Does the tutor have expertise in your child’s academic needs?

When seeking a tutor for your child, make sure the tutor in NYC has extensive experience working on the skills your child needs help with. For example, if your child is in early elementary school and needs reading help, ask the potential tutor or tutoring company about their experience tutoring reading to students your child’s age. If your child is older and needs help with high level math, ask about their experience tutoring algebra or geometry if that’s what your child needs help with. Tutors tend to have expertise in specific skill areas, so make sure your child works with someone who can help them with the skills they are struggling with, and has ample expertise doing so.

Does the tutor have experience working with neurodivergent students?

If your child is neurodivergent and has specific learning needs, it’s important that they work with a tutor in NYC who specializes in working with students who have similar diagnoses to your child. For example, if your child has ADHD and struggles with executive functioning skills, including planning, organization, time management, and task initiation, ask the tutor about their experience working with ADHD students and the approach they typically take. If your child has dyslexia, ask if they have experience using specific methods, like the Orton Gillingham approach, to help your child build their reading skills. Students with dysgraphia may need to work with a tutor in NYC who uses a multi-sensory approach to teaching students how to express their thoughts on paper in an organized manner. Likewise, if your child has autism, dyscalculia, language challenges, or other related difficulties, ask the tutor about their experience tutoring students in NYC who have similar neurodiverse needs.

Does the tutor give an assessment and use a structured learning plan?

When your child works with a tutor in NYC, it’s important that a structured plan is in place. Ask the tutor if they typically start with an evaluation to gauge the student’s needs. If your child has an IEP or another evaluation, see if the tutor would be willing to read it before the tutoring begins and incorporate the relevant information into the tutoring. Ideally, your child’s tutor should begin with an assessment to determine their specific needs, including what aspects of a skill they struggle with, before beginning the tutoring. If your child has difficulty with reading, the assessment should gauge whether the challenge is with decoding words, reading fluency, comprehension, or a combination of these skills. If the challenge is with decoding, the assessment should determine the type of word patterns they struggle with. At a basic level, your child may struggle with blending consonant-vowel-consonant sounds together to form words. If that’s the case, the NYC tutor may use a multi-sensory approach like Orton Gillingham to teach your child how to read these types of words, then move onto words containing blends, consonant digraphs, vowel digraphs, silent e patterns, multi-syllabic words, and so on. The tutor should also keep you posted about any progress noted as the tutoring progresses.

Hiring a tutor for your child in NYC can be a great step towards helping them succeed in school. Asking the right questions and choosing the ideal tutor or tutoring company can impact your child’s academic performance immensely.

If your child is struggling in school, contact us today at www.eblcoaching.com to see how we can help them with one-on-one in person and virtual tutoring.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know if my child needs a tutor?

If you notice your child struggling academically with reading, writing, math, executive functioning, or a combination of these skills, they will likely benefit from a tutor. A tutor in NYC can help your child develop stronger academic skills and build their self-confidence.

Should I hire a tutor with special education experience?

If your child has ADHD, dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, autism, or another learning challenge, you should hire a tutor or use a tutoring company that has expertise in working with students who have special education needs.

Is online tutoring effective for helping students build their academic skills?

Online tutoring can be incredibly effective for many students in building their academic skills. It offers flexibility and access to more tutors who may specialize in the areas your child needs help with.

The post What Questions Should You Ask Before Hiring a Tutor in NYC? appeared first on EBL Coaching.

As a parent, you might notice that your young child is struggling to learn the names of the letters and their corresponding sounds. They might have difficulty identifying and writing numbers. Other young children might have a quest for knowledge and yearn to learn new, more advanced academic skills. There is no official age when your child is too young for tutoring; it all depends on their individual needs and overall profile. The key to working with students as young as age 2 or 3 is to keep the sessions fun, engaging, and interactive. Tutoring can help your young child develop their academic skills in several areas.

