Supporting individuals with chronic pain/disabilities and their loved ones for over
10 years

I specialize in offering expressive arts-based emotional support to individuals and families who are affected by chronic pain and disabilities. In my Striving Together groups, women with health challenges receive support from other like-bodied participants and learn valuable skills to live fulfilling lives despite their physical limitations. Additionally, I help parents, spouses/partners and children of individuals with disabilities learn to navigate the difficulties of living with loved ones who struggle with physical challenges. I also offer guidance to siblings of children with special needs and create a space where they have opportunities to share their thoughts and feelings about growing up in their unique family systems.

Mentoring and advocating for students with disabilities for the past 25 years

As the founder of Learning with Lindsay, I provide academic tutoring for elementary, middle and high school students. I have a wealth of experience working with academic as well as personal issues that impact educational performance. I have supported young children, tweens and teens with a spectrum of needs including: deficits in study skills, issues of executive functioning, auditory processing weaknesses, dyslexia, attention deficit disorders (ADD, ADHD), Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), sensory disabilities, anxiety and social/emotional issues.

I have experience working with Twice-Exceptional students: learners who are identified as both gifted and challenged by physical or learning disabilities. I am familiar with conversational American Sign Language (ASL) and have tutored students who have hearing impairments. I also have specialized training in teaching the Lindamood-Bell method, which aims to help students with learning challenges improve the sensory-cognitive processing that is necessary for reading and comprehension.

In addition to providing academic guidance to students, I offer support and advocacy coaching to parents of children with learning disabilities. I am dedicated to helping parents who have difficulties navigating the process of identifying, advocating and securing the appropriate resources for their children’s specific challenges. I can serve as an educational consultant and help create a network of resources that may include psychoeducational testing, legal support, a 504 plan, an individual education plan (IEP) and a follow-up strategy to ensure academic success.

Embracing art as a tool for healing and personal growth

My heartfelt work as an Expressive Arts Educator stems from my own lifelong passion for the arts. My unique undergraduate major at UCLA, World Arts and Cultures, gave me the opportunity to travel the world through textbooks, lectures and museum seminars. I grew to appreciate the history and values of many cultures by interactively experiencing and studying visual art, dance, theater and music.

As a visual artist and musician, I have always been enchanted with the healing and transformative power of creative expression. My personal arts practice has helped me to contend with the challenges of my own chronic medical condition and to learn meaningful lessons along the way. Because the arts have been a powerful tool in my own recovery efforts, my deepest intention is to share this work with others.

Over the past 12 years, I have guided individuals and groups of all ages in embracing the healing arts to cope with chronic pain and disabilities. Additionally, I am the founder of Artz Groupz which helps adolescents cope with academic stress, ease anxiety, develop healthy decision-making skills and navigate peer and family relationships. I have training in STEAM which is an educational approach to learning that integrates art with STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) as access points for guiding student inquiry, dialogue, and critical thinking. Whether the challenges are physical, emotional or educational, I strongly believe that art is a powerful tool to enhance and support learning.

• Provided academic and emotional support for inner-city elementary school children (Watts Elementary, Los Angeles and MLK Center, San Mateo)
• Supported adolescent mothers in a weekly process group designed to promote healthy decision-making and strong parenting skills (Business Industry School, Crenshaw)
• Introduced incarcerated teen mothers and adults to the healing power of the arts with weekly classes focusing on coping skills, effective communication and problem-solving (Arts Reach, Ventura Youth Authority, Ventura;  San Francisco and San Bruno County Jails)
• Collaborated with Arts Reach staff and incarcerated teen mothers to produce a video to deter youths from engaging in gang activity (Ventura Youth Authority, Ventura)
• Planned and led an expressive arts group for women experiencing chronic pain (Mills Hospital support group, San Mateo)

• International Expressive Arts Therapy Association (IEATA)
• Teaching Artists Guild (TAG)
• North County School Crisis Intervention Team, Burlingame
• SimpleK12: a community of educators committed to integrating the arts with STEM learning