private school in Philadelphia for language-based learning differences – Page 2

Tapping Into Areas of Strength

Students with Language-based learning differences (LBLD) have spent years feeling and believing that they will not measure up to their peers. Because school is usually set up for regular-learning, left brain students, our smart students may not realize that they have amazing gifts.

Did you know that an astounding percentage of entrepreneurs have dyslexia?
Did you know that students with LBLD have superior cognitive skills? Problem solving, critical thinking, and thinking outside the box are particular strengths of kids with dyslexia.
Do you have a child who thinks in 3-D? It’s amazing to see what these children with superior visual-spatial skills can create “out of their heads.” They can design and build something without blueprints.

Encourage your child with dyslexia to dream big dreams, for a future engineer, a future architect, or even a future pilot is sitting right now at your dinner table.

Learning to Think Faster

At Sophia Academy, we understand that the brain is plastic. We can train our brains to think better, think faster, and make new connections. Research shows that certain activities actually lead to physical changes in the brain such as the growth of new brain cells and their connections in the very parts of the brain that are crucial to memory and typical learning activities.

Something as simple as positive self talk will cause the brain to grow. Students need to be trained to say: “I can do better.” Rather than giving up in frustration when work is hard, we encourage students to embrace potential failure as an adventure.

What else works?

Trusting instincts–we encourage students to courageously speak out their first thoughts.
Focusing on comprehension over speed–our Strategic Reading class gives students a wide choice of interesting material to work with while shoring up reading strategies and skills.
Physical activity several hours after learning something new–walking fast, shooting hoops, races in PE class, skateboarding after school will all work to solidify the memory.
Active kinesthetic learning: Whether they sing the math facts, act out the funeral scene from Julius Caesar or dance a poem, students at Sophia Academy are growing brain cells.

At Sophia Academy, we continue to search for new ways to fund research-driven strategies for brain growth. Whether using online websites based on Carol Dweck’s growth mindset or adaptive technology, we are pursuing brain growth for all our students.

Learning Ally Comes to ICHS and Sophia Academy

We are excited to announce that all our qualified students will be able to access Learning Ally to help with both academic and pleasure reading. With over 80,000 books in audio format, our students will be able to have textbooks and novels read to them while they follow along.

Students with dyslexia often understand what they hear even when they cannot understand what they read. Now, they will have lots of help, whether reading Julius Caesar in English class or a chapter on the rock cycle in science class.