Reading

When children are of preschool-age, the foundations of reading are being established. Learning key phonemic awareness skills can help strengthen their reading skills down the road. Tutoring can help your young child build phonemic awareness skills with targeted lessons, like the following:

The tutor might ask your child to name the first, middle, and final sounds they hear in the words mat, leg, pig, and so on. They might give the student two syllables, like “tall” and “est” and ask them what word is formed when they put the syllables together. Tutors can also work on rhyming skills by asking the student to name words that rhyme with mat, tug, pot, and other short words. From there, the tutor can work on teaching your child individual letter names using audio-visual flash cards with the letter on the front and a colorful key picture on the back. They might hold up the card to your child and say, “This is the letter a, like apple, it makes the sound /a/.” They can even take out a toy apple and ask your child to say the sound the word apple begins with. Later, once many sounds have been covered, the tutor can use magnetic tiles to work on blending sounds together to form words. The more multi-sensory and engaging the lessons are, the better!

Writing

Writing skills can also be developed at a young age. When introducing individual letter names, the tutor can also use a multi-sensory approach to teach students how to write each letter using specific formations. For example, for the lower case a, the tutor might trace the letter a in the sky, saying the formation out loud: around, up, and down. Then the child would trace the letter in the sky, first together with the tutor, then independently. Next, the tutor can take out a tray of colored sand and model tracing the letter in the sand. Then the student can do it on their own. When the child is ready, they can practice writing letters using dotted lines and eventually write them on paper without any assistance. A similar process can be used for learning to write numbers correctly: first in the sky, then in sand, then on paper.

Math 

Math concepts can be taught starting at a very young age. Tutors can use real-life scenarios to make math engaging and playful. For example, they can play “grocery store” while building math skills. The tutor can bring a set of pretend red and green apples to the tutoring session. They can tell the child that they are “buying” two red apples and three green apples. The child would take out the appropriate number of red and green apples. Then the tutor might ask the child to count all the apples and explain that two apples plus three more apples equals five apples all together. The tutor can even take out a mini whiteboard when the child is ready and write on the board: 2+3=5. The same exercises can be done with larger quantities of objects, and the tutor can teach subtraction in a similar way. For example, they might say, “If I started with three apples but ate two of them, how many apples would I have left?” Making the exercises fun and playful for the child will help them enjoy learning while building key skills.

When learning is approached in an engaging, interactive manner with shorter durations of activities, there really is no age that is too young to start tutoring.

The post Is My Child Too Young for Tutoring? appeared first on EBL Coaching.

Access to specialized tutoring

Many students require specialized tutoring, such as Orton Gillingham tutoring for students with dyslexia, multi-sensory math instruction for students with a math learning disability, or executive functioning coaching for those with ADHD. In some geographic areas, tutors who specialize in these methods may not be available. Alternatively, there may be only a few specialized tutors in your area who have limited availability, offer tutoring at an undesirable location, are completely full, or aren’t a great personality match for your child. Virtual tutoring gives you access to specialized tutors from around the world who may be a great personality fit for your child and who specialize in specific skills and techniques that your child needs.‌

Interactive Digital Tools

With the rise of online instruction, many new digital tools now exist. For example, as part of an Orton Gillingham lesson, students might work with their tutor on blending sounds together to form words using digital magnetic tiles with sites such as https://www.reallygreatreading.com/lettertiles/. Tutors and students can also use virtual whiteboards such as Ziteboard or Miro when working together to go over new concepts. Additionally, multi-colored highlighting tools can be used for building reading comprehension, active reading, and other related skills. For example, to build a student’s reading comprehension skills, a tutor can teach them that when they read, there are three elements they should look for. The first is the topic, which is one, two, or three words describing the passage. Students should highlight the topic in blue using a digital highlighter. The second element they should look for is the main idea, which is what the author is saying about the topic. They should highlight the main idea in green using a digital highlighter. Finally, they should identify the important details and highlight them in yellow using a digital highlighter. Students tend to enjoy using these interactive digital tools and the tools can be very effective when integrated into virtual tutoring sessions.

