Anyone with kids with significant LDs interested in Arrowsmith program at Eukarya Christian Academy

[Anonymous]

We have a rising 5th grader with significant LDs: his most recent neuropsych eval cited Executive Functioning Disorder, Auditory Processing Disorder, Expressive/Receptive Language Disorder, Dysgraphia, Dyslexia, and attention issues (they are not sure if it's true ADD or trouble with attention b/c of the severity and scope of the LDs). He is a lovely, polite, and bright child (no emotional, behavioural issues) but the extent to which his LDs affect his ability to learn means that he has not been accepted at Lab or Oakwood.

We recently found out that the Arrowsmith Program - which, given its grounding in neuroplasticity principles and rate of success in overcoming (not just accommodating) LDs, is ideal for our son - is being offered by Eukarya Christian Academy in Stephens City, VA beginning this fall. It's the only Arrowsmith program offered in the metro DC area. [If interested in more info on Arrowsmith, here's the link: [url]http://www.arrowsmithschool.org/arrowsmithprogram/index.html. The website includes research studies done by outside parties on the efficacy of the program.}

The problem is, of course, the driving distance to Stephens City (we can't, at this time, make a move closer to the school). We were wondering if there were other families in NoVa or in the metro DC area for whom traditional LD programs haven't worked and who would be interested in forming a driving pool or hiring a shuttle service? Please send me a note at this email if interested: [e-mail]. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a rising 5th grader with significant LDs: his most recent neuropsych eval cited Executive Functioning Disorder, Auditory Processing Disorder, Expressive/Receptive Language Disorder, Dysgraphia, Dyslexia, and attention issues (they are not sure if it's true ADD or trouble with attention b/c of the severity and scope of the LDs). He is a lovely, polite, and bright child (no emotional, behavioural issues) but the extent to which his LDs affect his ability to learn means that he has not been accepted at Lab or Oakwood.

We recently found out that the Arrowsmith Program - which, given its grounding in neuroplasticity principles and rate of success in overcoming (not just accommodating) LDs, is ideal for our son - is being offered by Eukarya Christian Academy in Stephens City, VA beginning this fall. It's the only Arrowsmith program offered in the metro DC area. [If interested in more info on Arrowsmith, here's the link: [url]http://www.arrowsmithschool.org/arrowsmithprogram/index.html. The website includes research studies done by outside parties on the efficacy of the program.}

The problem is, of course, the driving distance to Stephens City (we can't, at this time, make a move closer to the school). We were wondering if there were other families in NoVa or in the metro DC area for whom traditional LD programs haven't worked and who would be interested in forming a driving pool or hiring a shuttle service? Please send me a note at this email if interested: [e-mail]. Thanks.

I have a similar DC. We also looked at Lab and Oakwood, as well as others. What we discovered was that while they would be able to attend to DC's disabilities, they did not have the rigor of classes to attend to his abilities. We decided to stay in public school and use our money for therapies outside of school. We also have spent quite a bit of time at IEP and other meetings ensuring the our DC was getting the services, remediation and accommodations he needed to be successful in school. We do have some scars from that experience. However, DC is now in ninth grade and doing very well. He is able to take the high level classes that support his abilities and receive the accommodations he needs to access the curriculum. For us, choosing to stay in public school, enabled DC to stay with his friends, not have a long commute to and from school and have the money to spend on one on one tutoring that supplemented what was being done in school. Staying local has also helped his mental health and reduce some of his stress.

It isn't the choice that everyone would have made, but so far it seems to have been a good choice for DC.

[Anonymous]

PP - Thanks so much - appreciate your perspective. We've been trying a similar approach since Kindergarten, and what we have found is that while he certainly has kept up better than without the interventions- and allowed him to stay near his peer-group academically so far - this past year he has slipped farther and farther behind despite receiving more interventions than he ever has. We're just concerned - as I'm sure you were with your child - that if he is struggling this hard now with significant intervention, that he'll just continue to get further behind until he can no longer keep up with his peer group. That being said, it's great to hear that this approach has in fact worked; I'll certainly keep it in mind as we move ahead trying to figure out how to address these issues in the best way. Thanks again.

[Anonymous]

OP- your DS sounds just like mine. I had no idea that a program like this even existed. Thank you for the info - going to loo into it!

[Anonymous]

AEROSMITH ROCKS!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:AEROSMITH ROCKS!!!

....and? Don't post that it ROCKS without telling us why! I would be very interested in hearing whatever you have to share about this program

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AEROSMITH ROCKS!!!

....and? Don't post that it ROCKS without telling us why! I would be very interested in hearing whatever you have to share about this program

OP here: I am not the poster of the "Aerosmith" comment, but I suspect that it's a deliberate play on words versus just a misspelling.

But I will tell you from my research that it sounds like a fantastic program. I like the program's foundation in neuroplasticity, which is essentially that the brain can grow, develop, and change throughout one's lifetime. There is a wide, corroborated body of neuropsychological work that has been done for the last 30 years or so demonstrating this plasticity. If that's the case, then, it follows that LDs - which are weaknesses in specific areas of cognition generally caused by weaknesses within specific areas of the brain itself - could be alleviated or reduced by strengthening those areas of the brain.

