Learning Disabilities and Differences: Our Approach
Our expertise is the education of students with dyslexia, ADD & ADHD, dysgraphia, dyscalculia and other learning disabilities. Our methods are research-based and reflect the most current understandings. Please visit our blog to learn more about what’s happening now in the world of LD education—and see our unique philosophy in action.
STRENGTHS-BASED APPROACH
We take a strengths-based approach for our students: we help them recognize what they are good at. Equipped with knowledge of their strengths, students learn to capitalize on them. Confidence and self-esteem are integral to a successful learning process.
Our 8:1 staff-student ratio allows our teachers to check for each student’s understanding and comprehension over the course of each lesson in a meaningful and effective way. We closely track performance on key skills and make sure that students achieve measurable progress over time— progress that they can describe and
We view students as people, not as diagnoses. At the same time, specific accommodations and adjustments are available to meet each student’s needs.
- For example, dysgraphia strategies minimize requirements for the student to hand-write assignments and maximize opportunities for typing and dictation.
- Attention deficit strategies get students in close proximity to instructors, provide as much structure and predictability as possible and allow students to move around the classroom.
- Autism spectrum strategies allow for frequent breaks to help self-regulate sensory input and improve attention and performance, and build in time for transitions and shifting-of- tasks.
For all students, we emphasize quality of work over quantity. These are just a few of the many accommodation strategies we employ to make sure each child can learn successfully.
PROJECT-BASED LEARNING
All classes engage our students in active group projects that keep them moving, keep them curious, and challenge them to integrate different skill sets. In project-based learning, students develop mastery without even noticing, they’re having so much fun.
CONNECTED CURRICULUM
Every nine weeks, our teaching team chooses a new unifying theme, chooses partners across disciplines, and builds coursework around that theme and contemporary issues. Recent themes include Ethics, Invention, The Future, Social Responsibility, Technology, Collaboration, and Discovery. For example, with the theme of Discovery, Social Studies students focused on understanding immigration. The Language Arts classroom wrote speeches and hosted a debate on the subject. The Math classroom examined data and statistics, including methods by which data can be skewed and the ethical responsibilities that accompany data analysis. A connected curriculum helps students see the relevance of each discipline and builds on the enthusiasm and strengths of the peer group.
ODYSSEY EDUCATIONAL TESTING CENTER
We are proud to provide affordable, professional learning assessments at the Odyssey Educational Testing Center. As Austin’s leaders in quality education for students with learning differences for over a decade, our team is uniquely qualified to guide you through the process of diagnostic testing. Our team of experts works to create the best assessment experience possible—from kindergarten to college.