Screen sharing

Screen sharing is also a benefit of virtual tutoring. Many teachers and schools now use online portals to post homework assignments and upcoming exams. During virtual tutoring sessions, the student can share their screen with their tutor, allowing them to show the tutor their online school portal. Together, they can review any current and upcoming assignments and come up with a plan for completing them in an organized fashion.

Flexible scheduling

Virtual tutoring generally allows for more flexible scheduling. While in-person tutors might have limited time slots available on certain days, times, and locations, virtual tutoring usually offers more flexibility. Tutors don’t have to build in travel time in between sessions and can generally fit more students into a given day. Students also don’t have to travel to a tutor’s office or home, maximizing the tutoring time and reducing extra time spent traveling to and from sessions.

Virtual tutoring can be a great option for many students. It offers numerous advantages that can help students have efficient, effective tutoring sessions and thrive in school.

The post Is Virtual Tutoring as Effective as In-Person Tutoring? appeared first on EBL Coaching.

Summer is a great time to work on helping your child with ADHD build stronger study skills. There are fewer school and extracurricular obligations and there’s usually more time to work on setting up systems and strategies.  Help your child with ADHD develop their time management, organization, planning, prioritizing, and other key study skills over the summer with the ideas detailed below.

Set up a summer homework schedule

Most students receive some schoolwork to do over the summer, including reading books, writing reports, and completing math packets. Make sure your child with ADHD doesn’t wait until the very end of summer to start this work, as many kids may have the tendency to do. Help your child find a consistent schedule for working on their school assignments; this could be after camp one weekday, on Sunday mornings after they wake up, or just about any consistent time that suits them best. If you set a time after camp for schoolwork but your child ends up being too tired after camp to work on their assignments, change it to a day/time that suits them better. The key is finding a consistent schedule that works for your child and sticking with it.

Designated homework space

Summer is a great time to set up a designated homework space for your child, both for working on their summer assignments and for completing their schoolwork once the new school year begins. Discuss with your child what kind of space would work best for them. For most children with ADHD, working at a desk in their room, in an area free of noise and distractions, works best. However, if your child shares a room or a private desk isn’t available, carve out space on your kitchen or dining room table for your child to work consistently and try to minimize distractions when they work. Also make sure they have all the necessary supplies for completing their assignments in their designated homework space. At their desk, they should have supplies such as sharpened pencils, pens, paper, scissors, highlighters, and any other tools they may need for completing their schoolwork. If their spot is in a communal space, create a homework supplies bin that contains all the necessary supplies and have them transport this bin to their designated space for work time, then back to their room when they are done.

Time management

Time management is a key skill for school success and summer is a great time to work on it. Try the Pomodoro Method with your ADHD child. Tell them to set a timer for 25 minutes and spend those 25 minutes working straight, without taking any breaks or focusing on anything but their work. Once the 25 minutes are up, they can take a five-minute break, then work for another 25 minutes followed by another five-minute break, and so on. After four of these Pomodoro cycles of 30 minutes total, they can take a longer break of 15-30 minutes or so, where they can move around, make a call, play a quick game, or just relax until it’s time to work again. Creating these structured work increments will help your child build their focusing and time management skills, and the Pomodoro Method is a great approach to practice during the summer, before the school year begins.

Active reading strategies

Since your child will likely have summer reading to do, take advantage of this time to teach them active reading strategies. Before they begin their book, encourage them to look at the front and back covers, read any headings or chapter titles, and think of questions they may have before starting the book. As they read, have them use sticky notes to write 1-2 line summaries of what they read after every 3-4 pages and stick the notes inside their book. At the end of each chapter, they can write a short chapter summary summarizing the plot in a separate notebook. Encourage them to predict what they think may happen next at the end of each chapter and even create character maps describing the qualities of each new character as they are introduced.

Color code

Towards the end of the summer, you may begin shopping for supplies with your child for the new school year. When doing so, aim to color-code items by subject to help your child develop stronger organizational skills. For instance, you may designate blue for math, green for science, yellow for social studies, and so on. Then purchase blue folders and binders for math and corresponding colors for each class. When your child writes down their assignments in an assignment book (which you should encourage them to do!), have them to highlight the assignments in the subject’s designated color. Try setting up these color-coded supplies before the school year begins to help your child with ADHD start the year well-organized. If your child still struggles with their organizational skills, ADHD tutoring can help them tremendously.

