Learning Disabilities and Sensory Integration Therapies
by Christine Field
“There is nothing more satisfying than to see a child who thought he couldn’t
do it, or felt he was dumb or stupid, suddenly find himself reading and learning
and succeeding.”—ELI
The parent of a learning disabled child who searches for private services can become
overwhelmed at the choices available. There are multiple theories and therapies
which all promise to address your need. How do we choose? How do we sort out which
will be truly beneficial to this particular child with this particular difficulty?
It’s not easy. We must be wise and discerning. We must do our homework.
The Old Schoolhouse wants to help you sort out the views and the vendors in this
arena. While we can’t diagnose your child or give a specific learning prescription,
we can endeavor to introduce you over the months to some ideas and possibilities.
Several ads in magazines for Essential Learning Institute piqued my curiosity.
They stated that they could help parents deal with their child’s special needs
in the home setting. Eager to know more, I contacted them and spoke with Robert
Salzman, founder of the company, and Mrs. Faye Westover, Educational Service Director
of ELI, and this issue in Resource Room we invite you into our discussion.
TOS: Mr. Salzman, why was your company started?
Mr. Salzman: Essential Learning Institute was founded to help small
Christian and private schools and homeschooling families gain access to quality
learning disability programs at affordable prices. Most programs available to smaller
schools and homeschoolers can be very expensive, costing between ten to fifteen
thousand dollars. Either the programs are administered over several years or special
schools are established with high additional annual tuitions. Often these programs
are no more effective than the special education programs in most school districts.
In 1990 Essential Learning Institute decided to invest in several of the best computer-based
sensory integration training programs available and set up delivery systems that
allowed the individual school or family to access these programs on an individualized
basis, thus spreading the cost over many students and lowering the price per client.
Over the years we saw pain and frustration in students and their families as a result
of learning problems. Parents tried everything from vitamins and eye training to
expensive tutorial programs, usually to no avail. From the moment we started ELI
we saw and experienced incredible success both within our Clinic and in our home
therapy programs. As an Educational Consultant to private and Christian schools
and homeschooling families, I am familiar with virtually everything in the educational
marketplace. Tragically, schools and families today are in even worse straits then
they were when we began almost 13 years ago. The same educational programs are being
administered using the same, ineffective methods as in the past and the LD and at
risk student numbers increase every year (54%). This is what caused us to get involved
and to keep on through the years. There is nothing more satisfying than to see a
child who thought he couldn’t do it, or felt he was dumb or stupid, suddenly
find himself reading and learning and succeeding. Seeing students who had given
up on themselves, unable to even look the teacher in the eye, now functioning at
grade level with the whole world before them is very satisfying! There is nothing
like it! We have thirteen successful years working with children, young people and,
yes, even adults (25% of our clients are over 18-some as old as 64).
TOS: That is exciting, as more and more homeschoolers are choosing
to educate their special needs children at home. Others lack the confidence to do
so. What does ELI offer homeschoolers to help them tackle this task?
Mrs. Westover: Our program will allow us to correct the areas of
struggle, as well as place the student at the skill level where they can best perform,
prescribe a full curriculum from now until graduation, maintain report cards and
transcripts as they complete the program, and award an accredited diploma once they
complete the requirements for graduation. Our curriculum is designed for independent
study and is easily administered. It is an outstanding curriculum that prepares
students to succeed after graduation, whether they attend a university or enter
the workforce.
TOS: We understand that a learning disability is often a processing
difficulty, whether visual processing or auditory processing or both. Can you briefly
describe each of these deficits?
Mrs. Westover: To process information, one must first of all make
sense of what they see or hear, then process it properly, next store it in memory,
and later be able to retrieve it when necessary. Visual processing basically means
that the student has difficulty processing what he/she sees and storing it in memory.
Auditory processing means that the student has difficulty processing what he/she
hears and storing it in memory.
TOS: And these are some of the issues addressed in your program,
which involves Sensory Integration Therapy. Can you give us a layman’s definition
of Sensory Integration Therapy?
