This article will walk you through how to find the right special education tutor, including what to look for in an instructor and how to make sure you’ve found the right match for your child.

What is special education tutoring?

Special education tutoring is highly individualized tutoring that uses research-based approaches to help students with learning challenges such as:

• ADHD
• Dyslexia
• Dysgraphia
• Dyscalculia
• Executive functioning challenges
• Autism
• Processing delays
• Speech and language challenges

Unlike homework help or generic tutoring, specialized tutoring focuses on:

• Your child’s individual needs, including their unique skills and levels
• Building foundational skills in reading, writing, and math
• Developing executive functioning skills, including planning, time management, and organization
• Increasing independence and confidence

What are signs that your child may need a special education tutor?

Some children may just need homework help or minimal academic support, but others need more specialized instruction. Here are some signs that your child may need specialized tutoring:

• Your child has been evaluated and has an IEP or 504 Plan
• Homework is a struggle and takes a long time to complete
• Reading, writing, or math skills are weak
• Your child struggles to learn and retain new concepts
• Your child’s teacher has noticed challenges with focus, organization, and executive functioning skills
• Your child has low self-esteem
• If any of these points apply to your child, they may benefit from specialized one-on-one tutoring, not just generic tutoring or homework help.

What makes a strong special education tutor?

Some tutors specialize in early childhood reading. Others are pros at high level math or writing instruction. Yet not all tutors specialize in special education tutoring. When searching for a “special education tutor near me”, the following characteristics are important:

1. Specialized experience and expertise

If your child has specialized learning needs, it’s important that they work with a tutor who has expertise in working with similar students. For example, if your child has dyslexia, look for a tutor who specializes in working with students with dyslexia using the Orton Gillingham approach. If your child has dysgraphia or struggles with writing, look for a writing specialist who uses multi-sensory techniques. In general, you should look for a tutor who has expertise in:

• Special education tutoring
• Reading remediation, using research-based methods like Orton Gillingham
• Executive functioning coaching
• Writing remediation
• Multi-sensory math instruction

Read more about executive functioning coaching at Executive Functioning Coaching | Build Organization, Time Management & Study Skills | EBL Coaching

2. Individualized tutoring approach

Children who have specialized learning needs respond best to tutoring that is customized to their specific needs. When looking for a tutor for your child, avoid a one-size-fits-all approach to tutoring. A strong special education tutor will:

• Start with an initial assessment to gauge your child’s strengths and areas of need
• Create an individualized tutoring plan using research-based, multi-sensory techniques
• Modify the pace of the instruction based on how your child responds
• Tweak the tutoring as your child progresses through the lessons

3. Strong relationship building

Students with learning challenges typically respond best to tutoring when they connect well with their tutor. The right personality match is key. If your child has specialized learning needs, they will likely need:

• Positive reinforcement
• Encouragement
• Self-esteem building
• Opportunities to make mistakes without feeling poorly about themselves

The relationship your child has with their tutor is key to your child being open and receptive to the content being taught.

4. Focus on confidence-building

Many students who struggle in school have low self-esteem. The best tutors don’t just focus on academic skills building but are also positive and encouraging, focusing on improving your child’s self-confidence. Strong tutors help students:

• Feel confident and capable
• See their progress, in turn empowering them to enjoy learning
• Build independence

Read more about finding the best tutor for your child at How to Find the Best Tutor for Your Child in NYC – EBL Coaching

How do I find a special education tutor near me?

Finding the right tutor for your child – someone who has the appropriate areas of specialty and who connects well with your child – can sometimes feel challenging. When searching for a tutor near you, here are some helpful strategies:
Use specific search terms when looking online
Instead of searching just “tutor,” try searching:

• “Special education tutoring near me”
• “ADHD tutor near me”
• “Dyslexia tutor near me”
• “Math tutoring near me”
• “Orton Gillingham tutoring near me”

 Try to find specialized tutors

While virtual tutoring works well for some students, others respond best to local in-person tutoring. Local tutors may:

• Work with your child in-person at your home
• Bring multi-sensory tools for the tutoring sessions, such as magnetic tiles, shaving cream, and sandpaper
• Understand the schools and curricula in your area
• Provide more individualized instruction than large tutoring chains which may not specialize in working with students with learning challenges

Ask questions!

Before committing to a specific tutor, ask specific questions, such as:

• Do you have experience working with students with my child’s specific needs, including dyslexia, ADHD, autism or other learning disabilities?
• How do you individualize the tutoring sessions to meet the needs of each student?
• Do you use research-based, multi-sensory techniques?
• How do you communicate progress to parents?

In-home or virtual tutoring: which is better?

Some children prefer virtual tutoring, while others learn best with in-person tutoring. Both options can work well, depending on your child’s specific needs and profile. Detailed below are advantages to both modalities:

In-home tutoring

• Develop strong rapport with tutor
• Multi-sensory tools can easily be integrated
• Fewer distractions for some students
• Comfortable environment

Virtual tutoring

• More flexible scheduling
• Access to specialized tutors who may not be available in your local area
• Great option for middle or high school students, including those who are comfortable using technology

Some students prefer a hybrid approach that combines in-person and virtual tutoring. This option can work well, especially when families travel or a family member isn’t feeling well and in-person tutoring isn’t feasible.

Why the right match is important

Many tutors are highly qualified and are experts in their fields. However, if your child doesn’t connect with them, they may not be receptive to the concepts the tutor in teaching them. The right personality fit is important for successful tutoring.
When the right match is in place, you’ll likely notice:

• Less resistance to tutoring sessions
• Improved self-confidence
• More engagement in learning
• Increased academic performance
• Improved independence

With tutoring, it’s important that your child not only builds their academic skills but that they become more self-confident in their abilities.

Closing thoughts

Finding the right special education tutor for your child can help them immensely. When you search for “special education tutoring near me”, make sure you look for a tutor who specializes in working with students like your child, creates a structured tutoring plan, and connects well with your child.

