A wide range of students can benefit from therapeutic schools, including those who suffer from anxiety, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), emotional dysregulation, executive-functioning difficulties, and other learning challenges.
This article helps parents understand how and why certain students can benefit from attending therapeutic schools in NYC.
Can a Child with Anxiety Benefit from a Therapeutic School?
Yes. Anxiety, panic attacks, and related disorders can affect children in many ways. Children with these conditions often lose focus while concentrating on their emotions. This can show up as a child drawing a blank when they know the answer, experiencing extreme worry around tests, or turning in homework late or not at all because they worry it won’t be “perfect.”
Therapeutic schools can help students with anxiety. Because therapeutic schools incorporate therapy into the school day, they will get consistent support with managing their worries. At least one study found that therapeutic schools helped anxious students improve their emotional regulation and academics.
Can a Therapeutic School Help Students with ADHD and Emotional Dysregulation?
Many students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) struggle not only with the executive functioning issues typically associated with ADHD but also with emotional concerns. This makes sense because difficulty with emotional regulation is a key component of ADHD.
These issues are often mutually reinforcing. For example, a student whose ADHD causes them to struggle with task management may get overwhelmed as the due date for a major project approaches. The closer it gets, the harder it becomes for the child to regulate their emotions. Similarly, as emotions become more intense, the executive functioning issues multiply.
Therapeutic schools can help here by providing students with support for both executive functioning and emotional management.
Can Therapeutic Schools Help Students Whose Learning Differences Have Affected Their Academic Confidence?
It’s common for students with learning disabilities to view themselves as less academically advanced than their peers without LDs. Over time, this can cause these students to lose confidence, expect failure, or even avoid tasks.
Therapeutic schools can help these students. Many therapeutic schools teach social-emotional learning. Over time, these SEL skills such as self-awareness and self-management help students build confidence. This will reduce time lost to frustration and avoidance.
Can a Therapeutic School Help with Persistent School Refusal?
School refusal is not the same as truancy or skipping school. In school refusal, children resist going to school because negative emotions, such as depression or anxiety, become overwhelming when the child is at school or heading to school. These emotions can become so strong that they can cause physical symptoms such as stomachaches or headaches in some children.
School refusal is a particularly difficult issue because missing school has cumulative effects over time. The more school a student misses, the farther they fall behind. As they fall further behind, the negative emotions associated with school grow, leading to more missed time, beginning the cycle again.
Therapeutic schools can help by giving students support for the issues that make school difficult. Trained counselors can give students useful advice and tools while helping them set reasonable goals.
Can Gifted or Twice-Exceptional Students Benefit from a Therapeutic School?
The American Psychological Association (APA) says that an exceptional child is one who “is substantially above or below the average in some significant respect.” Generally, a child who is above average is called “gifted.” However, many children who are ahead in some areas are behind in other academic or non-academic areas. Experts refer to these children as “twice exceptional,” or 2e for short.
Gifted and 2e children are bright, yet they experience many challenges in the classroom. Gifted children generally experience higher rates of anxiety compared to other children. It’s also common for gifted students to have diagnoses like ADHD and autism, which require their own supports.
Therapeutic schools can be especially helpful for both groups of children. These schools can challenge them academically while also helping 2e students with any academic shortcomings. Both groups can benefit from social and emotional supports.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Types of Students Who Can Benefit from Therapeutic Schools
- Can students receive testing accommodations at a therapeutic school?
Yes. This is one of the most common accommodations at many traditional and therapeutic schools.
- Can a therapeutic school help a student who does well one-on-one but struggles in a classroom?
Yes. Many of these students may struggle due to a failure to understand the material, working memory issues, a learning disability, or a lack of confidence. Therapeutic schools are equipped to handle all of these issues.
- Can therapeutic schools help when social difficulties interfere more than academic difficulties?
Yes. Social skills are an important part of the school experience. A student with good grades can still be miserable and overwhelmed if they struggle to interact with peers and teachers. Therapeutic schools’ increased focus on social-emotional learning can help.
- Can a therapeutic school support a student whose needs vary significantly from class to class?
Yes. For example, a child with dyslexia may need more support in classes with heavy reading. Beyond this, factors such as the teacher’s teaching style, which peers are in the class, and even the time of day can affect student needs.
- Can a therapeutic school help when a student holds it together at school but melts down at home?
Yes. This happens with many children but is especially common for children with autism spectrum disorder. This generally happens because students who feel pressure to behave at school use all of their reserves at school and have nothing left once at home. Therapeutic schools can help by teaching emotional regulation skills. Additionally, giving the student a safe place to learn reduces the pressure.
- Can a Therapeutic School Help a Student Who Becomes Overwhelmed by Noise, Crowds, or Other Sensory Input?
Absolutely. Therapeutic schools typically have smaller class sizes. Fewer students generally lead to less crowding and noise. Additionally, the classrooms in therapeutic schools are usually designed to minimize overly bright lighting, blaring alarms, strong smells, and other things that can trigger sensory reactions.
How Does Academics West Support Students with Complex Learning Needs?
Therapeutic schools can support a wide variety of students. If your family is considering a therapeutic school, consider Academics West. We are a therapeutic school with campuses in Brooklyn and the Upper West Side. Our program has helped a wide range of students take their own Hero’s Journey to success.
To learn more about our school, you can:
- Take our virtual tour,
- Book a call with an admissions coordinator, or
- Schedule an in-person visit to our Upper West Side campus by calling 212-580-0080 or using our online scheduling tool.