Learning Disabilities

Students who have a learning disability often benefit from having a tutor at home. A tutor is a person who gives a student one-on-one help to learn a subject such as math.

One of the maddening aspects of a learning disability is that many students need constant help in overcoming the little gaps that make it hard to learn the whole of a concept. Suppose a student has her greatest problems in math. She learns to add and subtract but runs into problems grasping the steps of long division. An afterschool math tutor can keep this student from falling too far behind.

A tutor should be trained to work with a learning disability. If the tutor is not specially trained, the student will be no better off. A student could even be worse off because her self-esteem as a learner will be hurt even more. Parents should ask the tutor if he or she holds a certificate or license as a special educator.