"I struggled with patience night after night trying to force my son to finish his homework. Two pages could easily take him 45 minutes. Homework usually ended with harsh words and hurt feelings. In February, the school warned that he was in danger of not meeting 3rd grade standards in reading. I was devastated.

Earlier in the school year, my son tested into the gifted and talented program. However, he continue to be unsuccessful with basic school work. By February, his self esteem was in the toilet. His teacher suggested an “intervention”, an after school tutoring session comprised of special needs children. It was a humbling experience for him, and destroyed his self-esteem even more. I learned Melanie's work after speaking to a friend, and the theory of right-brained dominance was suggested.

I immediately did the usual Internet research and couldn't believe my eyes. My son is right-brained in a left-brained world! It was the happiest moment of realization for me. Melanie West was amazing. She put a name to the issue, and gave us the tools and the knowledge to understand his way of reading, comprehension, and learning effective ways to adapt to left-brained modalities. Her passion is children, and it was evident from the moment we met with her.

My son now uses the tools he learned and brought back a final report card that blew us away. He was above level in all the areas that had held him back just a few months before. He actually likes to read now, and is intent on finishing the Hardy Boys series. He has more confidence than ever before. Working with Melanie has forever shaped and changed his life."

— Maureen Forman

"Working with Melanie West over the past several years has been the single biggest contributor to our daughter's success in school and more importantly to her feeling success in life. We first started working with Melanie when Nicole was in 4th grade and the greatest thing was how quickly we saw a positive change. Her writing became legible, her confidence apparent, and most importantly her self-image and understanding of herself transformed her into the strong, capable 8th grader she is today.

Melanie has really become a life coach for our family. She is so capable at helping families to understand how learning is different for different children and how to help our 'right-brained' child be successful in such a 'left-brained' dominant public school system."

— Julie Caravaggio

"Our daughter was having trouble learning how to read. We met with Melanie, who was able to look at our daughter's handwritten work and discern immediately her brain dominance and particular learning style. Our daughter worked with Melanie and on the third day was reading! Melanie is able to work with both children and adults turning learning into a joyful experience. Our daughter, who once never wanted to read or write, now writes poetry for fun. Melanie made everything possible!"

— Susan Lizotte

"This might sound dramatic but this is literally what happened. Melanie pulled us ALL out of a dark tunnel. No one seemed to know what to do with my son Roman. I was told and I quote "the abyss is too deep". Melanie was the ONLY positive and constructive voice that I came across. So we started the work. One steady foot in front of the other, while we were being reassured, protected and well advised, Melanie just made it happen.

Over the past two years that we have been working together, Roman had achieved leaps and bounds. His improvements have been so vast that has recently been accepted in his top choice high school."

— Rhea Scott

"We have worked with Melanie for over two years. She has guided us through uncharted waters and made them feel calm. My daughter loves her one-on-one time with Melanie- it's work time, but Melanie has such a beautiful way with children, they come and go with a smile.

Melanie has helped our family understand that all children learn differently guiding us to understanding what turns the learning light on, and give meaning to the matter. There is no WRONG way of seeing things....only "left" or "right". Melanie always says, in the big picture- it is all good. Our entire family has been blessed by Melanie's understanding.

— Suzanne Ascher

"Melanie West has been our son's educational savior for the past 3 years! Starting with Melanie's one-on-one workshops, our son was able to begin a journey of understanding how his brain really learned and apply those ideas into his everyday school work. Melanie also taught him relaxation techniques and other ways to calm his brain. Things that he tries to apply in his everyday life. Beyond this, I was fortunate enough to take one of Melanie's parent workshops. A thoroughly enjoyable experience that brought full circle what my son was working on and ways for me to better understand and help him in the process. Lastly, through Melanie, we were connected with an amazing tutor that works with our son with homework and so much more. Our tutor brings a vast knowledge of Melanie's techniques as well as a calm understanding of students like my son and how they learn best. I can't say enough great things about Melanie's services! Our educational life would be completely different without them!"

— Erica Stearns


"We can't thank Melanie enough for all of her support with our son who is a bright student and a right-brain thinker. We knew he learned differently from our younger son but didn’t quite understand how or why. The time we spent with Melanie was invaluable in understanding how his brain functions and learns new information. Through various strategies that Melanie taught him, he now knows how to visually work through spelling, writing and math assignments. As parents we now feel we can help him in his school work and, more importantly, through Melanie workshops our son has learned how he can help himself."

— Kathleen Gibbons