Summer is a great time to help your child with ADHD build their study skills. Try these strategies, and they will be well on their way to academic success!

The post Help Your Child With ADHD Build Stronger Study Skills Over the Summer appeared first on EBL Coaching.

Many students with ADHD struggle with their executive functioning skills. They may have difficulty with time management, organization, task initiation or staying focused in class, amongst other related skills. Summer is a great time to help students with ADHD develop stronger executive functioning skills and jump-start the school year on a positive note. Try some of the ideas detailed below.

Work on Organization

Summer is a fantastic time to help your child with ADHD set up organizational systems to help kick start the new school year. Having strong organizational skills is a key component to success in school. Help your child set up a color-coded system, where each class is given a specific color. For example, math might be green, science might be blue, English might be purple, and so on. Your child should select a folder and notebook for each class using its given color. Once they begin school and start writing down their assignments in their planner, they can highlight the homework assignment for a subject using its chosen color. If your child takes home papers on a regular basis, help them set up an organizational system where they designate one day per week to be their “clean out my notebooks day.” On this day, your child should clean out all the papers they do not need to be carrying with them on a regular basis and file them into a well-organized accordion file. This accordion file might consist of three sections for each class: one section for notes, one for homework, and one for tests and quizzes. On their designated clean-out day, they should file any papers they don’t need to be carrying with them into the appropriate section of their accordion file. At the end of the school year, if they completed a great project or assignment that they want to save, they can file it into an organized file drawer to keep for the long run.

Close Learning Gaps

During the school year, many children with ADHD miss out on key concepts. They might be daydreaming in class, come to school late, miss excessive days of school, or forget certain skills that they should have learned in class. Summer is an opportune time to review content that was taught the previous school year, fill in content gaps, and preview material that may be introduced in the new school year. You may want to reach out to your child’s teacher from the previous school year to discuss concepts they may need to work on during the summer. Maybe your child didn’t grasp multi-digit subtraction or multiplication; they might need to work on the organization of their writing; or perhaps they need extra practice with reading comprehension. Summer is a great time to work on these skills, with less academic constraints from school.
The shift from summer to school can be a difficult one for children who have ADHD. Help increase your child’s self-confidence and improve their executive functioning skills over the summer with these strategies and they will likely feel well-prepared to start the school year on a strong note.

Build Stronger Focusing Skills

Many students with ADHD struggle to stay focused for extended periods of time. You can take advantage of the summer and build your child’s focusing skills using a systematic method like the Pomodoro Technique. To use this approach, select a task and ask your child to work on it for 25 minutes. This might involve completing a math worksheet, writing in a journal, or cleaning out a file cabinet. After your child works on the task for 25 minutes, they can take a 5-minute break to do anything that’s relaxing for them. Then they work for another 25 minutes followed by a 5-minute break. Once they have completed three segments of 25 minutes plus subsequent 5-minute breaks, they take a longer break of around 30 minutes before starting the cycle again. Work on this strategy with your child during the summer and then show them how to apply it to their relevant homework assignments once the school year starts.

Develop Better Time Management Skills

Children with ADHD often struggle with time management. They may consistently show up late, think a task will take more or less time than it actually does, or plan too many activities for a given day. Summer is a great time to work on developing stronger time management skills. Try teaching your child the ET/AT, or Estimated Time/Actual Time Strategy. To use this strategy, ask your child to complete a task, such as writing an essay or reading a chapter in a book.
Then have your child estimate how long they think it will take to complete the task and ask them to write down the ET, or estimated time.

Then have your child complete the task, eyeing the time it actually takes them to complete it, and write down the AT, or actual time it takes. When your child begins using this strategy, they will likely notice a large difference between the ET and the AT, but the more they practice this technique, the more these times will begin to merge and the more their time management skills will improve.

