About the Edmonton Academy

Philosophy

Edmonton Academy believes that each student deserves to fulfill his or her academic potential and to enjoy confidence in the ability to achieve. Teaching which is governed by the needs of the individual child is essential for the student with learning disabilities and is often not possible in conventional schools. Previous failure in schools need not be permanent.

Definition of Learning Disability*

“Learning Disabilities” refers to a number of disorders which may affect the acquisition, organization, retention, understanding, or use of verbal or nonverbal information. These disorders affect learning in individuals who otherwise demonstrate at least average abilities essential for thinking and/or reasoning. As such, learning disabilities are distinct from global intellectual deficiency.

Learning disabilities result from impairments in one or more processes related to perceiving, thinking, remembering or learning. These include, but are not limited to: language processing; phonological processing; visual-spatial processing; processing speed; memory and attention; and executive functions (e.g. planning and decision-making).

Learning disabilities range in severity and may interfere with the acquisition and use of one or more of the following:

• Oral language (e.g. listening, speaking, understanding)
• Reading (e.g. decoding, phonetic knowledge, word recognition, comprehension)
• Written language (e.g. spelling and written expression)
• Mathematics (e.g. computation, problem solving and application)

Learning disabilities may also involve difficulties with organizational skills, social perception, social interaction, perspective taking, executive functioning, and visual-motor integration.

If you have questions about learning disabilities, please contact us.

* Current definition of Learning Disabilities as adopted by the Learning Disabilities Association of Canada, January 2002

Call today with your questions and concerns.