A Guide for Parents: Why is Sending Your Child to a Private Boarding School for Learning Disabilities in NY the Right Move?

Education is a cornerstone of any child’s upbringing. For children, school is important not only for academics but for basic life and social skills that prepare them to reach their greatest potential. This is as true for special-needs children as it is for anyone else.

If you have a child with learning difficulties, the topic of boarding school will probably come up sooner or later. And most parents of children with learning disabilities face a dilemma: whether their child should be in a boarding school or not.

For some children, integrating into a public school works well. Some children even relish the opportunity to interact with their neuro-typical peers. But this approach doesn’t work for every child. Some will need specialized care, attention, and instruction that simply can’t be provided in a public-school setting.

The decision to enroll a child in a boarding school for learning disabilities should of course be made by the people who know the most about the child’s needs: their parents, school officials, and other staff or caregivers depending on the circumstance. But for many children – and their parents – boarding school is the right choice. Keep reading to learn more about why sending your special-needs child to a boarding school is the right move.

5 Reasons Why a Boarding School for Learning Differences is the Right Choice for Your Child

For some, the term “boarding school” gives a bad connotation. But the truth is that most of the assumptions made about boarding schools are based on myths and rumors, which simply aren’t true. For many special-needs students, boarding school is a great option to help them learn, grow, and reach their full potential regardless of their needs.

Here are five reasons why boarding school is the right choice:

1. Boarding School provides consistency

One of the biggest advantages of the boarding school setting is the consistency it provides for your child. The school’s professional staff and faculty are there to throughout your child’s day. The same prompts and cues are used whether your child is in the classroom, eating in the cafeteria, in their residence, or engaging in leisure activities. This kind of consistency is hard to replicate in a traditional school setting during the standard 9:00 to 3:00 school day and even at home in many cases.

Thanks to this consistent approach, your child has the chance to practice skills in a safe, controlled environment, 24 hours a day. And because your child lives in the same place where these skills are learned, there are plenty of chances to practice them across different disciplines and areas of everyday life. For example, your child may learn to recognize and respond to a certain symbol or text while in the classroom, and then be able to use that learned skill while engaging in a leisure activity or eating in the cafeteria.

2. Interaction with similar peer group

Consider a student with learning disabilities in a traditional public school. Simply by nature of the demographics, they will be the “other” and won’t have the opportunity to learn and interact alongside people like themselves. This can be a real detriment to your child’s learning, and in some cases their well-being at large.

In a boarding school, your child will have the opportunity to learn alongside peers that share their disabilities. This peer group interaction is vital for not only your child’s education, but for crucial socialization skills as well. Boarding school settings allow for leisure activity time as well as socialization opportunities with similarly abled peers – and that’s something your child can’t always get out of a traditional school setting. In fact, a study by The Association of Boarding Schools (TABS) found that 78% of boarding school students reported being motivated by their peers, compared to 49% of public-school students.

3. Boarding schools instill independence in learning disabled children

When a student lives and learns away from home and their parents, they gain independence – an important skill for life at all stages. Residing on campus in a dorm setting makes for invaluable personal growth, as boarding school students develop essential skills like time management and work ethic right alongside the basic life skills required to live on one’s own. Many parents of children with learning differences are surprised to find that their child thrives when instilled with the sense of independence and self-responsibility that boarding school imparts.

4. Provides a smooth transition into higher education and professional life

For special-needs children planning on proceeding into higher education, boarding school is the perfect foundation. A big part of that is living on their own; they’ve already done it by the time college comes around, so the transition isn’t nearly as difficult. Plus, boarding students must take an added level of responsibility for their own education, which is an invaluable practice when it comes to college and university life.

Even beyond college, boarding school is a great way to start preparing special-needs students for professional life after they’ve graduated. Many skills instilled in boarding school – time management, self-responsibility, independence, work ethic, and more – will prove invaluable once the student begins working in the professional world, regardless of vocation.

5. Academic programs tailored to student’s needs

Boarding schools for learning disabled students or other special-needs children go a step beyond the specialized staff and targeted instruction necessary for their pupils to thrive. Boarding schools provide students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) that help them get education tailored to their individual needs. An IEP considers the unique instruction, support, and services that a particular child will need to thrive throughout their time in school, and it’s this individualized approach that really helps special-needs students grow and thrive.

Consider the Boarding School for Children with Disabilities in NY

It’s plain to see why the boarding school route is so beneficial for special-needs students and their parents. Consistency, the chance to interact with a similar peer group, opportunities to grow independence, a smooth transition into higher education and professional life, and tailored curriculum for individual students are some of the top reasons boarding schools are the right choice for so many special-needs children.

If you’re looking for boarding school options, reach out to The Gow School, the top boarding school for learning disabilities in NY. Our learning disabilities school in NY is a co-ed college-prep boarding and day school for students grades 6 through 12. Gow specializes in the remediation of dyslexia and related language-based learning disabilities and/or executive function disabilities, as well as dyspraxia, central auditory processing disorder (CAPD), dyscalculia, dysgraphia, and disorder of written expression. We also offer additional language support for English Language Learners (ELL).

Since 1926, The Gow School has been helping students develop the skills and confidence necessary to succeed in higher education and beyond.

If you’re interested in enrolling your child in a private school for learning disabilities, request information here.