Set Up a Workspace

Students with ADHD benefit from a quiet, distraction-free workspace that they can use each day for completing their homework. Help your child set up this space during the summer so they will be ready and organized for the new school year. This space could be a desk in their room or even a designated area on a communal table, like in a kitchen or dining room. Make sure your child has all the supplies they will need to complete their schoolwork, such as pencils, lined paper, highlighters, scissors, a ruler, and so on. When their supplies run low, help them refill the items before they begin their homework to make sure they don’t wander around your home in the middle of a homework session searching for more supplies. Also help them set up a consistent homework time, which could be right after school or after a snack or athletic break. The key is consistency.

The post Summer Strategies for Helping Students with ADHD Build Stronger Executive Functioning Skills appeared first on EBL Coaching.

Going on vacation with a child who has ADHD can be overwhelming. There’s planning, packing, organizing, changing routines, and so many other factors that go into this process. Try some of the ideas below to help your child enjoy their time away and have a great vacation.

Before the trip

Visual calendars

Children with ADHD may be thrown off by a change in their daily routine and unclear expectations of the plans for the trip. Once you have settled on the details for your trip, create a visual schedule to help your child anticipate what is to come. Use a poster board to draw a large calendar and indicate on each date what you plan to do. You might include the departure date; specific activities like going to the beach, zoo, or a museum; and return dates. Tell your child where you’ll be staying (like a hotel or apartment-style unit) and where you will likely eat each meal. Perhaps you’ll have breakfast at the hotel, lunch at a theme park, and dinner at an outdoor cafe. Go over the plan for each day and make sure your child is fully aware of what to expect – though explain that there may be some unplanned deviations along the way.

Make lists!

Your child with ADHD may not know where to start when packing. What kind of clothing should they bring? What types of accessories? How many of each item? Help your child create a list before they begin packing. Will there be access to a laundry machine? If so, they may need fewer items, but if not, they need to plan the quantities accordingly. The list should include items like t-shirts, shorts, pants, sweatshirts, socks, sunglasses, goggles – whatever is appropriate for the trip you are going on. Write out each item along with the quantity needed and put a check box next to each one, then have your child check off the items as they put them in their suitcase.

Set expectations

Before leaving, discuss with your child the expectations for the trip. Will you be meeting up with family or friends? If so, make sure they know how to properly greet relatives and friends, engage in conversations, and be thankful for hospitality or gifts. You may even want to role play scenarios they may encounter, like greeting aunts and uncles, playing with cousins, or eating a meal with a large group.

During the trip

Maintain routines

While this may not always be possible, try to maintain your child’s routine as much as you can, since children with ADHD thrive on structure and routine. For example, while the daily activities may vary, for meals, if your child eats breakfast at 8am, lunch at 12pm, and dinner at 6pm, try to stick to that schedule. Of course, if they take medication, make sure you bring it with you on the trip and give it to them at their usual time. You can also try to have them wake up and go to bed around the same time to avoid disrupting their schedule and routine.

Integrate downtime

Children with ADHD can become easily overstimulated and sometimes need downtime. Anticipate that your trip will likely involve a lot of activity and movement, so try to build in some downtime. This could be an afternoon nap, reading time, or a window of time dedicated to listening to music. You can even bring fidgets for your child to help them relax and decompress.

Minimize decisions

Children with ADHD can sometimes become overwhelmed with making decisions, especially when they have too many choices. For example, if you go to a breakfast buffet at your hotel, your child may see so many items that look enticing, but they don’t know where to start or what to choose. You can avoid this scenario by pre-purchasing items you know your child likes to have for breakfast and eat breakfast in the room – or order from a restaurant menu with more limited items. You can also help your child choose the activities they will participate in, and if you plan to buy them something from a gift shop, minimize the number of items they can choose from to help make the decision easier and less overwhelming.

After the trip

When you get home from your trip, build in a day or two for your child to relax and decompress before going back to a structured activity, like school or camp. It can be stressful for them to rush back to their usual routine after a vacation. Also reflect on the trip with your child. What went well? Was it an enjoyable experience for your child and your entire family? Was there anything that could be changed or done differently for future trips? This reflection can help make your next trip be even better.

