What is a learning disability?

Children with learning disabilities exhibit a wide range of symptoms, including difficulties with reading, writing, spoken language, memory, mathematics, and/or reasoning. The primary characteristic of a learning disability is the discrepancy between the student’s potential for learning and what the student is actually learning. These children do not typically learn by traditional classroom instructional methods. Without intervention, they will experience frustration and may never reach their God-given potential.

How is a learning disability diagnosed?

An educational battery of formal and informal tests is used to determine areas of strength and weakness and to identify specific learning difficulties. This battery includes a psychological test (WISC-III), which is administered by a licensed psychologist and is used to determine the student’s intelligence quotient (IQ).

The Purpose of the Discovery Center

The Discovery Center at Bible Baptist School exists to provide support for students who have special diagnosed educational needs that cannot be fully met through only the regular classroom. The Discovery Center encourages each student to become independent and successful in the regular classroom and challenges each student to fully develop his/her God-given abilities.

Educational Therapy

Individualized educational therapy is given twice weekly in 80 minute sessions. Educational therapists stimulate cognitive development through interactive language, strategic thinking, and mediated learning. Parents are trained to follow through at home with certain crucial elements of the therapy process to reinforce key skills. The cost of the program is in addition to the regular school tuition.

Core Techniques

Rhythmic Writing

Students work on directionality and verbalization while tracing 8’s and writing alphabet motifs on the chalkboard.

Blue Book Phonics

Students work on the skills needed in reading on and above their grade level.

Math

Working on math problems helps to stimulate math computation skills, while requiring accurate and consistent verbalizing of math processes.

Buzzer

Individual words are phonetically and grammatically analyzed after the student listens to letters buzzed through Morse code. This stimulates mental cognition through language processing.

Dictation and Copy

Students work on listening, writing, copying, and proofreading skills both in therapy and at home.

Recent Research Supports NILD

A specific three-year longitudinal study was conducted with 72 students, 47 in an experimental group, 25 in a control group. Students in NILD educational therapy significantly outperformed students in the control group in measures of general and verbal IQ and made statistically significant gains over time in decoding, spelling and math. Data from related research continues to support the NILD approach. They are committed to ongoing data collection and analysis. Although NILD has documented success stories for over twenty years, this study provides statistical data which validates the belief that with proper stimulating the brain can actually overcome deficient cognitive functioning.

Recommended Reading

• Endangered Minds: Why Children Don't Think and What We Can Do About It, By Jane M. Healy, Ph.D.
• Uncommon gifts: Transform Learning Into Blessings, By James S. Evans
• Classroom Success for the LD and ADHD Child, By Suzanne H. Stevens

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