Offline.now is a community helping people build a healthier relationship with screens - without shame or all-or-nothing rules. We turn intention into action with small wins, a simple framework (the Offline.now Matrix) and practical tools anyone can use at home, at work, or in the classroom.

We host a growing directory of therapists, coaches, and others who specialize in digital wellbeing, attention, and family tech dynamics. Whether you’re a parent, professional, student, or practitioner, we meet you where you are and help you design tech use that supports sleep, focus, and relationships.

For media, we provide expert voices, timely insights on doomscrolling and phone overuse, and real-world stories from our community.

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American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) : Certified member holding the Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC-SLP).

Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD) : National non-profit organization supporting individuals with ADHD and their families.

ADDitude Magazine : Contributor and expert source on executive functioning, ADHD, and learning differences.

P300 as a measure of processing capacity in auditory and visual domains in specific language impairment

Ep 105 | Hope for Kids and Adults with ADHD: Craig Selinger of Themba Tutors

Dr. Jan Wasowicz is an ASHA-certified, IL-licensed, and FL-licensed speech-language pathologist with 35+ years of experience as a language, literacy, and learning specialist working with students who have language-based reading, writing, and spelling difficulties and disorders. She has taught numerous university-level courses and is frequently invited to speak about best practices in literacy assessment and instruction at professional conferences. She is also the inventor of the Earobics® software, author of SPELL-Links to Reading & Writing, and lead moderator of the SPELLTalk professional listserv. She is here to speak about her favorite topic, literacy! Learn about the updated science of literacy, how her word study program was adopted by the Colorado READ Act, and Dr. Wasowicz's favorite literacy tips to help students become more proficient readers and writers.

Literacy and the Brain: What You Need to Know.

Understanding Dyslexia in NYC: Navigating NYC’s School System: A Dyslexia Handbook with Insights, Evaluations, and IEP Guidance for All New York City Parents

ADHD &amp; Executive Function: Habits That Stick: Practical Strategies for Home, School, and Everyday Life

Supporting Your Child's Communication: A Parent's Guide to Speech-Language Delays: Early Intervention Strategies, Signs, and Treatment for Babies, Toddlers, and Preschoolers

Craig Selinger, M.S., CCC-SLP, is a nationally recognized speech-language pathologist, executive function expert, and educational consultant with 25+ years of experience helping neurodiverse learners thrive.

He is the Founder and CEO of Themba Tutors and Brooklyn Letters, two leading New York City–based metro area practices providing personalized executive function coaching, structured literacy, speech language therapy, and academic tutoring across the NYC metro area—including Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island, Long Island, Westchester, New Jersey, and Connecticut—as well as remote services nationwide and internationally.

Craig and his multidisciplinary team specialize in supporting students and adults with ADHD, autism, dyslexia, anxiety, and other learning differences. Their work integrates neuroscience, psychology, and education to build the cognitive, emotional, and organizational skills essential for independence, self-advocacy, and academic success.

A New York State–licensed speech-language pathologist, Craig earned his master’s in Communicative Disorders from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and holds the Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC-SLP) from ASHA. His advanced training includes Orton-Gillingham structured literacy, PROMPT motor speech therapy, and the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) for early autism intervention. Early in his career, he contributed to peer-reviewed neuroscience research published in Brain Research.

Craig collaborates closely with neuropsychologists, psychiatrists, and educational consultants to align academic coaching with clinical insight. He also advises edtech innovators—including Poppins (structured literacy platform) and Elvo AI (speech and language technology)—bringing practitioner expertise into product design.

A sought-after speaker, Craig has presented at NYU Langone, Mount Sinai Hospital, Columbia University (Teachers College), Bard High School Early College, independent schools and national conferences, The Study preschool in New Delhi, the NYC Parents’ Primer Round Table Discussion for Dyslexia, the Center for Attention and Learning at Lenox Hill Hospital–Northwell Health, and the Everyone Reading Conference.

Featured In: The New York Times, NBC News, New York Magazine, The Atlantic, WPIX 11, NVLD Project, Tiny Beans, Healthline, ADHD Online, Psych Central, NYMetro Parents, Momtastic, About.com, and Business Insider.

Neuro-Affirmative Approaches

Neurodiverse Learners

Executive Function

Speech-Langage Pathology

Education

ADHD Specific Digital Management Strategies

Personal Website

Brooklyn Letters

Themba Tutors

The Pandemic’s Toll: America’s Reading Crisis

Tutors take center stage as students try to make up pandemic losses

How New York City Schools Are Relearning to Teach Reading

How Masks Get in the Way of Speech Therapy for Kids

Is My Baby Watching TV Really A Problem?

Does ADHD Affect Speech?

How an Executive Functioning Expert Helped Me Become a Better Parent

Breaking down hot educational and therapeutic topics by experts who help children, adolescents, and families. Hosted by Craig Selinger, CEO of Brooklyn Letters and Themba Tutors.

