Here's how this startup is helping parents of kids who are struggling in school get the help they need

Students with dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder and other such conditions often struggle in the classroom.

Unfortunately, their parents frequently don't know how to even begin to address their learning disabilities.

Enter Learnfully Inc., a startup that's created a service to help parents and caregivers of kids with those and other so-called neurodivergent conditions connect with tutors, therapists and other specialists trained to assist with their children's specific needs.

"We are an (education technology) solution that focuses specifically on kids who struggle in the traditional classroom setting ... that's about 20% of learners," said Letha McLaren, Learnfully's CEO and co-founder. "The number is actually much bigger than that, because it doesn't account for kids who go on undiagnosed."

After parents sign up with Learnfully, the company starts by making an assessment of their kids' abilities and behaviors, measuring their critical thinking and executive functioning skills, such as how they do at time management, planning, focusing and controlling their impulses. The company charges $299 for the assessments.

After getting the results, the Redwood City company matches kids with the programs or people who can best meet their needs, referring parents either to its in-house specialists or to outside experts. Learnfully's own specialist rates range from $75-$150, depending on instructional format; the company doesn't charge for outside referrals.

Learnfully has designed its service to supplement traditional schooling. But it could expand its offerings in the future, McLaren said.

The company primarily markets to parents online, though it also accepts referrals from educators, speech therapists and psychologists. Its service saw a big jump in interest during the pandemic, when parents spent more time observing how their kids interact with school, McLaren said.

McLaren can empathize with Learnfully's clients

"Most parents didn't have insight into that before, and when they got to see it first hand, it really changed that engagement level and that awareness for learning differences," she said.

Founded last year, the company closed a seed funding round in April from Divergent Investments, according to PitchBook Data. Learnfully has 850 members in its network, including parents, educators and specialists.

McLaren and her co-founder, Suchi Deshpande, both know the difficulties faced by parents of neurodivergent kids. Their own children have conditions including autism spectrum disorder, ADHD and executive functioning problems.

From their own experiences, the two women knew the system for helping parents of such kids needed a change, McLaren said. But the pandemic — which forced students of all kinds to attend school online — spurred them to action, she said.

"We just had a big epiphany that this was the time to do it," McLaren said.

Having a service like the one Learnfully provides would have made a huge difference to the educational trajectory of McLaren's son had it been available when he was younger, she said. For many years, she was uncertain how to help him.

"Not every parent is an educator, and so they don't know what to do," McLaren said. "Today, we would've been much more prepared to be able to help him succeed, both inside and outside the classroom."