Published in The Glencoe Compass in June, 2019
By Rebecca Osberg
Photography by Scott McDougall Photography
Dr. Jordi Kleiner has always been fascinated by learning and teaching. Originally from Santa Fe, New Mexico, Dr. Kleiner came to the Chicagoland area in 1999 and founded The North Shore Learning Clinic in 2011.
“I am deeply passionate about unlocking the potential of atypical learners,” says Dr. Kleiner. “This was cultivated in my undergraduate studies at Swarthmore College and my doctoral studies at Northwestern University, as well as from the amazing lives of the families we help in the clinic.”
The North Shore Learning Clinic is located above the Glencoe Historical Society. “We provide diagnostic evaluations to help identify ‘bottlenecks’ in learning, attention, and behavior, as well as individualized executive function coaching and educational therapy to help overcome those challenges.”
Since 2001, Dr. Kleiner has been providing psycho-educational evaluations and educational therapy for children and teens. Students – both children, adolescents, and adults – come to him feeling frustrated that they are not achieving at a level reflecting their capabilities.
“When we see a new client, we help to identify what is interfering and provide individualized strategies and skills to help increase ease and joy in learning as well as academic success,” explains Dr. Kleiner.
What this type of educational therapy is able to do astounds people.
“Early identification of developmental struggles makes a profound difference in the life of each child,” says Dr. Kleiner. “I tell people that teachers’ insights about their students’ strengths and struggles should not be overlooked.”
While it can be hard for Dr. Kleiner to leave the struggles he sees at the clinic at work, the good his work does stays with him always.
“We learn as much from the kids as they do from us,” says Dr. Kleiner. “Every day I look forward to caring and insightful collaborations with the diagnosticians and clinicians that are the heartbeat of our clinic. And there is nothing better than when we bump into someone years later and hear about the role we had in their earlier successes.”