Craig Selinger

can-you-reboot-your-familys-screen-rules-before-going-back-to-school

Offline.now experts say the week before school resumes is the perfect time to reset kids’ sleep, focus and screen habits starting with what parents model.

Executive Function Coach, Speech-Language Pathologist, and Educational Specialist

Certified Professional Coach

As kids head back to school after the holidays, many parents notice the same pattern: bedtimes drifted, screens crept into bedrooms, and mornings feel like a battle. 

Executive Function Coach Craig Selinger and Personal Development Coach Mark Diamond, both experts in the Offline.now directory, say the answer is yes; but only if families treat the last week of break as a “tech reset,” not just a scramble for school supplies.

Selinger points out that today’s devices are structurally different from the TV many parents grew up with:

“Phones and tablets are more addicting than the old living-room TV. There’s no natural ending — no episode, no credits, no ‘we’re done now.’ When the ‘TV’ lives in your child’s pocket, transitions to homework or sleep become a lot harder.”   That matters because late-night screen habits have real consequences in the classroom. Reviews of adolescent media use consistently link bedtime and late-evening screen time with shorter sleep, poorer sleep quality, and worse next-day functioning; including attention, memory and mood that kids need to learn.

On top of that, education and cognition research shows that media multitasking: juggling schoolwork with notifications, chats, and apps is associated with reduced sustained attention and weaker academic performance.

Diamond, who ran a tech-free summer camp for 25 years, has seen how quickly kids’ brains and behavior respond when screens are dialed down and real-world activity is dialed up:

“At camp, we watched kids go from anxious and distracted to confident and connected in a matter of days — without phones. Outdoor play, hands-on projects, chores, even just walking and talking with friends reset their mood and focus in a way no app can.”  “Micro-routines make a macro difference,” says Diamond. “If you reclaim just an hour a day from screens for real-world activity, most kids feel the change in their bodies and brains within a week.”   Selinger adds that the reset only sticks when adults go first: “You can’t tell a teen to stop scrolling at 11 p.m. while you’re answering work email in bed. Kids are watching how we transition off our own screens. If parents lead by example, the new school rules stop feeling like punishment and start feeling like the new normal.”  For journalists covering back-to-school, kids’ mental health, learning and technology, this story connects the dots between holiday screen creep, sleep, attention, and how a simple, family-led “tech reset week” can set kids up to actually learn once they’re back in class.

Featured Experts Craig Selinger, M.S., CCC-SLP – Executive Function Coach and child development specialist (Brooklyn Letters). He focuses on how kids actually learn, and how digital dependency, sleep loss and multitasking erode attention and academic skills.  Mark Diamond – Personal Development Coach and former director of a tech-free summer camp. He specializes in outdoor wellness, behavior change, and helping families translate “camp magic” into everyday routines at home.   Expert interviews can be arranged through the Offline.now media team.




Can You Reboot Your Family’s Screen Rules Before Going Back to School?

schools-out-screens-are-in-why-your-kids-copy-your-phone-habits-on-winter-break

Offline.now experts say the most powerful screen-time rule over the holidays isn’t for kids, it’s for the adults they’re watching.

When the bell rings for winter break, most parents worry their kids will “disappear into their phones.” What often goes unmentioned? The adults usually disappear into theirs first.

New behavioral data from Offline.now, the digital wellness platform founded by author Eli Singer, shows we now spend about 10 of our 16 waking hours on screens, roughly 63% of our day. Kids off school are simply mirroring the digital norms they see at home.

 
Executive Function Coach and child development specialist Craig Selinger says winter break is less a test of kids’ willpower and more a test of family norms:

“If you want behavior change in kids, start with the parent model. A 12-year-old will not put their phone away at dinner if their parents won’t.”   Selinger points to what he calls the “mobility problem”: what used to be a TV in the living room is now a device in your child’s pocket. “Mobility makes tech sticky - there’s no natural ‘show’s over’ when Minecraft and TikTok never end.”   Offline.now’s experts note that high, especially late screen use is tied to disrupted sleep and next-day behavior in children and teens, exactly when parents say, “They’re monsters over break.”

Selinger’s work with families suggests the answer isn’t banning devices outright, but changing what kids see adults do with theirs. When parents put phones in a basket at meals, leave devices out of bedrooms, and actually join “old school” activities: cooking, board games, hands-on hobbies, kids’ attention and confidence start to rebound:

“Micro-independence beats micromanagement. If you engineer small wins off-screen - a 20-minute task kids can complete without their phone - you rebuild their real-world confidence one brick at a time.”   Key message for journalists: Over winter break, the real story isn’t just “kids are on their phones all day.” It’s that adult behavior quietly sets the ceiling on what’s realistic for children. The most effective “screen-time rule” is the one parents are willing to follow themselves.

Featured Expert Craig Selinger, M.S., CCC-SLP - Executive Function Coach and child development specialist (Brooklyn Letters), focused on how kids actually learn and how digital dependency affects attention, writing, family systems, and school success.

 
Expert interview availability can be arranged through Offline.now’s media team.