The Arrowsmith Program was developed by Barbara Arrowsmith Young, who grew up with extremely severe learning disabilities herself. She has a book, "The Woman Who Changed Her Brain", that does a great job outlining her experiences, how she developed the program, and the experiences of other kids that have gone through the program (far better than I could here). I suggest the read (I'm only 1/3 of the way through this book - there are others I have read also detailing her experience - but it's been fascinating so far). In short, Barbara managed to get through high school and college by sheer force of will and her ability to memorize information, and undertook a graduate program in special ed. Around this time she found resources on neuroplasticity and on what parts of the brain control what abilities, and began putting together a system of exercises for herself designed to strengthen these areas of her brain. She continued working and refining these exercises, which eventually became the foundation for the Arrowsmith program. Today, I believe (this is my own take; I haven't read this anywhere) she is neurotypical, with none of the LDs she had as a child.

The success of the program has been striking. The goal is to have these students become neurotypical and integrate into their classroom without any additional assistance. Their findings have shown that 70% of kids post-Arrowsmith do not need extra support in the classroom (as opposed to 0% pre-Arrowsmith); 26% need 1 support period/day; and 5% still need 4-8 support periods per day. A great resource detailing their findings and those of other independent researchers evaluating the efficacy of Arrowsmith can be found here: http://www.arrowsmithschool.org/arrowsmithprogram-background/pdf/academic-skills.pdf

Here is a blurb from their website:
The Arrowsmith Program is founded on neuroscience research and over 30 years of experience demonstrating that it is possible for students to strengthen the weak cognitive capacities underlying their learning dysfunctions through a program of specific cognitive exercises. The Arrowsmith Program identifies, intervenes and strengthens the weak cognitive capacities that affect learning. Students are able to capitalize on their increased learning capacities and after a three or four year program can function without special education assistance or program accommodations. Upon completion of the program some students may require one to two years to gain experience using their newly strengthened cognitive capacities and some students may need tutoring initially to bring academic skills to grade level given the limited amount of time within the program to address academic skill deficits. The Arrowsmith Program is founded on two lines of research, one of which established that different areas of the brain working together are responsible for complex mental activities, such as reading or writing, and that a weakness in one area can affect a number of different learning processes. The other line of research investigated the principle of neuroplasticity, which is the ability of the brain to physically change in response to stimulus and activity, to develop new neuronal/synaptic interconnections and thereby develop and adapt new functions and roles believed to be the physical mechanism of learning. Neuroplasticity refers to structural and functional changes in the brain that are brought about by training and experience... Students with learning disabilities have traditionally been treated with programs designed to compensate for their difficulties - students who have difficulty with handwriting, for example, would be taught to use a keyboard or accommodated with more time to write exams. The goal of the Arrowsmith Program, by contrast, is to help students strengthen the weak cognitive capacities underlying their learning dysfunctions. The Arrowsmith Program deals with the root causes of the learning disability rather than managing its symptoms. The Arrowsmith Program is capacity based in that it changes the capacity of the individual to learn, rather than compensatory which tries to work around the problem. Strengthening these weaker capacities increases the overall functioning of these specific cognitive areas allowing them to be used effectively for learning. The Arrowsmith Program has proven successful with students in elementary school through to post-secondary school and with adults. Elementary school students return to a full academic curriculum at their appropriate grade level following the completion of a three or four year program. (bolding/italics is my emphasis)

Hope this helps!

[Anonymous]

OP,

If you're concerned about distance, I would check out Oakwood, Newton, or Lab.

[Anonymous]

PP: Many thanks for the recommendations. We applied to Lab and Oakwood; he was not accepted at either because of the extent and severity to which his LDs are impacting cognitive capacity. In the areas where he does not have LDs, however, he is testing above average. So we have in our child someone who is quite bright but who has very significant challenges in a large and diverse number of cognitive areas - we're finding that that seems to be a lot for a school to take on.

I don't know anything about Newton, though. Can anyone tell me how it is different from Lab and Oakwood?

Thanks again.

[Anonymous]

NP here. I just found this through the search function and wonder if OP ever used the Arrowsmith program. I've been looking into the idea of brain restructuring for kids with LDs after a friend mentioned it (her spouse was paralyzed form the waist down and regained use of much of his body through therapy aimed at changing the brain through neuroplasticity).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a rising 5th grader with significant LDs: his most recent neuropsych eval cited Executive Functioning Disorder, Auditory Processing Disorder, Expressive/Receptive Language Disorder, Dysgraphia, Dyslexia, and attention issues (they are not sure if it's true ADD or trouble with attention b/c of the severity and scope of the LDs). He is a lovely, polite, and bright child (no emotional, behavioural issues) but the extent to which his LDs affect his ability to learn means that he has not been accepted at Lab or Oakwood.

We recently found out that the Arrowsmith Program - which, given its grounding in neuroplasticity principles and rate of success in overcoming (not just accommodating) LDs, is ideal for our son - is being offered by Eukarya Christian Academy in Stephens City, VA beginning this fall. It's the only Arrowsmith program offered in the metro DC area. [If interested in more info on Arrowsmith, here's the link: [url]http://www.arrowsmithschool.org/arrowsmithprogram/index.html. The website includes research studies done by outside parties on the efficacy of the program.}

The problem is, of course, the driving distance to Stephens City (we can't, at this time, make a move closer to the school). We were wondering if there were other families in NoVa or in the metro DC area for whom traditional LD programs haven't worked and who would be interested in forming a driving pool or hiring a shuttle service? Please send me a note at this email if interested: [e-mail]. Thanks.


Not to change this thread, but may I ask where do you get your neuropysch done? Sounds like they did a great job teasing out strengths/weaknesses?
Thanks

[Anonymous]

PP - where do you live?