If your child is struggling in school, EBL Coaching can help! We specialize in providing one-on-one tutoring to students in grades prek-12 with specialized learning needs. We use research-based, multi-sensory techniques to help students with dyslexia, ADHD, autism, specific learning disabilities, and other academic challenges build their reading, writing, math, and executive functioning skills. Sessions can take place at our learning centers, located at 17 East 89th Street, Suite 1D, New York, NY and 50 East Palisade Avenue, Suite 201, Englewood, NJ 07631. We also provide virtual tutoring and in-person tutoring at your home.

Frequently Asked Questions About Special Education Tutoring

How often should my child meet with a special education tutor?
The frequency and duration of tutoring vary based on your child’s needs. Some children only need 1-2 sessions per week while others need many more frequent weekly sessions, depending on the severity of their challenges. Before starting the tutoring sessions, your child should receive an initial evaluation to gauge their specific needs and to come up with a unique tutoring plan most suitable for them.

How long does it take to see progress from special education tutoring?
The rate of progress from special education tutoring varies based on each child. Some students respond quickly to specialized tutoring while others need more time to process and comprehend new material.

What’s the difference between a regular tutor and a special education tutor?
A regular tutor may help your child with homework or provide instruction to them that may vary from session to session. Special education tutors, however, create individualized, structured tutoring plans using research-based, multi-sensory techniques that cater to your child’s needs and modify the instruction based on how your child responds to the tutoring.

Is one-on-one tutoring better than group tutoring sessions?
For students with specialized learning needs and academic skills challenges, one-on-tutoring tends to be much more effective than group tutoring since it allows the instruction to be truly individualized to your child’s needs.

Dr. Emily Levy, the founder and director of EBL Coaching, has helped thousands of students with specialized learning needs build their academic skills over the past twenty years. She is the author of the Strategies do Study Success student workbook series, the Flags and Stars Orton Gillingham student workbook program, and the Flags and Stars Multi-Sensory Math student workbook series. She speaks nationally at educational conferences and frequently appears on podcasts as an educational expert.

The post Special Education Tutoring Near Me: How to Find the Right Tutor appeared first on EBL Coaching.

What is summer learning loss and why is it more critical for students with dyslexia?

During the summer, many students experience academic learning loss, also known as the summer slide. This slide typically happens because students do very little (if any) academic work over the summer. In fact, research tells us at over 50% of students in the United States lose an average of 39% of gains from the school year over the summer.

For students with dyslexia, summer learning loss is often even greater because:

• They typically need consistent instruction year-round
• They need regular repetition of concepts taught in order to retain them
• Gaps in reading and writing skills can widen quickly without consistent reinforcement
• Even a short break over the summer from consistent learning can lead to learning loss for students with dyslexia and can make the start of the new school year much more challenging for them.

Why is summer such an important time for dyslexia tutoring?

Some parents may feel that their child needs a break from academic work during the summer, but consistent learning is critical for students with dyslexia. They can still have fun during this time while continuing to build their academic skills. Additionally, during the school year, it can be challenging to find time to build foundational skills and fill in learning gaps, but summer is an ideal time for that work, when there are usually fewer homework and school constraints.

When students with dyslexia receive tutoring over the summer, they tend to start the new school year feeling more self-confident and prepared, instead of feeling nervous and behind their peers academically.

What does effective summer dyslexia tutoring look like?

Tutoring for students with dyslexia should follow evidence-based, multi-sensory techniques that are catered to the needs of each student. Most students with dyslexia don’t respond as well to traditional, non-specialized tutoring or homework help. The type of methodologies used in the tutoring sessions and the expertise of the instructor are key elements to successful dyslexia tutoring.

Read our guide on how to find the best dyslexia tutor in NYC for your child at How to Find the Best Tutor for Your Child in NYC – EBL Coaching
Structured, multi-sensory summer tutoring

Students with dyslexia respond best to structured, evidence-based tutoring methods such as the Orton Gillingham approach. This type of instruction breaks down reading into clear, sequential steps. It also integrates the visual, auditory, and tactile/kinesthetic modalities to help engage students in their learning and retain the information taught.

Learn how Orton Gillingham tutoring helps students with dyslexia at What Is Orton-Gillingham Tutoring? Multi-Sensory, Structured Help | EBL Coaching

Consistent tutoring sessions

Tutoring sessions that are occasional and inconsistent are not ideal for students with dyslexia. They need regular, consistent tutoring on a fixed schedule to make the most progress. Students with dyslexia often need multiple sessions per week, especially during the summer when there are fewer constraints of school and foundational skills building can be addressed.

Individualized one-on-one tutoring

Each student with dyslexia has an individual learning profile with unique needs. One-on-one tutoring that begins with an initial assessment and focuses on the specific areas that the student needs the most help with is most optimal for students with dyslexia.

Foundational skills building

During the school year, many students struggle to keep up with their schoolwork. However, because in the summer there are usually fewer school and scheduling limitations, and the tutoring can focus on filling in any learning gaps and building foundational reading and writing skills. Dyslexia tutoring sessions can focus on skills such as phonemic awareness, decoding, spelling, reading fluency, and writing expression. Building strong reading and writing foundations can help improve your child’s overall academic performance.

How much summer tutoring does a child with dyslexia need?

The frequency of tutoring sessions for students with dyslexia varies based on their individual needs. While some students may only need 1-2 sessions per week, students with more profound learning challenges often need multiple sessions per week to effectively build their reading and writing skills.

What are signs your child with dyslexia may benefit from summer tutoring?

You may want to explore summer tutoring for your child with dyslexia if they:

• Struggle with decoding words and reading fluently
• Have trouble spelling words accurately
• Show frustration around reading and writing
• Received poor grades during the school year
• Have an IEP or 504 plan
• Has low self-confidence related to their skills

Keep summer tutoring positive!

