Tell me about hiring a tutor for a special needs child

[JustMe]

So, I think I need to accept that the school district is not really going to meet dd's needs. I can spend my time fighting about that to make a little progress and have it reversed a lot easily than it was gained or I can try to get her need met in other ways. I do work with her, but think it would be good to have someone else involved as well.

I think I know how she learns best (as well as anyone, anyway), so know to ask about if they can work that way, but what other things do you look for in a tutor? Also, with a child who is behind in most areas, how do you decide what they will work on?

thanks!

[BunnyBee]

We hire a tutor for our child with dyslexia. I knew I wanted someone with OG training, and the Wilson method specifically was recommended by the Ed Psych who did testing. Wilson sent us a list of everyone with their certification in our area. I called probably 30 people, most of whom worked for one of the schools for dyslexia in our city (based on their emails from the list). Then we interviewed 3 and chose 1. We pay around $100/hr plus a travel fee for her to come to our house. She also tutors in math and has certifications for that, but I'm not sure what they are because we don't need math. If we needed math, I likely would have her come 3x/wk instead of 2. The tutor does not work in any "schoolwork" and only does specific dyslexia remediation work.

When was your last testing done and with whom? Can you return to that professional for recommendations of tutors, services for DD? From there, decide what subject(s)/skill(s) are most important to her future success. I'd work on remediating any reading and math deficiencies and not worry so much about specific school subjects.

Are the other school systems that provide better resources? Is there a private school tailored to help DD? Tuition for the schools for dyslexia run about $28K here, but if my DC needed more than 2 hours of tutoring to progress well, that (frighteningly) could be cost effective, especially if we had a math LD too. They also offer scholarships.

[JustMe]

Thanks for your reply! I already asked the psych who did her testing for recommendations and she did not have any (which surprised me, but that is another story).

There are not appropriate private schools here. I would think about moving, but don't know where and that would be huge for me as a single mom. Dd's diagnosis is not one that fits into a nice little box, so it would be hard to even know what to look for.

Thanks for saying to concentrate on remediating the deficiencies for reading and math and not specific school subjects. That was my thought as well, but didn't know if it was a foolish thought for any reason.

[cuca_]

I agree on focusing on reading and math. Are there other educational psychologists in your area? Maybe you can try calling and asking for tutor recommendations. When we had DD1 evaluated the neuropsychologist recommended tutors and therapists and eventually private schools for kids with LDs. I have also heard that some catholic schools in our area provide extra support for kids with LDs. I don't know how common that is, but it might be worth looking into. Also, does your Dd receive any other kind of support like OT or Speech? I she does, or has in the past, maybe you can ask those providers if they know of anyone. Good luck!

[inmypjs]

If she is behind in reading, I second the recommendation for an Orton-Gillingham tutor.