Vacationing with your child with ADHD doesn’t have to be stressful! Try these ideas to help ensure that you have an enjoyable, relaxing, and all-around great vacation.

The post Vacation Strategies for Children with ADHD by Dr. Emily Levy Founder & Director EBL Coaching appeared first on EBL Coaching.

Applying to college

Applying to college can be an overwhelming process for all students, but for students with learning disabilities, this process can be even more challenging. You may want to start by researching various institutions and looking at the support services they offer for students with learning disabilities. If you can, try to visit the colleges you are considering once you have narrowed down your search, and spend some time in the disability office learning about the services they offer. Once you start the application process, it’s up to you to decide whether to share your diagnosis but it may be helpful for colleges to know what your needs are. Doing so may help provide a more complete picture of your profile and allow colleges to better understand your needs. If you do decide to disclose your disability, make sure you have support documentation, including evaluations, IEPs, or 504 plans. If the school requires a standardized test for admission, you may want to apply for accommodations for these exams. You might also want to also consider test-optional schools where you may not be required to take a test at all for admission.

At college

Once you are accepted and have chosen which college to attend, one of your first visits should be to the school’s disability office. If you are seeking services, you will need to submit the documentation of your learning disability to this office so they can verify which services and support you are eligible for. The office will then help manage and coordinate your support throughout your college journey.

Tutoring

Many colleges offer free tutoring to students with learning disabilities. This may come in the form of peer tutoring from other college students, or it may be through federal funding that is available for students with disabilities. Some schools offer learning centers where students can come in-person for help. When you are at college, if your school offers a learning center, you may want to visit it, meet the tutors and staff members, and determine how they can help you. You can also look into private specialized learning disability tutoring if you feel that’s more suitable for you.

Accommodations

It is important to determine which accommodations you may need while at college. You might need extra time on tests, or perhaps you will need to take your tests in another location like a learning center. Other accommodations you might qualify for include note takers, preferential seating, audio versions of textbooks, access to a computer during tests, and other related accommodations based on your disability.

Organizational skills

A large key to success in college is developing strong organizational skills. Try to build your time management skills to help you manage your classes, workload, and other obligations. For example, you might want to learn and practice the ET/AT time management technique, where you predict how much time you think it will take to complete a task (which is the ET, or estimated time), then compare it to the AT, or actual time it takes to complete that task. You can also work on planning out your schedule in a physical or electronic calendar and work on breaking down assignments into individual steps. Additionally, you can work on techniques for prioritizing tasks by listing the most important tasks at the top of your list and less important tasks beneath that. You can also use your phone as a tool to set alerts before appointments to further help with time management. If organization is still a challenge, executive functioning coaching can help you develop these skills.

Self-advocate

In college (and in life), it’s important to advocate for yourself, especially if you have a disability. Try to fully understand your learning disability and which tools have or haven’t helped you in the past. Identify the types of services you think you would benefit from and seek them out. If you feel you are struggling despite the support you are getting at any given time, seek additional resources or tutoring. Go to your school’s disability office, explain what is going on, and ask them what they can do to further help you. You should also know your rights. There are federal laws that protect you and ensure that you receive the services and accommodations that you need. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits any discrimination towards individuals with disabilities.

Students with learning disabilities absolutely have the ability to thrive in college. It is important to visit your school’s disability office and learn the types of support and services they offer. You can also seek tutoring and accommodations as needed, strengthen your organizational skills, and self-advocate. Following these tips will help you on your path towards success in college and in life after school.

The post Can Your Child with Learning Disabilities Thrive in College? appeared first on EBL Coaching.

Internet users have been left speechless after a frustrated parent shared an image of their seventh-grade son’s word-search homework, which they described as a “nightmare.”

Posted by Reddit user u/Lily_Thief in the r/mildlyinfuriating subreddit, the image shows a complex word search based on Lois Lowry’s novel The Giver, with words hidden in every possible direction—forward, backward, diagonally and even reversed.

Newsweek reached out to u/Lily_Thief for comment via Reddit.