Some parents may feel like they are “punishing” their child with summer tutoring. Yet the opposite should be the case – with the right tutor, methodologies, and engaging approach, your child will see how much summer tutoring can help them. By providing your child with one-on-one tutoring, you are giving them tools and strategies to help them feel good about themselves and improve their academic performance. Just like soccer or baseball players receive coaching to improve their athletic performance, tutoring is like having a learning coach to help your child excel.

How can I find a summer dyslexia tutor near me?

Finding the right summer tutor for your child with dyslexia is important. Try to find someone who utilizes the Orton Gillingham approach (which is ideal for students with dyslexia) and who connects well with your child. When searching for a tutor, use specific search terms when looking online. Instead of searching just “tutor,” try searching:

• “Dyslexia tutoring near me”
• “Orton Gillingham tutoring near me”
• “Dyslexia summer tutor near me”
• “Special education tutoring near me”
• “Multi-sensory summer tutoring near me”
• “Summer tutoring for students with IEPs near me”

Discover what to look for in a one-on-one summer tutor near you at One-on-One Summer Tutoring Near Me: What to Look For

Closing thoughts

Summer should be a time filled with enjoyment and fun activities, but it should not be a time when learning is ignored. Students with dyslexia need continued learning over the summer to help reinforce concepts taught, continue building their academic skills, and avoid the summer slide.
Regular one-on-one structured tutoring during the summer can help students with dyslexia improve their self-confidence and start the new school year strong.

Are you looking for a summer dyslexia tutor for your child?

EBL Coaching can help! We specialize in providing one-on-one tutoring to students in grades prek-12 with specialized learning needs, including dyslexia. We use research-based, multi-sensory techniques to help students with dyslexia, ADHD, autism, specific learning disabilities, and other academic skills challenges develop their reading, spelling, writing, math, and executive functioning skills.

Sessions can take place at our learning centers, located at 17 East 89th Street, Suite 1D, New York, NY and 50 East Palisade Avenue, Suite 201, Englewood, NJ 07631. We also provide virtual tutoring and in-person tutoring at your home.

Frequently Asked Questions about Summer Dyslexia Tutoring

Is summer tutoring necessary for all students with dyslexia?
While summer tutoring isn’t absolutely necessary, many students with dyslexia face significant learning loss without continuing learning over the summer. Instead of experiencing the summer slide, help your child continue developing their academic skills, reinforce content taught, and start the new school year on a positive note.

Can even just a few weeks of tutoring really help my child with dyslexia?
While longer stretches of tutoring time of the summer are ideal, even just a few weeks can help. The key is consistency and targeted instruction. If your child is only available for tutoring for a few weeks in the summer, you may want to consider a more intensive summer tutoring program for them.

What type of tutoring is best for dyslexia?
The ideal type of tutoring for dyslexia is systematic and multi-sensory, ideally using the Orton Gillingham approach. This technique is research-based, structured, and individualized to the needs of each student.

Should dyslexia tutoring be in-person or virtual?
Students with dyslexia can respond well to either in-person or virtual tutoring. Virtual tutoring typically offers more flexible scheduling and access to tutors who may not live in your local geographic area, while in-person tutoring offers face-to-face connections. Both modalities can be effective if the instruction is systematic, targeted, and engaging.

Learn more about virtual tutoring at Can Virtual Tutoring Help My Child? – EBL Coaching

Dr. Emily Levy, the founder and director of EBL Coaching, has helped thousands of students with specialized learning needs build their academic skills over the past twenty years. She is the author of the Strategies do Study Success student workbook series, the Flags and Stars Orton Gillingham student workbook program, and the Flags and Stars Multi-Sensory Math student workbook series. She speaks nationally at educational conferences and frequently appears on podcasts as an educational expert.

The post Summer Tutoring for Students with Dyslexia: How to Prevent Learning Loss appeared first on EBL Coaching.

Which academic delays can occur in kindergarten?

Academic delays in young children can show up in various forms. There are early signs that can help determine whether your child may benefit from extra support. Some common areas of challenge include:

• Recognizing the names of the letters and their corresponding sounds
• Writing letters
• Writing numbers
• Counting numbers
• Following multi-step directions
• Focusing during lessons

Each child progresses at a different pace, but if you notice your child struggling with any of these skills, take action. The academic demands of school will only continue to increase, and targeted support can make an immense difference.

Early signs your child may need kindergarten tutoring

You might be unsure about whether your child is following their own developmental track or is falling behind. While some children may grasp foundational academic skills with time, others might benefit from a tutor to help them build these skills.  Here are some signs that your child may benefit from tutoring:

• Difficulty learning letter names and sounds
• Trouble with rhyming
• Challenges with identifying beginning and ending sounds in words
• Avoiding reading and writing tasks
• Struggling with holding a pencil, cutting, and other fine motor skills
• Difficulty learning how to count and recognize numbers
• Trouble staying on task for long stretches of time

If your child is struggling with any of these tasks, tutoring can help them build these foundational skills and prevent future challenges.

Why kindergarten tutoring helps

Kindergarten is a time when many early academic skills are taught. Foundational reading, writing, and math skills are introduced, and students need to grasp these basic skills in order to learn more complex material. If your child is having trouble learning these skills, they may benefit from kindergarten tutoring in NYC.

Early tutoring can help them:

• Build foundational reading, writing, and math skills
• Fill in any learning gaps they may have
• Prevent these gaps from turning into larger challenges
• Build their self-confidence
• Help them enjoy learning
• Reduce frustration
• Set them up for future academic success

If your child is struggling in school or has a diagnosed learning disability, tutoring can make an immense difference in their academic trajectory and help them feel confident in school.

What does effective kindergarten tutoring in NYC look like?

