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Friday, May 22, 2009

Smarty Sponsor: Triad Academy



By Guest Blogger Pat L. (her son attends Triad Academy)


During my son’s first grade year I found myself constantly frustrated. I was frustrated with my son because he was getting in trouble at school and just didn’t “get reading and writing.” I was frustrated with his teacher, who said “he would get it if he would just try hard enough and pay attention more,” and I was frustrated with my husband and myself because we just couldn’t figure out how to help him.

When we finally had my son tested, I remember a feeling of relief that we had a diagnosis of a learning disability (LD) and ADHD. I finally knew that my son’s difficulties with school were NOT because “he didn’t try hard enough.” His issues stemmed from the fact that his brain was wired in a way that he learned differently than most children.

With the LD diagnosis, we were able to work with his teachers in the public school to make an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). I assumed that once he had an IEP, he would thrive in the public school setting. However, even though he had one half hour a day in a small group setting with an LD teacher, he never seemed to catch up, especially in the areas of reading comprehension, automaticity, and math word problems.

In second grade, learning spelling words was a nightmare for our son. He just couldn’t remember how to spell them – it was like he couldn’t hear the sounds. At an LD conference I attended that year, Sue Stevens, an LD teacher, discussed the fact that children with learning disabilities are often very visual learners. After her lecture, I decided to try visual clues for my son’s spelling words. On Monday when he got his spelling list for the week, I would have him draw a picture that represented the word as well as write out the word. It was amazing the difference this made in his spelling – once he could visualize the word, he could spell it correctly. I also found that it helped his writing if he could draw pictures about what he was supposed to write.

Although he learned certain things and made some strides, my son never thrived in public school. In fact, the frustrations for all of us continued. At the end of fifth grade, my husband and I decided that our son needed a different educational setting. After checking out several options, we decided on Triad Academy, a private school for students with diagnosed learning disabilities. I will never forget the day our son visited there at the end of 5th grade. He came home and asked if he could go back the very next day. He said he loved the school, which was the first time he had EVER said anything like that.

This year, as a 6th grader at Triad Academy, our son has flourished. His math skills and automatic recall of math facts have gotten a lot better. His phonics and decoding ability have improved as well as his reading fluency. I even catch him picking up books and reading! More importantly, he will often share some new piece of information he has learned from reading, especially if it is science related. At Triad Academy, David also is recognized by his peers and teachers as an artist. The recognition and encouragement of his artistic ability, as well as teaching in a way that he learns, has done a lot to help our son become more self-confident and actually to enjoy school for the first time in his life.

I love what our son says about Triad Academy: “They teach without a lot of words in a way I can learn.” Thanks to all the wonderful and dedicated teachers at Triad Academy, I finally feel that my son will develop to his fullest potential. My only regret is that we did not find the school earlier!

Would you like to learn more about Triad Academy? Visit one of upcoming Open House sessions:

Wednesday, May 27
11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Or
Sunday, May 31
3:00 to 4:30 p.m.

For more information:
Triad Academy
905 Friedberg Church Road
Winston-Salem
336-775-4900
www.triadacademy.org.

8 comments:

christian said...

What a beautiful story that I am sure will give others hope. Thank you for sharing.

Rachel H said...

Pat, I couldn't help but smile as I read your last few paragraphs. I am so glad that David was able to find a place like Triad Academy where he could flourish and feel at home. I am sure his self-confidence has soared over the past year. Thanks so much for talking the time to share your story with all of us!

Unknown said...

One of my dearest friends has a child who attends Triad Academy and has a story similar to the one shared. It is amazing the things that her child is now able to achieve. I think it is a true blessing that there are options such as this for children with Learning Disabilities.

Kelly G. said...

It is so frustrating to have to find a good educational fit for a child who doesn't "fit the mold." I hope your son continues to flourish. It sounds like he is much happier!

Wendy said...

This story is so familiar. My son goes to Triad Academy and is in the sixth grade. When he went to public school he would come home and just cry because he would try so hard to keep up in class, but he just couldn't. Homework would take hours everyday and I felt like a failure as a parent because I couldn't help him. A friend of mine told me about Triad Academy 2 years ago and now my son has self confidence He is a whole new person now. Thanks to Triad Academy for all they do.

Susan O said...

Pat, thanks so much for this affirmation of the success of Triad Academy. Our daughter is completing her fourth year at Triad Academy and she still loves going to school. That is a huge statement from a teenager. The self-confidence that grows with each educational success is amazing to watch. Thank you for bringing Triad Academy into this arena for awareness. If Pat's (and David's) story sounds familiar, please attend upcoming open houses or contact school for more information. You, and your family, will be so glad you did. We sure are!

Celeste R. said...

I too am so greatful for Triad Academy. My son moved to Traid after the 3rd. grade. I was told he had reached his educational potential. This year he will finish the 9th grade with all A's and B's. There is not enough words I can use to describe how much each and every teacher at Triad means to me.Miracles really do happen there every day.

Kristie said...

I didn't know anything about Triad Academy until I read your blog. One of our sons has ADHD and Aspergers...he will be in 1st grade next year and although he has progressed well in kindergarten, we are keeping our options open as he continues in school. Thank you for sharing your story with all of us!

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