Image of a child’s word search. u/Lily_Thief

In the post, the parent wrote that their son, who has dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), struggles significantly with these assignments.

“They are easily the longest part of any of the homework that he has to do, and also likely the least educational,” the parent wrote. “Since he’s dyslexic and has ADHD, they are especially horrible, and have become a family chore.”

Despite having an Individualized Education Program (IEP) that should account for his learning needs, the parent shared that their attempts to communicate with the teacher about the issue have gone unanswered.

The parent expressed frustration with the lack of response, adding that they have reached out multiple times but never received a reply.

“He’d rather be writing essays, which also seems like it’d be a better use of his time,” the original poster wrote. “I never get a reply and at this point the school year is nearly done anyway. I’m hoping his next teacher isn’t like this. If they are I’m going to have to be more aggressive.”

Emily Levy, an expert learning specialist, told Newsweek she is strongly against using word searches in the classroom, especially when it comes to children with ADHD.

“Individuals with dyslexia often become overwhelmed by letters and words on a page,” Levy said. “The focus should be on teaching them to identify the names of letters and their corresponding sounds and how to blend those sounds together to form individual words—not searching for random words within the context of many other letters on a page.”

Levy, who is also the founder and Director of EBL Coaching (eblcoaching.com), said that word searches can make dyslexic children feel overwhelmed and frustrated and diminish their desire to learn how to read—a task that is typically already extremely challenging for them.

The post Internet Left Speechless by 7th-Grader’s Word-Search Homework: ‘Nightmare’ appeared first on EBL Coaching.

Your child was diagnosed with a learning disability, and you don’t know where to turn. There may be some extra support your child’s school offers for building academic skills, but many students with learning disabilities benefit from specialized learning disability tutoring outside of school. What should you look for in a tutor for students with learning disabilities?

Specialized instruction

Students with learning disabilities typically need specialized tutoring, not generic tutoring or homework help. This tutoring should use research-based, multi-sensory methods and be catered to your child’s individualized needs. It is important that your child’s tutor learns about their diagnosis and areas of challenge and uses methods that are appropriate to their needs. Students with dyslexia, for instance, benefit from Orton Gillingham tutoring. Orton Gillingham is a research-based, multi-sensory technique that helps students develop their decoding and spelling skills. With this method, students typically learn the names of the letters and corresponding sounds using multi-sensory tools such as colored sand, audio-visual flash cards, and shaving cream. They then learn to blend these sounds together to form basic words. Later, they learn how to read and spell words containing blends, consonant digraphs, vowel digraphs, silent e patterns, r-controlled patterns, and so on, following a structured, systematic approach that integrates previously taught concepts as new ones are introduced.

Students with dyscalculia, or a math learning disability, typically benefit from specialized tutoring that is multi-sensory and integrates manipulatives specific to each concept, such as counters, base ten blocks, five frames, ten frames, fraction tiles, and so on. Those with dysgraphia, or a writing learning disability, also benefit from specialized tutoring catered to their needs – whether it’s learning to write a simple sentence, expanded sentence, simple paragraph, extended paragraph, or five paragraph essay. They should learn how to brainstorm, write, and self-check their work using a concrete, systematic approach, and should be given ample practice with each concept.

Structured plan

With learning disability tutoring, it’s important that a structured plan is in place. The tutor shouldn’t just help the student with homework or bring in random reading or writing sheets or workbooks. They should follow a systematic plan, starting with the child’s current levels and building upwards from there. For instance, if a child is able to read words with consonant-vowel-consonant patterns (like cat, rug, or mit), but struggles with words containing blends (like slug, frog, or blimp), their Orton Gillingham tutoring should begin with words containing blends and move upwards from there. Likewise, with other skills such as writing and math, the learning disability tutor should identify the starting point based on your child’s levels and come up with a structured plan to build their skills starting from where they are and moving upwards.

