Attention Deficit and Hyperactive
(ADD and ADHD) children present special challenges in group instruction because these children
are stimulated by everything in the environment. Such students can benefit from a one-on-one environment where the tutor can individually
observe behavior and refocus attention and activity on instructional objectives.
Our tutors emphasize student responsibility and teach self-monitoring strategies
that eventually result in student independence.
Undiagnosed Learning Disabilities are
more common than you might think. Feeling like failures despite apparent high
intelligence, many children struggle through school eventually becoming behavior
problems. What goes unrecognized in these children is an auditory, language or
visual processing problem. These children are often "conceptual",
rather than "sequential" learners. The problem goes undiagnosed
precisely because these children are so bright that they devise coping
mechanisms that allow them to "get by". But the fact that they work so
hard for mediocre grades and are usually faulted for not trying hard enough
takes it's toll on confidence and self-esteem. Undiagnosed, most of these
children either give up and withdraw or begin to act out their frustration.
These students show remarkable academic, social, and behavioral change as a
result of sensory-cognitive training. For a child like this, private tutoring
provides the supportive environment that can change his or her life.
Children with Neurological Impairments
(NI) can't always utilize equally all their learning modalities. Often they
have difficulty with coordination or physical tasks such as writing or
assembly. We provide specific auditory and visualization training attuned
to these deficits and guide integration of these skills. Our tutors show
students how to accommodate for these difficulties and help develop coping
strategies.
Dyslexic students need
multi-sensory instruction with a systematic approach that gradually builds on
the mastery of each sequential step. Multi-sensory instruction provides multiple avenues of learning
that ensure that progress is optimized for students with dyslexia. Our instructors employ the
Orton-Gillingham method and use a variety of materials including Lindamood-Bell™,
Merrill®, Wilson, and computer assisted instruction. Our Multi-sensory approach
and the varied materials ensure a high level of interest and replace frustration
with incremental success. Our dyslexia tutor suffers from dyslexia herself
and can relate completely to kids with this problem.
Children with a Communication Handicap (visual
processing or auditory processing difficulties) need to learn to give themselves time to process language, but they also need
specific training that will facilitate memory, conceptualization, and auditory
processing. We utilize computer assisted instruction, Earobics®, FastForWord®, and a
Lindamood-Bell™
visual imagery program to attack these difficulties. We utilize reflective
listening techniques to help the child compare his answers to his information,
thereby enhancing self-correction.
What if your child needs enrichment?
We can benefit the gifted student, the student who needs
remediation, or the student who is just not working up to his or her potential.
One-on-one attention makes a remarkable difference for such students, whether
they need to catch up or whether they need to explore beyond the school
curriculum.
Special Needs