To quote one parent’s whose son recently received dyslexia tutoring from one of our tutors:
“My little boy has been let down by the school and failed to get a diagnosis of dyslexia and dyspraxia until he reached junior school. I came across Osborne Cawkwell Tuition and I have had so much advice and support from Sarah. She has gone above and beyond to help my son.
Sarah has put me in contact with a tutor, Sian, picked out to suit my son’s needs. She is lovely and my son loves his time with her! I’m dyslexic myself, so normally I shy away from this kind of thing. But because of my son, because of these ladies’ support, I know my son will be okay and we will get there! If you’re reading this and wondering whether this is the right thing to do, trust me it is the best thing I’ve done for my son so far. You will not be disappointed.”
Those of you with dyslexic children will be all too aware of how difficult the school day can be. Not only does dyslexia interfere with the core skills required for learning in school, namely reading, writing and spelling; it also impacts MANY other areas of academic life and in fact, life in general! From the child who can’t structure their thoughts on paper, to the one who can’t pack their school bag. Or the child who is afraid to read aloud in class, or isn’t quick enough to respond to questions. For most dyslexic children it will be all of these combined and more. With so many processing differences going on at once, their focus and attention can stray. Their minds can become overloaded and their mental health can suffer with feelings of extreme anxiety and overwhelm.
Children with SpLDs such as dyslexia are often very bright verbally and find it extremely frustrating to get their ideas down on paper. Most of these students learn in a way that does not fit neatly into the usual academic setting. Additional support from a tutor means the specific learning points are tailored and ‘over-learned’ using a variety of strategies until it is embedded in your child’s long-term memory.
In a one-to-one setting, tutors have the enviable opportunity to adjust, tweak and perfect their teaching approaches to match the learning styles of each individual child; to play to their strengths and help scaffold and support their weaknesses. By utilising each child’s strengths and talents (which usually exist because of their learning difference, not in spite of it!) dyslexia tutoring then improves your child’s intrinsic motivation and boosts their self esteem.
Time is well spent discovering how your child learns the best. Whether recording their voice for auditory memory recall; using assistive technology; colour-coding work; using role-play to learn a Shakespeare play; creating a colourful mind map for remembering key history facts; using graphic organisers to scaffold an essay; creating clever mnemonics for learning key spellings; use of rhyme, colour and pictures – dyslexia tutoring opens up countless possibilities for children to feel inspired, empowered and motivated to learn.
The shame-free, non-confrontational learning space of dyslexia tutoring allows children to ask questions and grow in confidence, which improves not only their academic lives but the way they feel about themselves. Many dyslexic children feel anxious about school and lack self confidence due to the pressures of mainstream education. We don’t believe anything is more important than supporting your child’s mental health, and our 1:1 dyslexia tutoring can really help support their mental wellbeing and boost self-confidence.
For more information on how tutors help with focused literacy support, study skills, planning, organisation, exam techniques and subject-specific guidance, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Sarah Cox, Special Needs Consultant
Related
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Dyslexia and the Brilliance of Assistive Technology
