skills Continuum (see photos section). The continuum drives everything that we do. It helps us identify the specific underlying skill areas that are not supporting the student well enough and create a targeted cognitive, educational therapy plan for each individual student. It is a comprehensive approach that re-opens the world of learning to students so that they can thrive in school and learn confidently and independently.
Brandon, a struggling dyslexic reader at 11 years old is now a pilot. Michael, who was brilliant but failing because of an auditory processing disorder is now a physician. Derek who couldn’t read a word at nine years old, graduated from high school with honors.
The potential was there all along, but we actually helped students reach it.
We work one-to-one with all students. We create a cognitive learning plan specifically for each individual student. We have a highly trained, very caring team of clinicians working with students. Living with dyslexia or a learning disability is extremely painful for students and families. We help our students change that permanently and that changes everything!
“I leave this place with more confidence than I ever thought I could have.” Chris Cruz, High School Student
“I thought I would share with you one of my favorite moments in 14 years. I walked in the door and found Riley sitting in a chair in the backyard, READING a novel! I was barely able to breathe. I was so excited! I have NEVER seen him do that in 14 years. Seriously, it was one of the BEST moments ever! Wendy Metzger, parent
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
Passion for this mission.
Never giving up. Always seeking answers.
Genuinely caring about people and operating with the belief that children/people do well when they can, so when they can’t, there’s more to the picture and we have to look under the symptoms or behaviors to understand and address the root of the problem.
Being flexible and patient.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.stowellcenter.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stowellcenter/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/learningdisability
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/stowellcenter/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/LDExpert
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/stowell-learning-center-pasadena
