My Story
I'm not teaching from a distance. I'm in the storm with you.
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I'm Kelly Sutherland — a National Board Certified Teacher and Reading Specialist with 25 years in Title I classrooms, a Master's in Brain-Based Teaching and Learning, and an Education Specialist degree in Brain-Based Leadership. I have deep training in structured literacy, Orton-Gillingham, and the language structure knowledge that underpins specialist-level dyslexia intervention.
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I also have ADHD. And I raised a bonus child with both ADHD and dyslexia — who is now a thriving adult.
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That combination of classroom experience and lived experience is why Learning in a Distracted World exists. I've sat across from parents in 15-minute conferences with far more to offer than the clock would allow. I've been the teacher watching a brilliant child shut down. And I've been the parent in the thick of it, trying to hold everything together on a Tuesday night.
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I built this space for the parents who are doing the same.
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"You don't need to become your child's teacher. You need to become their Head Coach — the one who sees the whole child, coordinates the team, and never stops believing in what's possible."
Certification You Can Trust
My credentials aren't a list of letters after my name. They're 25 years of knowing what actually works in real classrooms with real kids — and the research foundation to explain why.
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I hold National Board Certification in Early/Middle Childhood Literacy, a Master's Degree in Brain-Based Teaching and Learning, and an Education Specialist Degree in Brain-Based Leadership. My training in structured literacy, Orton-Gillingham, and the Take Flight Dyslexia Curriculum means I understand the language system at the level specialists work from — and I translate that into strategies parents can actually use at home.
Leadership in Brain-Based Education
The research on how children learn — and why some children learn differently — is more accessible than most parents realize. My graduate work in brain-based education taught me to read that research and bring it home. Every strategy I share is grounded in how the brain actually processes language, builds memory, and regulates attention. No jargon. No shame. Just the science, translated for the families who need it most.
What I believe
Every child who walks into a classroom — or sits down at the kitchen table for homework — deserves a team that understands how their brain works. Not a system that asks them to work harder at things that are genuinely hard. A team that works smarter, together.
That's the Head Coach Framework. Parents aren't meant to become their child's teacher. They're meant to be the strategic coordinator — the one who knows their child best, communicates with the school team, and builds the home environment where learning can actually happen.
Learning in a Distracted World exists to give you the tools, the research, and the honest support to do exactly that. Whether your child has an official diagnosis or you're just in the thick of it trying to figure out what's going on — you belong here.
You Don't Have to Figure This Out Alone
If you're a parent of a child with ADHD, dyslexia, or both — or you suspect something is going on and don't know where to start — this is your place. Start with the blog, watch the YouTube channel, or jump straight into the community. However you find your way here, I'm glad you did.