School’s Out, Screens Are In: Why Your Kids Copy Your Phone Habits on Winter Break

worked-through-thanksgiving-thats-a-burnout-red-flag-not-a-badge-of-honor

Executive function coach Craig Selinger explains why answering Slack and email all holiday weekend backfires - and how high performers can reset their boundaries before December hits.

If your Thanksgiving weekend included answering work emails from a guest room, sneaking Slack replies between courses, or “just finishing one thing” while your family watched a movie, you’re not alone.

But Craig Selinger, an executive function coach who works with high achievers, says it’s a warning sign, not proof of commitment.

“More and more of my clients tell me they ‘took time off’ - but then admit they were checking in on everything from their phones,” Selinger says. “They come back to work exhausted, frustrated with their families, and confused about why they don’t feel refreshed.”  He doesn’t see this as a time-management failure. He sees it as a boundary failure fueled by an always-on culture.

“Old technology stayed in one place,” he explains. “A desktop in a home office was easy to walk away from. Now, work follows you onto the couch, into your in-laws’ living room, and onto the plane ride home. Unless you deliberately decide when you’re not available, the default is ‘always working, never actually off.’”  After holidays like Thanksgiving, Selinger helps clients reflect on a few key questions:
Did you actually have any fully work-free hours or days? Did your phone stay with you during meals and family time - and did you feel pulled to check it? Do you feel like you rested, or like you just changed locations while staying on call?  “If the honest answers are uncomfortable, that’s valuable data,” he says. “It means your relationship with availability needs attention.”  Instead of telling high performers to “just unplug,” Selinger works with them to redesign their availability ahead of the next holiday crunch:
Setting clear out-of-office messages that specify when they’ll be offline and when they’ll check in. Agreeing with their team on what counts as a true emergency and which channel should be used for it. Creating short, non-negotiable deep-rest windows - for example, no work apps from 5-9 p.m. on certain days, or one weekend day that’s completely work-free.  “When people see that they can set smart boundaries and still be respected and effective, that’s usually the turning point,” Selinger says. “They stop confusing constant responsiveness with real value.”  With December’s year-end push approaching, he believes now is the time for high performers to recalibrate.


“Treat this past Thanksgiving as a test run,” he suggests. “If you didn’t get the rest you needed, don’t just shrug it off. Use it as the moment you decide to draw a clearer line before the next holiday - for your performance and for the people who actually sat across the table from you.”

About the Expert Craig Selinger is an executive function coach who works with founders, executives, families, and high-achieving students. He specializes in digital distraction, productivity, and helping people build realistic boundaries in an always-on work culture. Craig is part of the Executive Function Coaching Community at Offline.now


Worked Through Thanksgiving? That’s a Burnout Red Flag, Not a Badge of Honor

Craig Selinger, President of Brooklyn Letters on WPIX 11 4/14/16

Sight words or high frequency words are words that a child can identify by simply looking at them. In this video for About.com, New York City speech-language pathologist, learning specialist, and Brooklyn Letters CEO Craig Selinger talks about how to introduce and teach sight words for kids.

Likewise, Craig also shows us what type of books are best for sight words and the teaching techniques he uses. Find out what the common sight words are from the Dolch Word Frequency List. (https://sightwords.com/sight-words/dolch/)

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Brooklyn Letters' mission is to foster individualized speech-language and feeding therapy and education success for all learners of all ages.

Our private-pay online and doorstep speech-language feeding therapy, reading services (Orton Gillingham, Wilson, etc.), and math tutoring for all ages and for all skills are individualized and adapted based on your child's needs.  

We offer the following Speech, Language, and Feeding Therapy services:

• Online Services
• Pronunciation (all ages)
• Early Childhood Expressive Language
• School Age Expressive Language
• Autism Spectrum Disorder (PDD, Aspergers, etc.)
• Social Skills
• Stuttering
• Listening Difficulties (auditory and language processing)
• Picky Eaters and Early Childhood Feeding Delays
• Adult Speech Therapy
• Bilingual Services

Specialized Learning Services:

• Math Tutoring
• Orton Gillingham Approach
• Writing and Speaking Intervention
• Writing Intervention
• Comprehension – Listening and Reading Intervention
• Reading Comprehension Tutoring
• Decoding and Encoding
• Reading Fluency Services
• Spelling Intervention
• Vocabulary Intervention

Let us know when your child is available and we travel to New York City (NYC), Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island, the Bronx, Long Island, Westchester, and New Jersey.  We pride ourselves on developing strong relationships with the families we serve.

Get in touch with Brooklyn Letters at:

(347) 394-3485
(917) 426-8880
Text: (201) 899-4399
info@brooklynletters.com

https://brooklynletters.com
https://manhattanletters.com
https://queensletters.com
https://statenislandletters.com
https://longislandletters.com

#CraigSelinger #sightwords #readingtutor #writingtutor # #preliteracyactivities #OrtonGillingham #speechlanguagetherapy #speechlanguagetherapist #literacytutor #Wilsontutor

How to Teach Sight Words For Kids, According to an Expert

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