The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, August 3, 2012 · 14 Special needs students thrive at Wildwood By Brice Roy SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER A parent's love for their child can sometimes inspire them to accomplish the exceptional. Years ago, Oakville residents Bud Johnson and Laurie Simpson felt their son Jeffrey, who is affected by a learning disability, was not receiving the special care he needed in public school so they decided to do something about it. Bud and Laurie began homeschooling Jeffrey while looking for a new way to help their son connect with the material. "We were doing research when we came across a teaching method in the United States called direct instruction," said Simpson. "We sent Jeffrey's instructors to Oregon to learn to teach direct instruction and then had them teaching in our basement," said Simpson. "Realistically though, we felt if we built the environment and everyone was this keen to teach in it then we would be able to provide this service to all the other kids who need it." The couple began to work on creating their vision of a school devoted to providing special care and assistance to special needs children. That vision became a reality in 2002 when Wildwood Academy first opened its doors to students in Grades 2 to 8. Ten years later, Wildwood Academy has blossomed into a beacon of hope for the community and parents across Ontario. ERIC RIEHL / OAKVILLE BEAVER / @halton_photog meeting the needS: Wildwood Academy celebrated its 10th anniversary this year. It held an official celebration at a Black Tie and Blue Jeans Gala in the spring. The charitable non-profit school offers smaller class sizes and personalized support programs to students with special needs ranging from attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to children within the autism spectrum. At Wildwood, the students learn the same core subjects -- math, spelling, reading, writing and social studies -- as those in public schools, but the approach from the teachers is different. "We focus on direct instruction programming, which is a highly specified and scientifically proven educational philosophy to suit special needs students," said Kim Ewing, co-director of Wildwood Academy. "There are a lot of auditory, visual and tactile experiences for the students to help them learn to the best of their ability. Every opportunity to bring that information to the students is given to them and every means to express that is given to them, as well," said Ewing. In addition to providing an effective alternative to traditional learning methods, Wildwood helps its students build self-confidence. Sometimes this includes repairing damage caused by previous experience. "We get a lot of great kids. Sometimes these kids have not done so well academically and start to lose their self-esteem," said Bud Johnson. "Then they come into Wildwood. When they come out, they are much happier. To have the kids happy is the reason why we stick to it and persevere." While the focus is on the children, learning is not limited to the classroom or the students. "Every day we learn something from the students. When we gather for lunch in the staff room there is always a new story," said Ewing. "They are amazing and they surprise you everyday. The best part of the day is always the kids. Every single minute of the day with them is rewarding." Ewing believes the instructor-to-student relationship is key to Wildwood's success. "I think if you were to ask the students their favourite part of the school, they would say it's the teachers. The students build very strong connections with their teachers," said Ewing. While Johnson and Simpson did have a few concerns in the beginning, Wildwood has become all they had hoped. "We weren't sure how it was going to grow. It was something we hoped would do well. It's great because it has been successful and the children have benefited," said Johnson. "There still seems to be a large need for this type of education and I don't see that changing very quickly in the future," said Simpson. For information, visit www.wildwoodacademy.com. Your favourite businesses, services, E VOT Y! entertainers, people and more! A D O T Voted by you! AWARDS Magic and Mischief The Enchanted Garden Weekend August 4 to 6; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Imagination Grove, Hendrie Park Be enchanted by fairies, gnomes and pixies. Come dressed in costume for discounts and more. Readers Selection CE C EL LI RATE VE MU B E S IC ATE OUR BLO R O B LE M S blues jazz Vote online until midnight Wed Aug 8 at www.oakvillereaderschoice.com RBG Centre, 680 Plains Road West, Hamilton/Burlington · 905-527-1158