Last week, my mom set up a meeting with the team at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). We met with some of the psychologists and researchers at their Center for Advanced Behavioral Health. CHOP has a broad focus—they’re working to improve care for people with autism, thinking differences, and learning differences. Their mission is to study what actually works and make those solutions available to more families. What an impressive team of people.
At Coop NeuroRefreshers, our focus is specifically on learning differences—because that’s my personal experience. I’ve been diagnosed with dyslexia, dyspraxia, and dyscalculia. I know how much it can change your life when you finally get the right support and the right tools. That’s why I was excited to learn about CHOP’s work—and to see that people are out there trying to make that support easier to access.
One of the biggest problems they’re tackling is access. A lot of families can’t afford the testing or treatment, or don’t have time to keep showing up for in-person sessions. CHOP is trying to fix that—by designing programs that can be delivered virtually or even through an app. That way, more families can get help without having all those obstacles in the way.
Some of their programs really stood out to me. GetReady is a program for parents of newly diagnosed kids. It helps them understand the diagnosis and how to support their child. Another program, the MOST Group (Middle School Organizational Skills Training), helps kids with learning differences build the skills they need for middle and high school. That one really resonated with me—because I know how much that time in your life can shape your future.
Even though CHOP’s mission covers a wider range of neurodiversity—including autism and thinking differences—it was meaningful to see how seriously they’re taking the needs of kids with learning differences. They’re collecting data to push insurance companies to cover these treatments. They’re designing new ways to reach families faster. And they’re thinking about the real-life barriers that people face—like busy schedules, long commutes, and especially high costs.
It was just one meeting—but I walked away feeling more hopeful than ever. There’s still a lot of work to do, but people are out there fighting for us.
A huge thank you to the team at CHOP for taking the time to share their work with us. The Coop team is proud to be part of this movement—and we’ll keep doing everything we can to support kids who learn differently, every step of the way.
– Coop
