From Sticky to Sticking: Building Growth in Reading Comprehension Skills
How do we move students from simply “doing reading comprehension” to truly reading for learning and understanding?
In this engaging webinar, Kristin Barbour and Jeanann Lacaze explore how Educational Therapists can intentionally build reading comprehension skills that stick. Drawing from current Gray Matter Literacy research and practical Educational Therapy applications, participants will discover how comprehension growth is already embedded within NILD techniques—we simply need to recognize and intentionally develop these opportunities.
Through research findings, practical demonstrations, and classroom-ready strategies, this webinar will help Educational Therapists strengthen vocabulary, meaning-making, questioning, oral reading, written language, and higher-level thinking within their sessions.
Participants will learn how to:
Build stronger reading comprehension outcomes through intentional mediated learning
Incorporate comprehension-focused activities within familiar NILD techniques
Strengthen vocabulary, associative fluency, sentence cohesion, and written expression
Use strategies from Buzzer, Grammar, Dictation & Copy, and Math Block to deepen understanding
Develop measurable reading comprehension goals that guide intervention
Help students move from surface-level reading to meaningful learning and understanding
This webinar also highlights current Gray Matter Literacy research demonstrating significant student growth in passage comprehension, vocabulary, and broad reading outcomes.
About Your Instructors
Jeanann Lacaze, B.A., PCET
Jeanann received her BA in Special Education with certification in Mental Retardation and a minor in Learning Disabilities from Lynchburg College. She began her career teaching students with learning disabilities in a self-contained middle school classroom in Virginia Beach and quickly discovered her passion for NILD Educational Therapy after observing her first session.
For more than 26 years, Jeanann has served students with learning differences through Educational Therapy in both private and public school settings. She began at Norfolk Christian Schools and later became part of the Discovery Program Leadership team as the program transitioned from Norfolk Christian. She also worked with Park Place School, founded by NILD, Norfolk Christian, and Urban Ministries, as well as programs serving at-risk students in Newport News and Chesapeake public schools.
Jeanann piloted the NILD Rx Reading and GET workshops and taught Level I courses at Regent University. For over 17 years, she has taught SEARCH & TEACH and numerous Rx workshops throughout the United States and internationally. In addition to training Educational Therapists, Jeanann has contributed to NILD research initiatives and curriculum development teams. She currently serves as the Discovery Program Coordinator at NILD headquarters.
Kristin Barbour, EdD, PCET
Kristin Barbour is deeply committed to advancing NILD’s mission of helping students with learning differences flourish through cognitive transformation. Her passion is bringing life-long learning to life and developing independent, confident learners. An internationally respected educator and keynote speaker, Kristin combines expertise in educational therapy, speech-language pathology, and cognitive development to support effective, research-based intervention for struggling learners.
In addition to serving as NILD’s Executive Director, Kristin is a certified Educational Therapist and an authorized trainer in the Feuerstein Instrumental Enrichment Program. Prior to joining NILD, she directed Discovery Program, Inc. (DPI), a community-based organization serving students with dyslexia, learning disabilities, and ADHD in Hampton Roads, Virginia. Kristin earned her EdD from Johns Hopkins University in the Mind, Brain, and Teaching program.
