Q: First, can you tell us a bit about your school?
Currey Ingram Academy: We are a private boarding school in Brentwood, Tennessee. We specialize in helping students with learning differences excel in an academic setting. Our students are provided an individualized learning plan, and our teachers and staff are all trained in how to be compassionate, patient and effective educators. Many parents find our program after Googling “ADHD schools near me” or being referred to us by current students’ families.
Q: Why is it important to identify potential differences early?
Currey Ingram Academy: As with any inhibitor of progress, early identification and intervention is the best way to enable a child to overcome academic obstacles. Let’s look at numbers. Around 67% of all American students are at risk of or have been diagnosed with some form of reading difficulty. Students who receive a diagnosis and intervention in their early years tend to score average to above average on reading comprehension benchmarks. Although it may remain a struggle at times, giving children coping and compensation skills early allows the skills to become second nature, so their perceived disability does not affect their high school, college, or professional years.
Q: What are some signs of a learning difference in preschool-age students?
Currey Ingram Academy: Before kindergarten, learning differences are a bit more difficult to track down as all children progress differently. However, children who speak much later than their peers, distract more easily than others, or find it difficult to rhyme words or follow directions may be suffering from some form of learning difference. In kindergarten through late elementary school, spelling errors, transposition, and reliance on rote memorization may also indicate a problem. Early intervention at a dyslexia boarding school can make a huge difference in a child’s ability to cope throughout middle and high school.
Q: What are some learning differences that students can overcome?
Currey Ingram Academy: We like to think that students can learn methods to adjust to their differences with the right guidance – that is why individualized attention and small class sizes allow our teachers to spend more one-on-one time with students. Many of the most common learning differences include dyslexia, which affects language; dysgraphia, which makes it more difficult to correctly form letters; and ADHD, which affects a child’s ability to focus and engage. The latter of these is perhaps the most frustrating for parents, and it’s what leads them to search for “ADHD schools near me” in an effort to find a more suitable educational environment for their distractible child.
Currey Ingram Academy Is more than a dyslexia boarding school. Children from preschool through high school will find individualized learning plans, evidence-based practices, small class sizes, and social emotional learning opportunities on the 83- acre campus.