Review the child’s evaluation

Students with learning disabilities are typically evaluated in order to identify their diagnosis and specific needs. This may be an evaluation done at school or a more comprehensive private neuropsychological evaluation. For effective learning disability tutoring, the tutor should thoroughly read the child’s evaluation to gain a picture of their overall profile and academic needs in order to best help them. Many students with learning disabilities who have been evaluated have IEPs (Individualized Educational Programs) detailing their needs, goals, and necessary services. Others have a 504 plan detailing accommodations they should receive at school. The learning disability tutor should also read these documents and integrate any relevant information about the child’s profile into the tutoring.

Build a rapport

Having chemistry and a strong rapport is a key part of learning disability tutoring. Tutors for students with learning disabilities should get to know the child and their interests before delving into academic work. Many children with learning disabilities have experienced negativity surrounding school and their academic performance, so the tutor should try to be as positive and uplifting as possible when working with the child, building not just their academic skills but also their overall self-esteem.

Knowing what to look for in tutors for students with learning disabilities can be challenging, but using specialized instruction, having a structured plan, integrating information from the child’s evaluation, and building a strong rapport are key elements of successful learning disability tutoring.

Learn more about learning disability tutoring at

https://eblcoaching.com/tutoring/.

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Multi-sensory approach

Orton Gillingham tutoring integrates a multi-sensory approach to teaching. This includes using tools such as colored sand, shaving cream, magnetic tiles, and white boards, among other related tools, as part of a structured instructional plan. For example, an Orton Gilliam tutor working on consonants and short vowel sounds with a student might start with one letter at a time and use the following multi-sensory approach: they might begin by showing the student a flash card with the letter on the front of the card (like f) and a key picture on the back (like fish). The Orton Gillingham tutor might say to the student, “This is the letter f (shows them the front of the card), like fish (turns the card around to show them the picture of the fish), it makes the sound /f/ (turns the card back to the front).” The student would repeat that sequence with the Orton Gillingham tutor and then try it on their own. Next, the Orton Gillingham tutor might move onto sky writing and model tracing the letter in the sky, saying the letter formation aloud as they trace it, like, “When we write the letter f, we move around, down, and across.” The student would perform that sky writing motion with the Orton Gillingham tutor, then independently, and then the tutor would move onto tracing the letter in colored sand or shaving cream.

The Orton Gillingham tutor would follow that same process for four consonants and one short vowel sound (card exercise, sky writing, sand or shaving cream writing), then practice blending those sounds together to form words using multi-sensory tools such as magnetic tiles and mini white boards. When the student is ready, the Orton Gillingham tutor can also have the student read word lists, sentences, and stories integrating the sounds taught.

Structured method

Orton Gillingham tutoring lessons should also be very structured. They should begin at the student’s current functioning level and then progress upwards from there in a systematic format. For example, if the student is struggling with individual letters and their corresponding sounds, the Orton Gillingham tutor should start by teaching letters and sounds, along with how to blend those sounds together to form words, as detailed above. Next, the Orton Gillingham tutor should move onto words containing blends, consonant digraphs, vowel digraphs, silent e patterns, r-controlled patterns, multi-syllabic word patterns, and so on, all following a structured, multi-sensory approach. Before a new lesson is introduced in an Orton Gillingham tutoring lesson, previously taught letters, sounds, and rules should be reviewed.

Individualized instruction

Orton Gillingham tutoring lessons should be individualized to the unique needs of each student. Some students are able to move quickly through new lessons, while others need more time to absorb and practice the new concepts taught. Some students can move quickly through certain concepts but need more time grasping other concepts. The Orton Gillingham tutor should move as quickly as they can but as slowly as they need to, individualizing the instruction and providing diagnostic and prescriptive Orton Gillingham tutoring to each student.

Research-based

Research indicates that using a direct, systematic, multi-sensory approach to teaching is imperative for students who struggle with reading, including those who have a reading disability like dyslexia. Orton Gillingham tutoring provides this type of instruction to students, helping them to immensely improve their reading and spelling skills.

Orton Gillingham tutoring can truly be life-changing for students who struggle with reading and writing. It can help them develop much stronger academic skills, self-esteem, motivation, and overall success in school.

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