Many tutors have their own niche specialties. Some tutors are high level math specialists; others might be pros at teaching paragraph and essay writing; and some specialize in working with young learners, including kindergarten students. When students are in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten, the tutoring sessions should be fun and engaging, helping them enjoy the process while learning key skills. The ideal kindergarten tutoring approach should be:

1. Multi-Sensory

Young children tend to learn best when the visual, auditory, and tactile/kinesthetic modalities are integrated into teaching. Students should be able to see, hear, and touch new concepts being introduced during tutoring sessions. Multi-sensory tutoring lessons might include:

• Tracing letters in sand or shaving cream
• Creating words using magnetic tiles
• Tracing numbers on sandpaper
• Using manipulatives for math
• Integrating learning games to reinforce content covered

2. Structured and systematic

Most young children benefit from clear, step-by-step instructions that follow a systematic plan. This structured approach to teaching can help children effectively develop all core skills, including reading, writing, and math.

A sample structured reading tutoring lesson might include:

1. Teaching individual consonants and short vowels along with their corresponding sounds, including how to identify and write these letters.
2. Blending sounds together to form basic words, working in groups of four consonants and one short vowel, learning to read words such as at, in, fun, pat, & rug.
3. Moving on to reading and spelling words containing blends, consonant digraphs, vowel digraphs, and multi-syllabic word patterns.
4. Integrating oral sentences and story reading that reinforce concepts taught once the student is ready.

3. Individualized tutoring

Every child has unique learning needs, and tutoring sessions should be individualized to these needs. An effective tutoring program will:

• Start with an initial evaluation to assess your child’s current skill levels
• Create an individualized tutoring plan
• Tweak the lessons based on how your child responds

4. Engaging, fun, and positive

Kindergarten students should have fun during tutoring sessions and enjoy the learning process, helping them feel successful and motivated to learn. Tutoring sessions should be:

• Fun and engaging
• Positive and uplifting
• Self-esteem building
• Hands-on

One-on-one tutoring vs. group programs for kindergarten instruction

For pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students who have learning delays, one-on-one tutoring in NYC is generally the most effective option, allowing the instruction to truly be tailored to their needs. Students with dyslexia and other reading challenges may benefit from specialized Orton Gillingham tutoring.

Benefits of one-on-one tutoring:

• Tutoring sessions are individualized to your child’s specific needs
• Pacing is flexible based on how your child responds
• New lessons are introduced when your child is ready
• Previously taught concepts are reinforced as needed, based on your child’s grasp of the material
• Stronger connection with the tutor

Challenges with group programs:

• Less individualized instruction
• A specific curriculum is often followed that may not be best for your child
• Pace may not match your child’s needs
• Limited ability to tweak instruction based on your child’s response to lessons

At this young age, individualized instruction is particularly important, as this is a time when the foundations of learning are still being established. Without these foundations, students will likely continue to struggle in school and may develop learning gaps. Note that if your child has a diagnosed learning disability or ADHD, one-on-one tutoring is even more important.

Learn more about signs your child may be neurodivergent at Signs Your Child May Be Neurodivergent: ADHD, Dyslexia, And Autism

Which subjects can kindergarten tutoring in NYC help with?

While every child is different and should be assessed before tutoring sessions begin, kindergarten tutoring generally focuses on foundational skills building. These skills might include:

Pre-Reading & Reading 

• Letter recognition
• Sound recognition
• Phonemic awareness, including rhyming and identifying sounds in words
• Blending sounds to form basic words

Writing

• Writing letters properly, using top to bottom formation
• Fine motor skills
• Writing their name
• Blending sounds together to write basic words

Math

• Counting skills
• Number recognition
• Simple addition concepts
• Simple subtraction concepts
• Recognizing Patterns
• Sorting objects

Executive Functioning

• Staying focused on tasks
• Following directions
• Initiating tasks

How often should kindergarten tutoring occur?

The frequency at which a kindergarten student should receive tutoring varies based on their needs. Some students need one or two sessions per week, while others may need much more, depending on the severity of their needs. Summer tutoring is also a great way to focus on core skills building before the new school year begins. The key is receiving regular, consistent instruction.

Read more about summer tutoring at One-on-One Summer Tutoring Near Me: What to Look For

Supporting your child at home

When your child receives tutoring, it’s helpful to reinforce the concepts covered during tutoring sessions at home. Remember to keep the reinforcement work fun and engaging. Learning should be enjoyable for your child at this stage. While you should coordinate with your child’s tutor to reinforce what they are working on, some ideas for helping your child at home might include:

• Reading together every day and engaging your child in the book with questions about the characters, setting, and plot
• Practicing letter formations by having your child trace letters in salt or sand at the beach
• Playing learning games
• Encouraging drawing and writing to build fine motor skills

Remember to keep these activities positive, engaging, and encouraging.

Concluding thoughts

If your kindergarten child is showing signs of academic delays, one-on-one tutoring can make a lasting difference. With tutoring, your child will not only strengthen their academic skills but will likely become more confident and enjoy the process of learning.

Are you looking for kindergarten tutoring in NYC or NJ? We can help! EBL Coaching specializes in one-on-one tutoring for young children with academic delays using multi-sensory, research-based methods. In addition to kindergarten tutoring, we have expertise in ADHD coaching in NYC, dyslexia tutoring in NYC, learning disability instruction in NYC, and Orton Gillingham tutoring in NYC. Contact us today to see how we can help your child with individualized tutoring!

Our NYC learning center is located at 17 East 89th Street, Suite 1D, New York, NY 10128 and our New Jersey learning center is located at 50 East Palisade Avenue, Suite 201, Englewood, NJ 07631.

Frequently Asked Questions about Kindergarten Tutoring 

Is kindergarten too early for tutoring?
Absolutely not! Kindergarten is a time when academic foundations are still being established. If your child is having difficulty learning basis skills, tutoring can help them immensely, especially if the sessions are fun and engaging.

What type of tutor should I look for?
When looking for a tutor for your child, try to find someone with expertise in early childhood education. Also look for someone who will use a structured, multi-sensory approach to teaching, including tools such as colored sand, magnetic tiles, and shaving cream to help engage your child in the learning process.

