Nancy Blair and Pat Roberts, two of the Founding Members of the Academy In Manayunk, were inspired by their daughters.  The term dyslexia was one that they worked for years to understand.  No parent wants to label a child, but an understanding of the very broad term of dyslexia is critical if we are to truly help children who learn differently.  The definition from the International Dyslexia Association is perfect...dyslexia is from the Greek language meaning "poor language."  That says it all for many of our children who later have "unexplained" difficulty learning to read, write and master mathematics.  These are bright, talented children who often displayed some difficulty in their early language such as word recall, answering simple questions, rhyming, or identifying colors and shapes.

The goal at the Academy In Manayunk is to share this understanding of early indicators of potential issues in language and learning to read so that parents can begin to address these issues as early as possible.  If children begin to receive the proper instruction before third grade, up to 95% of these children can maintain grade level performance in reading, writing, and math later in their academic careers.  This is the dream of Nancy and Pat for all parents.