Common learning difficulties
For some students, conditions like dyslexia, dysgraphia and ADHD may make it difficult to succeed academically, even if these conditions have no bearing on the overall intelligence of the child. As classroom sizes increase, neuroatypical, nonconformist students are increasingly left to grapple with educational challenges on their own. Teachers are simply too busy between teaching classes and marking assignments to provide them with the individualised attention they require. Still, none of these diagnoses mean that your child deserves anything less than the best. Our tutors ensure that they get the support they need by developing strategies and programmes to make learning easier.
ADHD/ADD
The differences between ADHD and ADD are subtle. Both can make it difficult for children to focus, though ADD – unlike ADHD – does not involve hyperactivity. These conditions are often treated by prescription medications like Adderall or Ritalin. Nevertheless, one shouldn’t think of these as panaceae. For these treatments to be effective, they have to be supplemented by a carefully constructed educational programme designed specifically for the child – as no two cases are exactly alike it is important to cater to the child’s specific needs. We develop specific strategies to cope with students’ learning difficulties by making sure we fully understand the nature of the problems they may have with school work. We also look at factors like exercise and diet, feedback from teachers, psychological evaluations, and our own assessments to make sure that students with ADHD/ADD are able to match – and indeed exceed – their peers.
DYSGRAPHIA
Dysgraphia, in its simplest form, affects the motor coordination of a student to disturb the quality of their handwriting. This often extends into broader difficulties with language processing in general. Students with dysgraphia can be highly intelligent – they can be extremely engaged in classroom discussions and express their thoughts with a marked ease – however, they may also find it very difficult to express those same thoughts in written form. Despite them exhibiting a genuine desire to learn, students may frequently get bogged down, concentrating too hard on what comes easily to their peers. This can lead to substantial problems: although dysgraphic students may be able to read at a level far beyond their peers, they may be discouraged from learning because teachers and parents attribute their written mistakes to carelessness or laziness, rather than to their condition. This creates a feedback loop which can lead to a disenchantment with learning and to academic underachievement. We understand the psycho-educational, physical, emotional and fine-motor control issues these students may have, and develop individualised assessment programmes to break this cycle. By paying close attention to the student, we are able to give them the individualised support they need. In doing so, we make sure that dysgraphic students have the tools they require to manage, and eventually overcome, their limitations.
DYSLEXIA
Dyslexia is an extremely common learning difficulty – about 7% of the population have it and up to 20% experience some symptoms of it. Dyslexic students, although otherwise completely typical learners, have a lot of difficulty with reading accurately and fluently; it might seem like the letters are slipping off the page. This can make students struggle with reading comprehension and with keeping up with the readings assigned for homework and in class. Without the proper learning support, they may feel overwhelmed or disillusioned without any avenue to escape their difficulties. This is where our tutors step in. First, we diagnose the needs of the student. Next, we develop strategies which the student is comfortable with to help mitigate the symptoms of dyslexia. Finally, we show the student how to apply these strategies to the world of education so that your child is ready to take on any challenge that comes before them.