PresenceLearning and Highlights Partner To Support Children With Special Needs

PresenceLearning, the leading provider of online therapy solutions for schools and clinicians, unveiled a new strategic partnership with Highlights, the children’s media brand known for their beloved Highlights magazine.

This new collaboration marks Highlights’ first entry into online therapy in support of children with special needs. Speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, and behavioral and mental health professionals using PresenceLearning’s proprietary platform now have access to an enhanced digital library featuring a curated collection of more than 160 content pieces from Highlights’ extensive catalog. This new content includes games, stories, and activities designed to support each child’s therapy goals for reading comprehension, handwriting, fine motor, and problem-solving skills. It also promotes social and emotional health to support the whole child by educating and nurturing well-rounded and confident children—a core philosophy of Highlights.

When children carry over content experiences from their therapy sessions into their play at home, it helps them to make connections and practice skills that can support their progress. By incorporating familiar characters and fun, purposeful activities into therapy, clinicians have the potential to create more dynamic therapy experiences. With the addition of Highlights content, PresenceLearning continues to invest in brand name, digital content that helps providers personalize and enliven each student’s session.

“Our partnership with Highlights is part of our broader initiative to offer a next-generation therapy platform that helps providers deliver fun, engaging, and effective therapy sessions,” said Kate Eberle Walker, CEO of PresenceLearning. “Highlights is an ideal partner for PresenceLearning. As a trusted resource for educators and parents alike, they, like us, have been intentional about fostering experiences that help unlock the potential of every child. This partnership adds meaningfully to our library of high-quality content for use with children from kindergarten through 7th grade.”

In addition to its award-winning platform, PresenceLearning has the largest national network of speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, school psychologists, and social workers with 1500+ providers on its roster. Since its founding in 2009, the company has delivered more than 3.5 million teletherapy sessions to schools and districts across the U.S.

“Highlights has a long history of educating and inspiring children, and we are thrilled to expand the impact of our content into online therapy for children with special needs for the first time in our 75 years,” said Kent Johnson, CEO of Highlights for Children. “We exist to help children become their best selves by publishing content and creating experiences that engage, delight, and foster joyful learning. Partnering with PresenceLearning not only expands our reach but is in support of our work to help children see the good in themselves, the good in others, and the good in the world around them.”

Founded by child psychologist Dr. Garry Cleveland Myers and his wife and educator Caroline Clark Myers, Highlights for Children magazine was first published in June 1946. Since then, the Highlights brand has grown to a diverse and inclusive family of products for kids from birth to 12, that includes games, websites, mobile apps, school skills practice books, and multiple book clubs. Highlights products and content reach more than 10 million children across 40 plus countries annually.

PresenceLearning’s innovative therapy platform is “designed by clinicians, for clinicians.” As the company continues to expand its curated content library, PresenceLearning relies on feedback from this vital source of ideas and information.