• Non-Verbal Learning Disability (NVLD)

    Non-Verbal Learning Disability (NVLD)

    What Is Non-Verbal Learning Disability?

    Non-Verbal Learning Disability (NVLD) typically involves a significant gap between strong verbal skills and weaker motor, visual-spatial, and social skills. Students with NVLD may have trouble interpreting nonverbal cues like facial expressions or body language, and may also have poor coordination. It’s a meaningfully different profile from disabilities like dyslexia — NVLD often comes with strong language and reading skills, but real difficulty with the nonverbal, spatial, and social side of learning and interacting.

    How Porter Academy Addresses NVLD

    • Social Thinking, incorporated by every teacher, directly targets the nonverbal social interpretation skills NVLD affects — including concepts like “thinking with your eyes,” which teaches students to read a room and infer what others are thinking and feeling (see Our Approach for more on this framework)
    • A dedicated Social Skills class, specialist-led and in small groups, gives direct practice interpreting social and nonverbal cues in a low-pressure setting
    • Occupational Therapy builds the visual-spatial and motor coordination skills that are often an area of relative weakness for students with NVLD
    • Small, developmentally-grouped classrooms give students more individualized support navigating social dynamics than a large, fast-moving classroom would allow

    Learn More

    For general background on NVLD, we recommend the Learning Disabilities Association of America.

  • Memory Difficulties

    Memory Difficulties

    What Are Memory Difficulties?

    Learning depends on three types of memory: working memory (holding pieces of information in mind until they form a complete thought), short-term memory (temporarily storing information), and long-term memory (information retained over time). Students can have difficulty with any of these — and with either auditory or visual memory specifically — which can affect their ability to follow instructions, retain what they’ve learned, and build on prior knowledge.

    How Porter Academy Addresses Memory Difficulties

    • Multi-sensory, layered instruction engages multiple senses at once, which supports stronger encoding and retention than single-sense instruction alone
    • Structured, cumulative curricula — like Wilson Decoding/Encoding — are specifically designed to revisit and reinforce previously learned material rather than moving on before it’s retained
    • Daily planners serve as an external memory support, helping students track what was covered and what’s expected of them
    • Reflection at the end of tasks — recapping what was learned, what was hard, and how it connects to other learning — supports the transfer of new information into longer-term memory
    • Homework designed as reinforcement, not new learning, gives students repeated, low-pressure practice with material they’ve already been taught

    Learn More

    For general background on memory and learning, we recommend the Learning Disabilities Association of America.

  • Dyspraxia

    Dyspraxia

    What Is Dyspraxia?

    Dyspraxia is a disorder that affects muscle control, causing difficulty with movement, coordination, and sometimes language and speech. While not itself a learning disability, dyspraxia often occurs alongside dyslexia, dyscalculia, or ADHD, and can make everyday classroom tasks — from handwriting to lining up for recess — more effortful than they are for other students.

    How Porter Academy Addresses Dyspraxia

    • Occupational Therapy, for every student, directly targets the gross motor strength, fine motor coordination, and body awareness that dyspraxia affects (see our Occupational Therapy page for more)
    • Our on-campus sensory gym — with a foam pit, climbing wall, OT swings, and balance and regulation tools — gives students structured, engaging ways to build coordination
    • Daily PE, including explicit instruction in foundational movement skills like throwing, catching, kicking, and coordination, builds the physical skills dyspraxia can make harder to develop naturally
    • Small groups and individualized pacing mean students aren’t rushed through physical or motor tasks before they’re ready
    • Multi-sensory academic instruction reduces reliance on any single skill area, including fine motor control, for a student to demonstrate what they know

    Learn More

    For general background on dyspraxia, we recommend the Learning Disabilities Association of America.

  • Preventing Holiday Stress for our Children

    The holidays can be fun, but they also tend to alter routines and come with a lot of (over) stimulation. Students at Porter Academy often rely on routines and breaks in stimulation even more than the rest of us. I found this article shared some helpful tips to help us keep the holiday experience positive for all of us: https://www.verywellfamily.com/holiday-stress-and-anxiety-in-children-620516

     

  • Dichotic Listening

    I was looking into interventions for auditory processing, specifically dichotic listening, which is very difficult for many of our students. I was happy to come across this article listing Fast ForWord as a scientifically supported intervention not only for learning to differentiate speech sounds, but also for dichotic listening. It is an easy but informative read. I encourage you to check it out. Article about Dichotic Listening