Murphy and Dwyer Academy Inc. (MDA) is a
501(c)(3) non-profit school that was established to meet the
educational, psychological, and developmental needs of students
with Neurointegrative™ Learning Differences whose cognitive
abilities tend to be in the average to superior range, yet are at
risk for regression in some areas of functioning. These students
require educational programming that integrates research findings
with curriculum and program design while addressing their need to
develop nonverbal communication skills. MDA believes that the
development of pragmatic communication (social) skills is
necessary to become a functional member of society. The failure to
develop social skills oftentimes prevents many of our students
from functioning within the norms of society. This results in many
of them being ostracized by their peers and isolated from their
communities. Research
has shown that people who continue to be functionally isolated
frequently become vulnerable to victimization and may become
dependent on family or outside social services throughout their
lives. As a therapeutic day program, MDA allows these children to
remain living with their families rather than enrolling in a more
restrictive, residential program where they sometimes regress
developmentally.
Research has shown that students with
Neurointegrative™ Learning Differences have impairments in
executive functioning. These difficulties range from difficulties
in sustaining attention, regulation, and self-modulation to
higher-level executive function skills.
Our students’ executive function skills are, “often
ineffective because of their difficulties in organizing all facets
of an activity conceptually and integrating it with their student,
which may keep them from carrying out their many intentions” (Lezak).
Our students are frequently hyper-reactive or hypo-reactive
to ordinary sensory stimuli. Consequently, they oftentimes
withdraw socially and retreat into their own world to escape the
sensory, emotional, and extraneous stressors experienced in
traditional schools.
Our students have complicated neurological and
neurodevelopment profiles that often require some individualized
or small group instruction. Their
impairments may affect aspects of several learning systems. For
example, many of our students’ memory systems have an area of
strength and an area of impairment.
Often they have excellent rote memory for basic facts but
may have more difficulty differentiating relevant from irrelevant
information. They
often have fine-motor difficulties (dysgraphia) requiring language
processing and writing tasks to be separated from the perceptual
and motor aspects of writing.
Additionally, our students can have difficulties in the
following areas: dyscalculia, coordination and sensory integration.
The scope of services that students with
NeurointegrativeTM Learning Differences require in a
mainstream classroom frequently makes it difficult or impossible
for school systems to meet their complex needs.
These students also require a program that
weaves non-verbal pragmatic language and mentoring of social
interactions into all aspects of their education. Many MDA
students have a history of difficulty in establishing and
maintaining peer relationships. They are often socially successful
with adults and in 1:1 interactions but have difficulty being able
to read non-verbal, non-direct social nuances and communication.
MDA uses social mentoring, problem solving, social scripts,
drama skits, and videotaping to help students develop successful
peer interactions. The students learn to negotiate their
preferences and to develop reciprocity in dyads and, later, in
small groups.
The educational team, including the student’s
parents and local school district, develops an individualized plan
to ensure that each student maintains the academic status of the
students in his/her community and is provided with appropriate
inclusion opportunities. To
this end, MDA uses a technology based curriculum that is aligned
with the Massachusetts’ Curriculum Frameworks in
language arts, math, science, social
studies, physical education, and the arts.
The curricula correlate with the cognitive and
social-emotional development of typical peers while accommodating
students with learning disabilities.
In addition to pragmatic language and social
skill communication, sensory integration is also woven into the
curriculum and program. A
full-time Occupational Therapist (OT) helps students self-regulate
and modulate sensory input which aids them in sustaining attention
to their studies. The Occupational Therapist teaches swimming
twice per week and water safety lessons in an indoor heated pool
located in the school.
Summary
The program at Murphy & Dwyer Academy, Inc.
is designed to enhance each student’s intrinsic potential. The
Academy serves students with average to superior cognitive ability
who require a specialized program that integrates social
pragmatics into aspects of the program. The curriculum is
individualized to correspond to the student’s neuropsychological
profile. MDA provides students with an educational environment
that enhances their confidence while minimizing the extraneous
stimuli that overwhelms them. MDA provides a safe and supportive
environment that encourages students to “stay in our world.”
By doing so, students are able to participate in meaningful
interpersonal relationships and community involvement. Research
has shown that with an appropriate educational program, these
students are capable of excelling academically and have the
potential to be valuable members of their community. Historically,
people with Learning
Differences have made many meaningful contributions to art,
literature, research, science, and technology.
Operational Capacity:
35
Ages of Students
8 to 22 years
Notice
of Nondiscriminatory Policy as to Students
Murphy & Dwyer Academy, Inc. a private
school located at 29 Regina Drive, Chelmsford, MA 01824, admits
students of any race, color, national, or ethnic origin to all the
rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or
made available to students at this school. It does not
discriminate on the basis of race, color, national, or ethnic
origin in administration of educational policies, admissions
policies, scholarship and loan programs, or athletic and other
school-administrated programs.
Murphy and Dwyer Academy is approved for
funding by the Department of Social Services, the Department of
Mental Health, and Chapter 766. While many students' tuition is
paid by the student's public school system in accordance with
Chapter 766, some students' tuition is funded by the Department of
Social Services.
MDA accepts students from other states.
MDA can work with the Massachusetts
Department of Mental Health to coordinate funding and services.
