I’m so glad you’re here.
Welcome to The Learning Collective . I’m Megan Barnett— Executive Function & ADHD/2e educator and founder of The Learning Collective.
I began my journey in 2015 as a tutor and homeschool teacher for neurodivergent children in the small surf town of Nosara, Costa Rica. Growing up, I suffered from crippling anxiety, high sensitivity, and perfectionism and always felt helpless in the 21st-century school paradigm. When I moved to Costa Rica, I realized that in my adult life I could be the compassionate, thoughtful, and innovative advocate and teacher that I so desperately needed when I was a child.
My support style is based on neuroscience, cognitive diversity, family/child psychology, and ADHD studies. I specialize in working with neurodivergent students, more specifically those that are 2e or have been diagnosed with ADHD, dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, autism, anxiety, perfectionism, and/or high sensitivity.
What sets my approach apart from mainstream tutors or coaches is that I look at the whole student—psychological diagnoses, executive function strengths and weaknesses, environmental factors, family life, nutrition, nervous system regulation needs, exercise/activity level, social integration— and then design a unique learning and support plan based on the student’s needs.
From my experience, real change occurs in a student when we integrate the collective—this means involving all players in the child’s life from parents, therapists, and teachers. In my practice, I recommend a fixed 12-week program for executive function support (this can be extended for the whole school year if needed) and a minimum of 4 parent support meetings .
It's time to change the narrative around neurodiversity. I am committed to empowering students to embrace their cognitive diversity, moving away from the shame of being “different” and ultimately supporting students in building executive function skills to carry out healthy, happy, and joyful lives.
Credentials
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Masters of Education in Cognitive Diversity from the Bridges Graduate School of Cognitive Diversity in Education, with a focus on 2e and ADHD learners. This graduate degree embraces the philosophy of celebrating human cognitive diversity and the belief that education should be strength-based and talent-focused.
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Trained to recognize cognitive patterns of students with diverse minds (gifted and talented, attention deficit, autism, and specific learning disabilities), understand the importance of identifying, and assessing strengths, talents, and interests and to design learning environments based on theories of strength based, talent focused education.
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Studied under parent coach Cindy Goldrich (author of 8 Keys to Parenting a Child with ADHD) and completed her Calm & Connected: Parenting Children & Teens with ADHD/Executive Function Challenges© Coaching program.
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Level 1 Dyslexia Remediation Trained from the Dyslexia Training Institute
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Completed a training workshop taught by Dr. Eli Lebowitz of the Yale Child Study Center in the methodology of SPACE treatment (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions).
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ADDCA is a global leader and pioneer in the specialty arena of ADHD Coach Training and Education. ADDCA is the first and largest comprehensive ADHD Coach Training Program.