Learn more about what to look for in a reading tutor in NYC at What to Look for in a Reading Specialist in NYC

Can kindergarten tutoring help if my child doesn’t have a diagnosis?
Yes! Many children benefit from tutoring even when they don’t have an official diagnosis. If you notice your child struggling, don’t wait! If they miss out on learning foundational academic skills, they will likely continue to struggle as they move through school without effective remediation.

How long does it take to see progress from tutoring?
Every child improves at a different rate. Some students progress quickly, while others take much longer. However, with the right tutor, frequency, and methodologies, many students show progress within the first month of tutoring.

Dr. Emily Levy, the founder and director of EBL Coaching, has helped thousands of early childhood students improve their academic skills over the past twenty years. She is the author of the Flags and Stars Orton Gillingham workbook series, the Flags and Stars multi-sensory math student workbook program, and the Strategies for Study Success study skills workbook series. She regularly writes educational articles for publications and frequently appears on podcasts as an educational expert.

The post Kindergarten Tutoring for Children with Academic Delays: What Parents Need to Know appeared first on EBL Coaching.

Why it’s important to find the right ADHD tutor

Some tutors excel at teaching writing or math to students. Others may be early childhood reading specialists and some are pros at teaching chemistry or physics. Not every tutor has the skill set and toolbox of strategies to help students with ADHD.

When parents hire the wrong type of tutor for their ADHD child, they may notice that:

• Organizational skills don’t improve.
• Homework continues to be laborious and a constant challenge.
• Progress is slow.
• Time management is a challenge.
• Their child continues to struggle with staying on task.

Students with ADHD typically need more than just homework help or assistance with a single skill or subject, like reading or math. They usually need help developing their executive functioning skills, including:

• Staying on task for longer stretches of time
• Prioritizing tasks
• Managing their homework
• Organizing their belongings
• Initiating tasks
• Following through on tasks
• Managing their time
• Taking effective notes
• Studying for different types of tests

Tutors who specialize in working with students with ADHD should be able to identify each student’s specific executive functioning challenges and come up with a tutoring plan to develop these skills using the appropriate tools and strategies.

What to look for in an ADHD tutor

You may know that your child needs an ADHD tutor but you’re unclear about which qualities to look for in an effective ADHD tutor. Below are traits you should try to find:

1. A tutor who specializes in working with students with ADHD and executive functioning challenges
   When seeking a tutor, inquire as to whether they work frequently with students with ADHD and if they regularly work on building focusing, organization, time management, and other executive functioning skills.
2. A tutor who uses evidence-based, multi-sensory teaching strategies
   When working with ADHD students, tutors should provide interactive instruction, engaging their students with concrete, practical tools. They should teach their students strategies and show them how to apply the strategies to their relevant school work. The tutoring sessions should be hands-on and multi-sensory, and ideally the student should see the value in how the tools can help them.
3. A tutor your child connects well with
   It’s important that your child connects well to their tutor and forms a solid bond so they are open to the strategies the tutor will teach them. Some students respond well to a bubbly, energetic personality, while others prefer a calmer, quieter approach. An ideal ADHD tutor for your child should be able to redirect them without leading to frustration, keep the sessions interactive and dynamic, and introduce new strategies if certain ones aren’t clicking for your child.
4. A tutor who focuses on concrete strategy development
   When looking for the right ADHD tutor for your child, try to find a tutor who has a set of tools and strategies they can teach your child to help them become more independent and self-sufficient. The tutor should teach your child concrete executive functioning strategies to build their organization, planning, time management, task initiation, self-monitoring and other related skills.

Where to find an ADHD tutor near you

When looking for an ADHD tutor near you, you may want to consider a specialized tutoring center. Look for a tutoring center that focuses on helping students with ADHD. They should specifically specialize in working with students on executive functioning development, study skills strategies, organizational skills tips, time management tools, and planning skills, all using evidence-based strategies – and should have extensive experience doing so.

Online tutoring

Many students with ADHD respond well to online tutoring. It allows them to access specialized executive functioning coaches that might not be available in their local area, and it typically offers more flexible scheduling options. If students prefer working with a tutor late at night or on weekends, online tutoring can usually accommodate those schedules more easily.

Signs you’ve found the right ADHD tutor

You’ll know you’ve found an ideal tutor for your child with ADHD if you notice the following:

• Your child is becoming more independent with completing their work.
• Homework is less of a struggle.
• They are less resistant to tutoring sessions.
• Their organizational skills have improved.
• They are more self-confident with their schoolwork.

How long does it take to see results from ADHD tutoring?

The rate of progress from ADHD tutoring varies based on your child’s specific profile and degree of need. Some students show progress right away while others need more time. However, with the right ADHD tutor, you will likely notice:

• Improved organization and focus within the first month
• Academic skills improvement within the first 1-3 months
• Long-term academic independence with consistent tutoring sessions

The rate of progress can also vary based on the frequency of sessions. However, consistency with attending tutoring sessions is key; without this consistency, progress will likely be much slower.

Finding the right ADHD tutor for your child can help them immensely. Specialized tutoring and executive functioning coaching can help your child become more confident, independent, and successful in school.

If your child has ADHD and is struggling with planning, time management, organization, and other executive functioning skills, contact EBL Coaching to see how we can help them with individualized one-on-one ADHD coaching.

Frequently Asked Questions

What type of tutoring is best for ADHD?
The best tutoring for students with ADHD is tutoring that uses evidence-based methods to help them improve their executive functioning skills. The tutor should teach specific strategies and then show the student how to apply those strategies to their relevant school work.

Is virtual tutoring good for ADHD?
Yes! Many students with ADHD prefer virtual tutoring. They enjoy the flexibility of tutoring schedules and access to ADHD specialists who might not be available in their local geographic areas.

How often should my child meet with an ADHD tutor?
The frequency with which your child meets with a tutor can vary based on their needs. Many meet 2-3 times per week but others need less or more, depending on their overall profile and levels of need.

