Frequently Asked Questions

Jill Stowell, owner and director of Stowell Learning Center, opened her doors to the community in 1984. For over 40 years she and the Learning Center staff have implemented the latest and most effective programs with the students they serve.

Jill is continuously searching for the best programs to meet the ever-changing learning challenges that arise in our student population.

The Stowell Learning Center evolves with the times. It does not stay stagnant, but changes as the needs of our students change.

Because of her dynamic thinking and passion for helping students, Jill is an invaluable resource to and is well respected by other professionals in the learning disabilities community.

We have a wonderful staff of energetic, enthusiastic people working with our students. Most of our clinicians fall into one of three categories. They are either working towards their bachelor's degree in the fields of teaching, speech, or child psychology, have their bachelor's degree, or have their bachelor's and are working towards their teaching credentials or masters degree. Four of the senior staff are Dyslexia Remediation Specialists.

All of our staff has been thoroughly trained in all of the programs used by the director, Jill Stowell. We continuously hold in-service training on new programs or disabilities.

Training is constant at the learning center. We continually seek to better understand our students and provide the absolute best programming options for them. Clinicians are well supervised by senior staff and are guided with each and every student. We meet on a weekly basis to troubleshoot, discuss programs and provide staff development.

Jill has taught in the public school system, has her master's degree in education with an emphasis in learning handicaps, is a national trainer for many of the programs used the Learning Center and is well respected in the teaching community.

Typically students and parents will begin to see changes within just a few weeks. Our goal for each student is that he or she becomes the most comfortable, efficient, and independent learner he or she can be. How long this process takes will depend on the number and severity of the student’s learning challenges and the intensity of the therapy time.

We do not have a set program guarantee. What we do guarantee is that we will do everything we can to help each student become the best learner and most successful student he can be. If we feel that we cannot help, we will work with the family to try to find someone who can.

Each student has a unique set of learning strengths and challenges. Therefore, students progress at different rates. We are working towards making permanent changes in the way students process information and learn.

We do not just want to band-aid the issues.

Permanent changes that bring success in learning require remediation that directly deals with the underlying processing skills. Our therapy and methods are designed to work on developing a solid foundation for independent and successful learning.

Yes! The center was originally opened to serve the dyslexic population. We have many different strategies and programs that specifically address the unique and varied needs of dyslexic students of all ages. Four of the senior staff are Dyslexia Remediation Specialists.

Yes. We work with many high functioning children on the autistic spectrum. Working with the autistic population is something that we determine on a student by student basis. Depending on the severity of the child’s symptoms and parental goals, we may be able to provide therapy. After an initial screening, we will determine if we are the appropriate place for the child. If we feel there is something we can do we will work closely with the parents to create a program for the student.

Yes. Once the student is assessed we will determine what therapy or therapies the student will benefit from. What does your therapy look like? All of our therapy is provided on a one-to-one, directed teaching basis. Some of our programs use specialized materials or equipment. Therapy is provided in individual therapy rooms, but we also have a “fun room” for motor development and attention training. A few of our programs utilize the computer. These are always supervised and directed by the clinician. Because our therapy focuses on developing underlying thinking skills essential to efficient learning, daily instruction is critical to the process. In order to reduce the cost to the family, we often suggest partnering with the parents to provide the frequency of instruction needed. When parents do a follow-up at home, we view them as our teaching partners and we will provide both instruction and materials to support them.

Yes. Working on-to-one allows us to provide the intensity, individualization, and specific feedback needed to make significant changes in a short amount of time. Each student will have a specific schedule and clinician or team of clinicians that she works with on a regular basis.

No. We have been working with students for over twenty years and have found that the absolute best way to make the needed changes and provide a personal, positive, and enjoyable experience for students is to work one-to-one.

One-to-one training is a requirement of many of the programs and strategies we use. In order to make real, lasting changes in the brain, students must be challenged. Working on-to-one allows us to stretch students’ thinking, in a very supportive, encouraging, and confidence-building environment.

The first step in our process is to Speak to a Learning Specialist. This gives you a chance to get all of your questions answered, and schedule a Functional Evaluation.

Functional Evaluations are required for all new students.

More information is available on our page: Enrollment Process and Timeline

We would love to give you a tour of one of our Southern California locations. CLICK HERE to learn more about our center tours and RSVP to get a first-hand look behind-the-scenes at Stowell Learning Center.

You can schedule a call with a Learning Specialist on this page: Speak to a Learning Specialist 

Assessment is required for admission to any Stowell Learning Center program. We never want to guess about what is going on with a student. We want to know exactly what the challenges look like for your child so that we can make the best recommendations for correcting them.

We never want to over-test students, but we do need to spend time with your child in order to see what the challenges actually look like.

We are happy to review any records/reports that you have as a part of the assessment process. This may allow us to do less testing with your child, but will actually take about the same amount of time for us, so in most cases, the assessment fee will be the same.