Established
in 1983, Bridgeway Academy is a private day school that caters to children with learning disabilities.
Children with learning disabilities face problems in their studies and other aspects of life. As a result,
they may lack in friends, have low self-confidence and experience humiliation if they fail a class. In order
to assist children with Non Verbal Learning Disability (NVLD), Bridgeway Academy offers social skills
programs. The academy offers a safe and nurturing learning environment that makes use of a teaching
methodology that expedites proper development.
NVLD is a lack of non verbal reasoning that leads to various academic, social and emotional problems.
Children diagnosed with NVLD show substantial variance between their high and low verbal performance scores
on an IQ test. They also face neuropsychological, motor, visual-spatial and social skills problems. Children
have difficulty in non-verbal problem solving, understanding jokes or humour and are weak with perception and
coordination. However, children with NVLD do have certain strengths, such as excellent vocabulary, verbal
expression, attention to detail and rote memorization. It is quite challenging for children to retain and
generalize new information. To accommodate this difficulty, the academy offers a social skills program with
the factors of NVLD in mind.
All children are different. With their difficulties, they require an individualized approach to effectively
solve problems related to their disability. Thus, the programs are developed in accordance to individual
strengths and weaknesses that help children deal with the different challenges that they face. The social
interaction program is comprised of manageable components and skill sets to increase the opportunity for
skill transfer.
Children with NVDL have difficulty socializing and making friends easily, even if they have the desire to do
so. They have problems understanding sarcasm or figurative language and generally end up having conflict with
peers Instead of being friendly with their peers, such children are cordial with teachers and adults who seem
more patient and predictable. The program helps them improve their social skills so that they can initiate,
build and maintain meaningful relationships with others.
The objective of the program is to develop appropriate social interaction skills in children at par with
their individual capacity. Children participate in varied social skills sessions, which undergo a three-fold
assessment by teachers, parents and the children themselves. The self assessment gives them an insight into
their social needs and progress. Over time, children transfer the skills they have gained to situations
outside the program and learn to adapt to different situations in life.
The social skills program helps children overcome their inability to socialize under the guidance of teachers
who follow an individualized approach. This program not only helps children address their problems, but also
makes parents happy to see their children succeed at school and life. •