Dr. Emily Levy, the founder and director of EBL Coaching, holds her Doctorate Degree in Education and her Master’s Degree in Special Education. She has been helping students with ADHD and executive functioning challenges for over twenty years.

The post How to Find an ADHD Tutor Near You appeared first on EBL Coaching.

What is Orton Gillingham Tutoring?

Orton Gillingham is a structured, research-based, systematic approach to teaching. It integrates multi-sensory tools, such as audio-visual flash cards, whiteboards, and magnetic tiles, to help students develop stronger reading and spelling skills. All students can benefit from this type of instruction but students with dyslexia and other learning disabilities need this approach to effectively develop these skills.

What does an Orton Gillingham tutoring lesson look like?

When an Orton Gillingham tutor uses this methodology, they follow a systematic approach to teaching, integrating previously taught concepts as they introduce new concepts. If a student has grasped how to effectively read consonant-vowel-consonant words, words with blends, and words with consonant digraphs, for instance, they may be ready to move onto words with vowel teams. If they are learning the sound “oo”, the lesson might be structured as follows:

1. Review previously taught Orton Gillingham sounds and concepts.
2. Audio-visual card drill: Start the new lesson with an audio-visual card drill. The Orton Gillingham tutor would hold up a flashcard with the letters “oo” on the front and a key picture on the back, like “boots”.
3. Audio-visual card drill student practice: The Orton Gillingham tutor would say aloud to the student, “These are the letters oo, like boot, it makes the sound /oo/“ while flipping the card around, showing the letters, then the picture, then the letters again. The student would repeat that sequence with the tutor and then try it on their own.
4. Skywriting: The Orton Gillingham tutor would move onto skywriting; using large gross motor muscles, they would draw the two o’s in the sky, saying “around and around” as they form each letter. The student would then try it together with the tutor and then independently.
5. Sand or shaving cream writing: The Orton Gillingham tutor might move onto writing using colored sand or shaving cream. They would start by modeling the formation of the two o’s, then ask the student to do it with them and then on their own.
6. Orton Gillingham workbook practice: The tutor would then move onto Orton Gillingham workbooks that offer practice exercises using that vowel digraph.
7. Student practice: The student would practice blending sounds together to form words using magnetic tiles or flash cards. Finally, the lesson would end with the student reading words, sentences, or a story containing the “oo” sound and any previously taught sounds.

How Orton Gillingham Tutors Help with Reading Comprehension

Students with learning disabilities often struggle with reading comprehension in addition to decoding and need dyslexia tutoring or reading intervention in this area as well. A multi-sensory approach, such as the tri-colored highlighting strategy, can help with this skill as well.

To use this strategy, the tutor would explain to the student that when we read, there are three elements we should look for: the topic is one, two, or three words describing the passage, like winter, outdoor sports, or airplanes. The student would highlight the topic in blue. Next, the student should look for the main idea, which is what the author is saying about the topic, such as “There are many activities you can do in winter” if the topic is winter. They should highlight the main idea in green. Finally, the student should look for the important details, which are important pieces of information found throughout the passage describing the main idea. They should highlight the important details in yellow, trying to only highlight salient details, and only words and phrases, not sentences, if possible. The tutor may then ask the student to write a 1-2 line summary in their own words describing the passage or even produce a written response to the passage, detailing whether they agree or disagree with the information found in the passage and why.

Students with learning challenges thrive with a multi-sensory approach to teaching. Orton Gillingham tutors can help students develop much stronger reading and spelling skills and ultimately help them excel in school.

If your child is struggling with reading, contact us at www.eblcoaching.com to learn more about our individualized Orton Gillingham tutoring programs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who benefits from Orton Gillingham tutoring?
Orton Gillingham tutoring was originally designed for students with dyslexia but all students who are demonstrating reading challenges can benefit from Orton Gillingham tutoring. They tend to enjoy the multi-sensory approach, and Orton Gillingham is a highly effective method for building stronger reading and spelling skills.

Is Orton Gillingham only for students with learning disabilities?
Orton Gillingham tutoring is not only for students with learning disabilities! Students with learning disabilities, especially dyslexia, benefit from reading remediation using the Orton Gillingham method. However, all students who are having reading challenges can benefit from Orton Gillingham tutoring.

How is Orton Gillingham tutoring different from general tutoring?
Some tutors help students with homework or use generic lessons that may change from session-to-session. With Orton Gillingham tutoring, a structured approach is followed, starting with foundational reading skills and building upwards as students grasp concepts. Orton Gillingham tutoring sessions also integrate multi-sensory tools, such as colored sand, magnetic tiles, and white boards.

Dr. Emily Levy, the founder and director of EBL Coaching, has been helping students with dyslexia and learning disabilities for over 20 years using the Orton Gillingham approach.

You can listen to this full podcast HERE!

Learn more about Orton Gillingham tutoring at
https://eblcoaching.com/what-is-orton-gillingham-tutoring/.

The post What is Orton Gillingham Tutoring? A Guide for Parents of Children with Dyslexia appeared first on EBL Coaching.

The post Dr. Emily Levy on the Dadyminds Podcast – Innovative Teaching Strategies for Special Education appeared first on EBL Coaching.

The post Dr. Emily Levy on the Jimbo Parris Podcast: Benefits of Orton Gillingham Tutoring appeared first on EBL Coaching.

Use a Calendar to Improve Organizational Skills for ADHD Students

Calendars serve as great tools for helping ADHD students stay organized. The key is to use them consistently. Some students prefer to write in a physical calendar while others like using digital calendars, including one on a smart phone. Either option is a good executive functioning strategy but make sure you enter all assignments and obligations into your calendar as soon as you find out about them. You can even try color coding the items you enter based on category; for example, you or your ADHD child might highlight school assignments in blue, sports activities in green, and social engagements in yellow. If you are using a calendar on a smart phone, try setting reminders to alert you when a due date or social obligation is coming up.

