EDUCATIONAL THERAPY WITH REBECCA O’BRIEN, MS, ET, WDP

"Ms. O’Brien is one of the most dedicated professionals in education I have encountered. She earned my daughter’s trust and became an instant mentor/support allied professional and coach to our child."

Margarita Wilkinson

Wed Feb 03 2021

"Ms. O’Brien not only helped me with my work but also organizing it and getting it done more efficiently. She also took the time to make me a digital planner, study guide, and even a weekend plan. Ms O’Brien is a dedicated teacher and she is very helpful."

Alex Wornovitzky

"I really liked to have a plan ready to go for the week because it was able to take a lot of stress away."

Eric Lillie

Fri Apr 30 2021

“I was struggling with school and she helped me twice a week. Ms. O’Brien made very helpful study/worksheets to help me. We met for 30 minutes and after each session I felt better on whatever we worked on. She also helped me about planning. She made suggestions on when to do school work to help me feel less stressed. I would really recommend Ms. O’Brien as a support. She’s a great teacher and a great person.”

Cooper Tweeten

Wed Feb 03 2021

"She was always putting a lot of work into helping me, making me a schedule, and helping me study. I loved working with her!!"

Stella Wahl

Grade 7 Student, San Diego

"She was always there to help with any problems or questions on my wriiten work and she showed me an excellent new way to plan my time!"

Janie Linnard

Sat May 01 2021

"She was very nice and understanding."

Bryce Parker

Sun May 02 2021

More About Rebecca

Rebecca O’Brien graduated with a Regent’s Citation from Georgetown University in 2009 as a double language major in Russian Studies and Spanish. She received her Master’s of Science in Education in 2012 while teaching at the American School of Quito, in Ecuador. She spent another four years in Shenzhen, China, teaching middle school Humanities at Shekou International School. When she returned to the U.S. after nearly eight years of teaching abroad, Rebecca pursued a postgraduate certificate program in Educational Therapy at the University of California at Riverside and received her Wilson Level I Teacher Certification at the same time. 

Currently, Rebecca works privately in the San Diego and La Jolla areas. She is available to meet with students in their school, virtually, or during at-home visitations. Rebecca specializes in providing individualized reading support for struggling readers (ages 7+) using the Wilson Reading System*. For emergent readers, that could also include Wilson Fundations and Heggerty Programs.

Rebecca takes pride in providing attentive, tailored, and detail-oriented support to families. As an educational therapist, she understands how to work with students who have complex learning profiles and other diagnoses. As a mother, she understands the sensitive, yet beautiful nature of every child; Rebecca believes that in every encounter, one should lead with compassion and kindness.

*What is the Wilson Reading System?

This is a structured literacy program that is based on the Orton-Gillingham Approach to literacy. Wilson is considered a Tier-3 Intervention for students aged 8+ who have fallen behind in school and cannot progress using traditional classroom methods. The popular Wilson FUNdamentals can be the Tier-2 Intervention for younger readers (JK-2) and is derived from the Wilson Reading System. Heggerty is a Phonological and Phonemic Awareness program that can be used with Pre-K and up.

WRS Level 1 Teacher Certification, 2021

Rebecca O'Brien has been awarded this Wilson Professional Credential following her successful completion of over 250 hours of hands-on training around word-study concepts, procedures, and reading research within the Wilson Reading System (Grades 2+). She is trained in helping struggling readers build their phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary, reading comprehension, and reading fluency in an intensive 1-2-1 format.

Classroom Teacher and Tutor, 10+ years Experience

Rebecca has woked in several private institutions both abroad (American School of Quito, Ecuador and Shekou International School, Shenzhen, China) and locally (Francis Parker School, San Diego). Before becoming an educational therapist, she worked as an ESL tutor, Humanities Teacher, and an Academic Resource support teacher for middle schoolers.