• FOUNDER, EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING COACH, 504 & SPECIAL EDUCATION ADVOCACY

    AURA exists after the culmination of a career teaching special education and leading schools that was cut short after a run in with Lyme Disease. In fall of 2019, I medically resigned from my position as the director of a private school in Austin, TX and focused on healing up and finding ways I could still contribute in education despite a barrage of neurological difficulties.

    When the pandemic occurred and school drastically changed, I grew concerned about the outcomes for many students. As ideas like digital and asynchronous learning were popularized, the answer became quite obvious in the outcomes- executive functions supports and coaching for teens. Over the years, AURA has supported hundreds of teens and their parents and schools to better understand and support this crucial executive functions development of adolescence that is so challenged by our modern world.

    Executive Functioning Coaching is uniquely supportive for students with ADHD and all teens in general because it’s the time of life when our executive functions are rapidly developing. At AURA, we believe that through the AWARENESS of what the executive functions are and how they operate, and the UNDERSTANDING of who we are paired with an exciting and achievable vision of who we want to be, we find the RESPONSIBILITY necessary for the ACTION to accomplish it. That’s AURA in a nutshell.

    Want to know more about how Executive Functioning Coaching can help support your teen and family?

    Schedule a free inquiry call by clicking this link!

    ~Paul M. Benton

  • MATH TUTOR & STUDY SKILLS SPECIALIST

    A student's experience of Math can profoundly influence their self-confidence and family relationships.

    Will saw first-hand, during 8+ years of math instruction, the difference between staying ahead of Math and falling behind.

    Students who stayed ahead felt calm, competent, confident.

    Students who fell behind felt anxious, depressed, or even angry. They lost the drive to engage with school overall; they would engage in negative self-talk. "I can't do this," became "I'm bad at this," became "I'm stupid."

    And once those limiting beliefs take hold, they're difficult to shake.

    On the bright side, Will also saw that positive, proactive interventions could make incredible and rapid turnarounds. Working with students to get ahead, keeping them on the virtuous cycle, the effect was more than mere learning: students quickly improved their mood, their orientation to school, their self image... and even their family relationships: removing the friction around Math performance even helped to heal family strife in the home.

    Witnessing those positive outcomes and striving for them is what motivates Will to work with students and parents.

    To achieve those results, Will excels at pacing a student's growth. He has a natural talent for communicating complex ideas, combined with an easygoing style and a sensitivity to students. That allows him to give each student exactly what they need, moment by moment, to grow as quickly as they're able.

    Will has a BA in Psychology from UC Berkeley, with a minor in Child Development. He grew up in Los Angeles and moved to Texas in 2020. He is an avid outdoorsman and Eagle Scout.

    If you'd like to learn more about working with Will, click below to schedule a free inquiry!

  • Carley Perry is a Personal Trainer and teaches a movement system called Original Strength. Carley’s training starts with foundational movements- eyes, breath, and coordinated whole body patterns that helps calm the nervous system, align posture, build strength, and feel better!