MEET TERA SUMPTER, M.A., CCC-SLP
I spent years trying to understand why smart kids were still struggling to learn.
Executive function changed the way I saw everything.
I’m Tera Sumpter, a speech-language pathologist, author, educator, and founder of Seeds of Learning®. My work is built around one idea: to understand a child’s learning challenges, we have to understand the systems underneath them.
This didn’t start with executive function.
I started as a medical speech-language pathologist, working in inpatient and outpatient hospital settings before founding Seeds of Learning® in 2011. I’ve worked with children in medical and therapeutic settings since 2001.
But the more children I worked with, the more I saw the same problem: A child might struggle with reading. Or language. Or attention. Or behavior.
Those challenges were often treated separately.
So I began asking a different question: What if they’re connected?
Learning doesn’t happen in separate boxes.
Speech. Language. Literacy. Attention. Memory. Regulation. Planning. They work together.
That idea led me to years of clinical study and research and eventually to the SEFF framework I now teach.
Where That Curiosity Led
2001
Began working with children in clinical and therapeutic settings
2011
Founded Seeds of Learning®
author
Wrote The Seeds of Learning
across the globe
Teaches professionals about executive function and cognitive processing
Today, I have the privilege of teaching SLPs, educators, OTs, psychologists, parents, and other professionals in the U.S. and worldwide.
Making the science of executive function
make sense in real life.
I work to help professionals and parents move beyond surface-level strategies and understand what may be happening underneath a child's learning challenges.
FROM THE BOOKSHELF
The Seeds of Learning®
My book brings together research from speech-language pathology, psychology, neuroscience, and education to help you understand how the pieces of learning connect.
Where do You Want to Go Next?
I'M A PROFESSIONAL
Learn how to understand and support executive function in practice.
I'M A PARENT
Understand what may be underneath the struggles you're seeing.
I WANT TO LEARN
FROM TERA
Join the Cohort Community, attend an event, or explore Tera's resources.
I WANT TO SEE THE IMPACT
Read testimonials, review outcomes, and see case studies.
I WANT TO VIEW MEDIA AND PUBLICATIONS
See whereThe Seeds of Learning® has been popping up!
I WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT SEFF
Learn more about the Sumpter Executive Function Framework.
And yes, there’s a REAL person
behind all of this.
I am a wife, mom of three, lifelong learner, and someone who can happily spend far too much time talking about the brain.
My work is deeply informed by my professional training, but also by years of listening to children, families, teachers, and clinicians describe what happens when traditional approaches aren't enough.