Educational Stepping Stones
What began as Pathways To Learning has grown into Educational Stepping Stones, built on a simple belief: kids don't need to be managed into better grades; they need to be understood, validated, and guided toward their goals and aspirations. We work at the intersection of academics, executive functioning, and social-emotional development, translating what we see into nuanced insights for growth, with a particular focus on serving Los Angeles families who need more than just a glorified tutor.
When frustration turns into avoidance, or the demands of school outpace a child's executive functioning, we help them find stable footing in turbulent moments: building the skills for emotional regulation, responsibility, and problem solving that no worksheet can teach.
Some students are also navigating more complex situations: anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, divorce, suicidal ideation, OCD, and/or AUDHD (ADHD combined with level 1 autism spectrum, formerly known as Asperger's). In those cases, we work in close coordination with a student's therapists, psychiatrists, and other providers, so the support at school and at home stays aligned with the care they're already receiving.
Above all, we prioritize the individual over the curriculum: protecting the client through advocacy and guidance centered on what is truly important for that student in that moment, even when it means stepping back from what a syllabus or schedule says should come next.
The people behind the practice.
Josh Perry, M.Ed.
I founded Educational Stepping Stones as an Educational Therapist and Launch Coach, and I've spent my career helping students move from overwhelm to independence, first as Pathways To Learning, and now leading a growing team focused on the whole student.
I'm also a parent, whose son recently graduated high school and successfully gained admittance to the college of his choice. Like most of us, he also needed to overcome his own personal roadblocks to find stable footing during various moments in his life. That experience gave me a firsthand understanding of what is truly important in times of struggle, a foundation for recognizing developmentally appropriate behaviors, and knowledge of how to navigate them to find success, one I bring into every family I work with.
- Founder and Senior Practitioner, Educational Specialist, Child Advocate
- M.Ed., Educational Therapist and Launch Coach
- 30+ years working with students; 20+ years providing educational therapy
- Deep experience collaborating with private schools, therapists, and psychiatrists across Los Angeles
Lisa Mamos
I've spent more than 25 years in special education as a classroom teacher, learning specialist, and school administrator, including serving as Director of Academic Support and Director of Student Support. That experience taught me that real progress starts with understanding the whole child, not just the grade on the report card: identifying the ADHD, dyslexia, executive functioning gaps, or emotional regulation struggles getting in a student's way, then building the practical skills and confidence to take ownership of their own learning.
I'm also a mother of three, and I understand firsthand that academic struggles rarely stay contained to homework time. That experience shapes how I work with parents too, translating evaluations, IEPs, and accommodations into strategies that actually work at home and at school, so every family I work with walks away with a child who feels understood and equipped to move forward on their own.
- Founding Partner and Senior Practitioner, Educational Therapist
- B.A. Psychology, University of Southern California
- M.Ed., Special Education & Child and Adolescent Literacy, Loyola Marymount University
- Associate Member, Association of Educational Therapists
- 25+ years working with students