Create a Homework Routine

For students with ADHD, setting up a consistent homework routine is key. They should pick a designated time of day when they will complete their homework. This could be right after school when they are still in “school mode” or after a snack or athletic break. Any of these options can work as long as your child stays consistent with completing their homework at this designated homework time. Also help your child set up a study space optimized for ADHD students. This space could be a desk in their room or a spot on the kitchen or dining room table. Make sure they have all necessary supplies in their study space, including pens, pencils, paper, highlighters – any tools they may need for completing their work. If the stock of supplies starts to run low, refill it right away to prevent your child from wandering around your home searching for supplies in the middle of homework session. Also, if your child works at your kitchen or dining room table, you may want to set up a portable homework bin containing all supplies they need for completing their homework that they can carry with them to and from their homework sessions.

Integrate Structured Breaks to Improve Focus

It can be hard for anyone to sit in one place for a long stretch of time working on what may feel like endless homework. For those with ADHD, this challenge is typically even greater. Encourage your ADHD child to use an executive functioning strategy by building structured breaks into their homework sessions. For instance, they might set a timer and work for 25 minutes straight, then take a 5-minute break – and do two more cycles of 25 minutes of work followed by a 5-minute break. After three of these cycles, they may take a longer break of perhaps 15-20 minutes. Feel free to tweak the length of the break times based on your child’s stamina and needs. The key to this executive functioning strategy is breaking down very large stretches of time into manageable increments. Study skills tutoring or executive functioning coaching may be helpful to further help your child develop these skills.

Teach Students with ADHD How to Prioritize Tasks

Being able to effectively prioritize tasks can be a challenge for both children and adults with ADHD. Help your ADHD child learn to prioritize with a color-coding strategy. If they have eight items to complete, for instance, have them write down each task on a list and then categorize them into “high,” “medium” or “low” priority level. Then they can choose a color to associate with each priority level. For instance, they may highlight items with a high level of priority in yellow, those with a medium level of priority in green, and those with a low level of priority in blue – then complete the tasks in order of high to low priority. If your child continues to struggle to prioritize tasks, you might consider executive functioning coaching.

Students with ADHD and learning disabilities can excel academically when they build stronger executive functioning skills. Strategies including using calendars, creating regular homework routines, building in structured breaks, and prioritizing tasks can help tremendously. Try implementing these strategies at home to help your child develop stronger organization, planning, focusing, and study skills.

Does your child have ADHD or struggle with their executive functioning skills? EBL Coaching can help them with individualized one-on-one tutoring and executive functioning coaching. Learn more about us at www.eblcoaching.com.

Read more about ADHD strategies at
https://eblcoaching.com/study-strategies-for-your-adhd-child/

Frequently Asked Questions About ADHD Strategies

Why are structured routines helpful for students with ADHD?
Structured routines can help students with ADHD minimize distractions, improve their time management skills, and build stronger study habits. Executive functioning coaching sessions can help your child develop structured study routines.

Can tutoring help students with ADHD?
Yes, absolutely! Tutoring can help students with ADHD develop academic and executive functioning skills. These skills might include planning, organization, time management, task initiation and study strategies.

What is executive functioning coaching?
Executive functioning coaching helps students with ADHD build important executive functioning skills, such as prioritizing, organizing, planning, managing time, and structuring their homework assignments.

Read more about how ADHD tutoring can help your child at https://eblcoaching.com/can-tutoring-help-your-child-with-adhd/.
You can listen to this full podcast here! How to Help Adults and Children with ADHD and Learning Differences

The post ADHD Strategies for Students: Dr. Emily Levy on Helping Neurodivergent Learners Succeed appeared first on EBL Coaching.

Set Up a Consistent Homework Routine

Help your child build stronger executive functioning skills by setting up a regular homework time. Some children prefer to do their homework right when they get home from school, while others like a snack break or a longer athletic break before starting their work. Any of these options can work but the key is consistency. Pick a daily homework time for your child and stick with it! Even if your child doesn’t have homework on a given night, encourage them to use that time to study for an upcoming test, review previously learned material, or even just read.

Use Checklists to Help Students Stay Organized



Checklists are a great tool for staying organized, both in and out of school. If your child is groggy and disorganized in the morning when they wake up, come up with a morning checklist that you can hang on the wall in their room. This checklist might include items such as brushing teeth, getting dressed, eating breakfast, and checking their backpack. You might create a similar checklist with your child for an evening routine, like finishing homework, putting away or turning in homework, showering, getting ready for bed. Likewise, you can use checklists for packing for a trip or getting ready for a sleep over.

Read more homework organization tips for students here:
https://eblcoaching.com/homework-organizational-tips-for-the-new-school-year/

https://eblcoaching.com/4-tips-to-help-your-child-become-more-organized-at-school/

Use Color Coding to Organize School Materials



As your child moves through the school year, their piles of papers will likely grow. Avoid a giant mess of papers by encouraging your child to color code their schoolwork by subject. For instance, all science-related material might go in a green folder, math work might go in a blue folder, English work in a purple folder, and so on. They can even use highlighters and pens in the colors that correspond to each subject. This will help them stay organized as the piles of papers for each subject increases. Executive functioning tutoring can also help build these skills!

Teach Students to Break Assignments into Smaller Steps



Your child may feel overwhelmed by the volume of work they need to complete for school. There may be multiple assignments, long-term projects, and tests to study for. Help your child feel more organized and on top of their work by teaching them to chunk the material. Encourage them to use an assignment book (even if their teacher posts assignments online!), break the tasks down into steps, and enter those steps into their assignment book. For instance, if they have a project to complete for science, they might break it down into five steps, decide when to complete each step, and put each step into their assignment book as a task they need to complete. This will help build stronger time management, organization, and executive functioning skills. Executive functioning coaching can help build these skills as well!

