Leslie Levine & Associates, Inc.

06/07/2026

Turn book reading into a conversation by connecting with your child, having fun together, and building language through your child's interests and ideas.

05/02/2026

FREE amazing experts supporting parents.

Free Parent Conference

04/20/2026

Most literacy interventions are missing this.

We drill phonics and decoding.
We push comprehension strategies.
We increase reading time.

And then wonder why progress stalls.

Because literacy isn’t just about reading skills…

It’s about the brain processes that run those skills.

If a student can’t hold information in mind,
focus long enough to process meaning,
shift when something doesn’t make sense,
or organize their thinking…

They will struggle with reading, no matter how much practice they get.

This is why some students:
• Decode perfectly but can’t comprehend
• Can explain the reading rules but can’t apply them in context
• Know what to do but struggle to actually do it

It’s not a motivation problem.

It’s not a “they need more practice” problem.

It’s an executive function problem.

Until we start supporting the system behind the skill…

we’ll keep reteaching the same thing

and getting the same results.

Just like the EF system directs your ability to get to work on time, it also directs how well you read.

We can’t have an effective conversation around literacy development without also talking about the role that EF plays.

Can I get an Amen?!

04/06/2026

Speech and language development isn’t just about sounds and words. It’s driven by Executive Function.

A child has to first perceive what’s happening around them to even begin learning language.

They need verbal working memory to hold onto speech sounds long enough to process and imitate them.

They need inhibition to pause, wait, and actually engage with peers in conversation.

And when working memory is weak, language learning becomes significantly harder.

Even telling a simple story relies on EF, organizing thoughts, sequencing ideas, and expressing them clearly.

This is why some students struggle with speech and language even when they “know the words.”

It’s not just language. It’s the system behind it.

References
Baddeley, A. (2003). Working memory and language: An overview. Journal of Communication Disorders, 36(3), 189–208.
Diamond, A. (2013). Executive functions. Annual Review of Psychology, 64, 135–168.

01/13/2026

💕Autistic Barbie: We look forward to playing with her with our clients in 2026 and are hopeful many children will enjoy this doll. Inclusion and representation matter. 💕

01/12/2026

📚🔨🪚CORE Connections Teamwork &
Project Reveal:
Check out the dedication and teamwork shown by our middle school group in their semester long project. They utilized their executive function skills to research, make a plan, visualize, edit, execute, modify, and self evaluate all the steps to build and collect donations for their incredible Free Little Library outside of the school.
Months in the making.
🛑Stop by CORE Community School and please take a book and give a book.
📏🗜️🎨📚

09/28/2025

Teaching our children to become kind and accepting humans is a gift that lasts a lifetime.

09/22/2025

Yes!!!!!

For years, taking away recess has been seen as a way to ‘manage behavior.’

But here’s the twist - movement is fuel for self-regulation.

When we cut recess, we’re taking away the very tool kids need to self-regulate, focus, cope, and thrive.

08/04/2025

Yes. Yes. Yes. Working on verbal working memory is key for all strategies for retention of reading skills.

07/22/2025

Executive function and instilling home responsibility in our children and young adults. Awesome chore chart starting at age 8 attached. Check it out.