Our Students

Intro

Porter Academy offers differentiated, individualized programs for students Pre-K through 8th grade with learning or developmental differences. Our students are wonderful people with incredible potential — they simply need a different environment, different teaching strategies, and, in many cases, time to fill in foundational gaps before they can fully succeed. We value each child’s individuality and work to find the strategies that help them thrive academically, social-emotionally, and developmentally.

Below are some of the learning and developmental differences we commonly see at Porter Academy. Select any of them to learn more about what it is, how it can show up in the classroom, and — most importantly — how our program is specifically built to address it.

Learning & Developmental Differences We Support

Dyslexia → A neurologically-based learning difference that makes accurate, fluent word recognition and spelling difficult — often despite strong thinking and reasoning skills.

ADHD → A condition involving difficulty with sustained focus, impulse control, and/or hyperactivity, which can affect learning even though ADHD itself isn’t a learning disability.

Anxiety → Persistent worry or nervousness — about future events, past experiences, or everyday situations — that can interfere with a child’s ability to engage, take risks, and learn.

Auditory Processing Disorder → Difficulty distinguishing or making sense of sounds and spoken language, even when hearing itself is normal — which can make following instructions or filtering background noise especially hard. This also covers Language Processing Disorder, a related, more specific difference.

Dyscalculia → A learning difference that affects a person’s ability to understand numbers, learn math facts, and work with mathematical concepts and symbols.

Dysgraphia → A learning difference affecting handwriting, spacing, spatial planning on the page, and sometimes spelling and the physical act of writing itself.

Dyspraxia → A disorder affecting muscle control, movement, and coordination, which can also affect language, speech, and learning.

Executive Functioning Weakness → Difficulty with the brain’s management systems — planning, organizing, strategizing, and managing time — that often accompanies learning disabilities and ADHD.

Memory Difficulties → Difficulty with working, short-term, and/or long-term memory, which can affect a student’s ability to follow instructions, retain learning, and build on prior knowledge.

Non-Verbal Learning Disability (NVLD) → A profile marked by strong verbal skills alongside weaker motor, visual-spatial, and social skills, including difficulty reading nonverbal cues like facial expressions.

Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) → Difficulty organizing and responding to sensory information, which can affect regulation, coordination, and the ability to engage in everyday tasks.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) → A developmental difference affecting social communication, sensory processing, and flexibility of thinking, with a wide range of strengths and challenges from student to student.

Visual Perceptual / Visual-Motor Deficit → Difficulty understanding or acting on visual information, including drawing, copying, and eye-hand coordination.