About

Who is Discover?

Discover Educational Therapy was founded in 2020 by Daltrey Abney, an educational therapist with a passion for helping those like herself that learn differently. After working in both public and private schools across the globe and a school for students with learning differences in Los Angeles, Daltrey found her way to educational therapy. She worked a two educational therapy practices in the Los Angeles area before officially starting her own practice. She truly believes that the whole-child approach educational therapy offers can have a profound impact on the lives of students and has built a practice that reflects the following values and principles:

1. We are an Inclusive Space and are Neurodiversity and LGBTQIA+ Affirming:
The educational services community historically has been geared toward one set population both in research and practice. Discover Educational Therapy aims to break this mold by offering services tailored to all people, building an educational therapy plan that affirms all aspects of a client's identity. We are neurodiversity affirming and do not view learning and social differences as a problem to fix, but rather a uniqueness that requires a different approach to learning and living. We believe speaking openly about diagnosis builds confidence and allows clients to better self-advocate. We have built a team that reflects this inclusive model and have neurodivergent and LGBTQIA+ community members on staff.

2. We Value Relationship Building:
Many students and adults with learning and social differences do not feel seen, heard, or understood. This can create tension in their relationships with family, teachers, coworkers, and peers. Our approach allows our client's other team members to take a step back, stop being case managers, and start being parents, siblings, teachers, and friends again. Discover Educational Therapy starts by building a foundation of trust with our clients by letting them know that we are here to help them achieve the goals THEY want to achieve- not their teachers, parents, bosses, etc. If our team members are not the right fit, we are committed to helping you find an educational therapy team or other service provider that connects with you and meets your needs.

3. We are Data Driven:
Sessions with us aren't just about practicing skills, doing homework, or playing games to build skills. Each client has specific, measurable goals that we are working toward. Utilizing research-based programs, models, and strategies, we work toward those goals measuring progress each and every session to ensure the methods we are using are working. Each month we send out reports that show the client's progress toward their goals and any adjustments that are being made to the client's session plan based on that progress. When a client meets their short-term goals, we celebrate and write new ones! When a client meets all of their long-term educational therapy goals, then it's time to terminate services and let the client thrive independently.

4. We Specialize in Complex Clients:
What is a complex client? The educational therapy community views a complex client as anyone that falls outside the textbook presentation of a specific learning difference or disability. That might be a high-masking middle school girl with autism, an elementary school boy with a language processing disorder and ADHD, or a non-binary adult with a visual processing disorder, anxiety, and executive dysfunction. We specialize in clients that have a combination of differences. We do not ever say, "They have this diagnosis, so we'll use this program." Rather we take a look a the whole picture and build a plan that encompasses the whole person and all of their needs, making a unique plan for each client.

5. We are Intentionally Small:
Unlike other educational therapy practices, Daltrey - our lead educational therapist- case manages every single client to ensure that they are receiving the best educational therapy services possible. She values having a relationship with every client and their team, which is why we intentionally cap our client number at 30 clients. This boutique model allows us to better closely track each client's progress toward their goals and provide the niche services that we do.