Mrs. Westover: Sensory Integration Therapy (SIT) is a series of
neurological exercises that interlink the visual, auditory, and motor pathways in
the brain in order to aid the implanting of information. In its simplest form, SIT
stimulates the brain in one sensory mode, asks for a recall of information from
memory using a second sensory mode, and then asks for a response using a third sensory
mode. By going through this simple, multi-modality task, correctly sequenced and
timed, the brain proceeds to interlock the sensory pathways or “patterns”
of neural connections.
The connections that take place during learning increase, and within a matter of
minutes following training, new connections are in place. These connections are
the basis for memory retention of any skill. Repetition of the skill reinforces
it and places it more firmly into long-term memory. SIT provides massive multi-sensory
stimulation through simple interlinking sequences to affect this learning process.
In this way, the brain is provided with so many positively reinforced and correct
neurological stimuli that it proceeds to select proper learning pathways. Learning
then takes place easily and fluidly.
TOS: How long does this take-the amount of time per day as well
as the expected duration of therapy?
Mrs. Westover: The student works for 45 minutes to 1 hour per day,
4 consecutive days per week, for 9 months or a minimum of 130 sessions.
TOS: Are there certain types of disability for which this therapy
is most appropriate? What kinds of kids would NOT benefit from this?
Mrs. Westover: We deal with about 95% of all learning difficulties
including visual and auditory processing, ADD, ADHD, and dyslexia. Students with
autism, aspergers, and ODD are enrolled with discretion.
TOS: You also offer complete curriculum for students in your program.
Can you tell us about that?
Mrs. Westover: In addition to the sensory integration therapy,
we have many different individualized curriculums available including self-instructional
textbooks, interactive CDs, and online curriculum. The self-paced, individualized
curriculum usually works best for struggling students because it assures mastery
before proceeding to higher levels. It has been carefully compiled to introduce
children to concrete and abstract reasoning skills at appropriate age levels. Vocabulary
has been meticulously chosen to spiral from simple to complex, and from concrete
to abstract. Character traits such as honesty, kindness, and loyalty are woven throughout
the curriculum.
Parents can be assured of 1) a solid, back to basics education, 2) a course of study
individualized to meet a child’s specific needs and learning capabilities,
3) a program incorporating character-building and wisdom principles, and 4) a curriculum
using advanced computer technology to help ensure the finest education possible
in today’s high-tech society.
Because every struggling student has individual needs, following a proper assessment,
we select from a variety of curriculum. We generally choose an individualized, self
instructional, mastery based curriculum such as the Accelerated Christian Education,
Inc. publications. We also have a number of other vendors we pick and choose from.
TOS: I want to thank you both for sharing with our readers about
your program. Your website,
www.ldhope.com, is full of informative articles about learning disabilities,
as well as complete coverage of your program and pricing.
This is one approach to dealing with learning disabilities in the home. Parents
of differently-abled children have many resources from which to choose. Over the
months in this Resource Room feature of The Old Schoolhouse, we hope to bring you
solid information on what is available to help you make an informed choice. The
presence of a particular company or approach in this column does not mean it is
endorsed or recommended by TOS. The course of therapy is an individualized decision
for parents and must be entered into with great thought, research and prayer. Our
goal is to equip you with information to help you make informed choices.
Until next time, press on…. and happy researching!—Christine
Biographical Information
Copyright, 2009. All rights reserved by author below. Content provided by The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC.
To contact Essential Learning Institute, call 800-285-9089, or write for a packet
of information to: ELI, 334 2nd St., Catasauqua PA 18032. Their email address is
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
and they are
on the web at
http://www.ldhope.com.
Christine M. Field practiced law for eight years before becoming a full-time mommy.
She and her husband live and homeschool their four children in Wheaton, Illinois,
where her husband serves as chief of police. Three of their four children are adopted:
one through private adoption and two from Korea. As special needs expert columnist
of TOS Magazine’s Resource Room, Christine welcomes readers’ comments,
personal stories, and questions. Please contact Christine at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
. As the author of books Help For the
Harried Homeschooler, A Field Guide to Home Schooling, Coming Home to Raise Your
Children, Should You Adopt? and Life Skills for Kids, Christine is a ready
and willing help to the homeschooling community. Crosswalk.com has featured her
a number of times as have other publications. For more information on Christine
and her resources please visit her website:
www.homefieldadvantage.org.
“ … I am the harried homeschooler as I seek to play the many roles
and meet the many demands in my life.”
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