Help Students Prepare for the Next School Day

The night before school, your child should organize their belongings for the next day. Specifically, they should make sure all the homework they completed is put away in their backpack in the right place to be turned in. They should also make sure they put any necessary books or materials they need for school in their backpack to bring to school the next day. Additionally, you may want to encourage them to lay out their clothes for the next day and even decide what they plan to have for breakfast to help make the morning calmer and less stressful.

Strong organizational skills can help your child excel in school. Study skills tutoring or executive functioning coaching can also help your child build these skills, but you can try these strategies at home to help your child on their path to success!

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do some students struggle with organization in school?
Many students struggle with organization when they have weak executive functioning skills. As they move through school, the organization and executive functioning demands increase quickly. Learning effective strategies for building these skills can help improve their overall academic performance.

What are common signs a student is struggling with organization?
If you find that your child loses their materials, forgets to turn in their homework assignments or turns them in late, or becomes easily overwhelmed by schoolwork, they are likely struggling with organization and would benefit from learning executive functioning strategies.

How can parents help children stay organized with homework?
Parents can help their child stay organized by creating a consistent homework routine, setting up organized spaces designated for studying, and using an assignment book for managing homework.

Is your child struggling with time management, organization, planning, time management, or other executive functioning skills? Learn how EBL Coaching can help them with specialized tutoring and executive functioning coaching at www.eblcoaching.com.
Learn more about helping your child build stronger organizational skills for the new school year at
https://eblcoaching.com/homework-organizational-tips-for-the-new-school-year/
Read more about ADHD at ADDitude – ADD & ADHD Symptom Tests, Signs, Treatment, Support.

The post Organizational Skills for Students: Strategies to Help Students Stay Organized in School appeared first on EBL Coaching.

In this podcast episode, Dr. Emily Levy, Founder and Director of EBL Coaching, shares research-based ADHD strategies, including organizational tools, time management strategies like the Pomodoro Technique, and prioritization ideas, to help students improve their executive functioning skills and academic performance at school. Let’s take a look at some of these tips:

The Pomodoro Technique for ADHD

The Pomodoro Technique is a great method for developing stronger time management and focusing skills. To use this method, perform the following steps:

• Select a task you would like to complete, like a homework assignment, project, or research paper.
• Set a timer for 25 minutes and spend this time working nonstop on that task.
• When the timer goes off after the 25 minutes, take a 5 minute break and use a sheet of paper or computer document to check off that you successfully finished one Pomodoro cycle.
• Then set your timer for another 25 minutes and do the same thing – work on your task for 25 minutes, take a 5 minute break, and indicate on your record sheet that you completed another Pomodoro cycle.
• After finishing four 25 minute + 5 minute break cycles, give yourself a longer 20-30 minute break.

This strategy will help you break longer tasks into smaller, more easily achievable segments and will help you feel focused and successful as you complete each task. If you still struggle with time management, you may want to consider executive functioning coaching to help further develop this skill.

How to Prioritize Tasks with ADHD

Having a long list of tasks to compete can feel overwhelming, especially for those who have ADHD. Learning to prioritize tasks that are more important and completing those first can be very helpful in managing this load. For instance, if you have eight tasks to complete, make a list of eight lines on a sheet of paper. Ask yourself which one is most important to complete and then list that one first. Then list the second most important task to complete on the second line, and so on. You might even add a time management strategy to this exercise by asking yourself how much time you think each task will take to complete and write down that estimated time (ET) next to each task. Then compare the estimated time you thought each task would take to the actual time it took, and write the AT, or actual time, next to the estimated time. You will find that the more you practice this time management strategy, the more realistic you will become with your time. Time management and executive functioning coaching can help you develop this skill as well!

Why Using a Planner Improves ADHD Organization

Many teachers now post assignments via an online portal instead of dictating homework assignments in class and expecting students to write them down. As a result, many students don’t use a planner and instead rely on these online portals. However, physically seeing all assignments that are coming up for the day, week and month is very important in managing time and schedules. Even if your teacher posts assignments online, you should still use a hand-written or electronic calendar to write down each assignment and when it is due in your planner. Try breaking down long-term assignments into individual steps and putting each step into your planner. Take a look at what is coming up for the day, week, and month and try to figure out how much time you need to devote to homework and studying each day. Adults can benefit from using a planner as well to track their tasks, obligations, and meetings that they need to attend.

Learning strategies for managing executive functioning skills such as planning, time management, and organization is key to success in school and life. Try these techniques to enhance these skills and you will quickly notice a positive difference in your overall performance.

Is your child struggling with executive functioning skills? Learn how we can help with one-on-one ADHD tutoring and executive functioning coaching at www.eblcoaching.com.

Frequently asked questions

How can students with ADHD improve time management?
One way students with ADHD can improve their time management skills is by learning to estimate how long they think a task might take to complete (called the ET, or estimated time), then compare it to the actual time it takes (AT). When they first use this strategy, they might find a big discrepancy between these two times, but the more they practice the strategy, the more realistic they will likely become with how long tasks take to complete and the more their time management skills will improve.

What are some common executive functioning challenges in students with ADHD?
Some common executive functioning challenges with ADHD include difficulty with time management, organization, planning, time management, task initiation, and homework management.

Why do students with ADHD struggle with homework?
Homework often involves planning, organization, breaking down tasks, and other executive functioning skills that students with ADHD tend to struggle with. ADHD tutoring and executive functioning coaching can help students build these key executive functioning skills.
Students with ADHD can improve their time management skills by breaking assignments into smaller tasks, using the Pomodoro Technique, writing tasks in a planner, and estimating how long tasks will take.
Learn more about helping your child with ADHD at 
https://eblcoaching.com/wondering-if-your-child-has-adhd/

Learn more about ADHD at https://add.org/

Read more about understanding ADHD at

https://chadd.org/about-adhd/overview/

https://chadd.org/attention-article/study-skills-for-thriving-with-adhd/

The post Executive Functioning Strategies For ADHD: Dr. Levy’s Podcast Tips appeared first on EBL Coaching.