Please allow me to introduce you to our new partner for True Literacy.  Dr. Anupma Sethi is a very skilled clinician who will be guest posting for our blog as well as creating modules that will provide specific techniques and strategies for parents and teachers to work with our children at home and at school.  Please join me in welcoming Anupma!

As the mother of two students, one college age and one high school, I have navigated the education systems and know the importance of quality pedagogy that recognizes every child is an individual.”

I have a doctorate in Learning disabilities from University of Delhi. I am a certified SOI cognitive skills trainer under SOI Systems Oregon, USA. Further certifications that I hold are:

• Certified Orton-Gillingham Literacy Therapist under Academy of Orton Gillingham Practitioners and Educators (AGOPE).
• Licensed The Listening Program (TLP) provider to enhance and improve Auditory Processing Skills from Advanced Brain technologies USA.

For over 25 years, I have been working with children with learning disabilities and  ADHD, and have experimented with research based new developments in the area of education and the science of teaching. I remain passionate about education and collaborating with schools and professionals to create structured, positive environments for children to reach and optimize their potential through centers for creative learning.

My philosophy of education engages the belief that everyone has the inherent capacity to be what they want to be when they are provided the opportunity to learn in the manner best suited for their individual strengths. What we need is a new paradigm in education where “all” means “all”. Where we nourish the belief that all persons have value and that all persons (children) can learn.

About Dr. Anupma Sethi:

While researching at the National Council of Educational Research & Training of India in 1991, I was introduced to the field of “Learning Disabilities” by one of my professors, Dr. Anupam Ahuja, this would soon become  my  true passion and calling in life.  I recall being curious as to why certain students would not perform well academically despite having average or above average intelligence levels. My fascination with the field pushed Me to pursue a PhD in specific learning disabilities in arithmetic among elementary grade children,  and I’ve since worked with higher grade levels as well. 

In the early part of my career, I spent most of my time working one on one and in small groups with children diagnosed with a wide range of learning disabilities. I started my own venture in New Delhi to assess children with learning disabilities, create individualized remedial educational plans based on Multi-sensory instruction, and led a team of qualified special education professionals in executing these customized plans with the students. To address the lack of support provided by schools to students with special education needs, I also worked as an educational consultant to set up learning centers to offer these students additional resources.

After moving to the United States, I got  certified as a SOI systems practitioner, a certified Orton-Gillingham Reading Therapist, and a licensed Braingym instructor. In addition I worked in  private montessori and public schools in Colorado as a substitute teacher. In 2011, Dr. Sethi founded her own venture Empowerkidz and has been working one on one with children with her own customized learning plans. At present, Empowerkidz is gearing up to open its doors for the community in San Jose, CA to provide state of the art services for assessments, customized cognitive skills training programs along with O-G based Multi-Sensory academic Instruction.  

 It was a great experience working at Almaden Country Day School for one academic year as an Instructional Aide with  two first grade teachers and middle school science teacher and Language arts teachers. I thoroughly enjoyed my literacy coaching with first grade students. The experience of working with the middle school students was very satisfying and gave me the confidence that I can work well with middle school students as well.