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Educational Therapy.
At the NeuroTree, we understand that there is never a one-size-fits-all approach. We also understand the extent to which neurophysiological dysfunction can interfere with learning. Our therapists possess varied skillsets and experiences in teaching and therapy to cater to different types of students with neurodiverse profiles.
The specific intervention strategies used by an educational therapist will vary based on the following factors:
- Age Group
- Severity of Learners' Profile
- Type of Academic Support
- Local / International School Curriculum
- Other Subject Specialisations (e.g. English, math, chinese)
- Other Specialised Skillsets or Services
Types of intervention available
Literacy Intervention
Therapists have certifications or experience in administering one of the following inexhaustive list of approaches or programmes to demonstrate competence in the provision of typical literacy interventions:
- Orton-Gillangham Approach
- Lindamood Bell Approach
- Essential Literacy Approach
- Certificate in Dyslexia and Literacy Teaching
The typical literacy intervention – for students who are diagnosed with dyslexia – is based on structured and sequential acquisition of phonics and morphology instruction. Irregular sight words are usually taught with a whole word approach. Phonics intervention is deemed as the gold standard in reading intervention. It is also deemed as the most efficient manner of acquiring literacy.
Some students respond poorly to typical literacy intervention. They may have underlying neurophysiological reasons or comorbid diagnoses that interfere with the process of phonics, morphology and/or sight word acquisition.
Certain educational therapists have specialised literacy intervention techniques that are catered for these students. Please contact us for more details.
Math Intervention
Math intervention is usually categorised into two types of specialisations – each requiring a vastly different skillset from the other:
These students struggle with the acquisition of foundational skills number sense and the basic operations/concepts (e.g. fractions). They tend to benefit from the explicit instruction that is provided by educational therapy.
However, persistent and severe difficulties in learning these concepts may warrant a diagnosis of dyscalculia. Such students view numbers atypically and do not perceive numbers and math logic the same way as neurotypical students do.
Educational therapists must be able to customise intervention that is in line with their atypical understanding of math for gradual and steady progress in intervention.
These students are typically proficient in tackling computational questions and some short answer questions. However, they may struggle with mathematical language and the complex sequencing of problem sums. Educational therapists will introduce math terminology and multi-step sequence of problem sums to instruct students with such difficulties.
Academic Support
Educational therapists typically provide general academic support for the English curriculum. In addition, they teach effective study skills in coping with the demands of the English curriculum at the primary level.
Academic support for the other subjects at the primary level is usually offered in tandem with intervention. For instance, therapists who offer Chinese intervention would also offer academic support for Chinese.
Beyond the primary level, academic support for various subjects at the secondary and tertiary level are also offered by some educational therapists. Various educational therapists also specialise in teaching particular areas of the curriculum (e.g. comprehension, writing).
Other services
Other educational intervention services may include intervention for chinese and science. Some therapists are also equipped with interdisciplinary skills such as counselling and mindfulness training to promote wellness among the students.
Parents should speak to any prospective educational therapist to find out more about the therapist's experience in catering to the needs of their children.
How effective is educational therapy?
Student with mild difficulties usually attain maximum effectiveness from educational therapy. Students with increasingly severe and persistent difficulties - or comorbidities - would require consistent and concurrent therapies (i.e. educational and neurophysiological interventions such as Vision Therapy) to see gradual improvements over the long term.
