English. DS has dyspraxia. Australia is completely under resourced as far as dyspraxia goes, so I am looking in to complimentary things that might help. He already goes to OT. Was thinking of getting him a tutor in the New Year, but they are hard to come by around here as we are semi rural. But there is a ku on centre here. Wish we were in the UK. Dyspraxia is much better resourced there!
My impression of Kumkn is that it's less actual tutoring & more self-paced work through a very structured series of work books, as such it favors advancement in maths over language skills. I nearly strolled into a tutoring job with them with no quals other than good HSC scores - that's not really the sort of skills your child needs from a tutor. If there is nothing else at all in your area, well, maybe try it. But if you can find someone else to provide one on one or very small group learning support, then get them.
Retired teachers make awesome tutors. Sometimes teachers at the school provide additional tutoring, so it's worth asking about that too. Also ask around - ask the OT and other parents, keep asking until you find someone.
My half brother did it for English and maths I think. When I lived in Singapore a lot of families sent their kids on the weekend (mostly Chinese families).
It helped HB I think, not really sure why he needed it.
A friend of mine from USA (met in singas) son has dyspraxia too, I can ask her what she did to help??
I'm interested in some other options as my son has dyspraxia also. My OT has told me the term Developmental Coordination Disorder is more widely accepted by medical professionals so maybe asking GP or Peadiatrician for some ideas might come up with something. Does your son have motor dyspraxia or verbal or oral also?
He has motor dyspraxia. It is tough as many people don't know what it is! I had a long chat with his art teacher from school. She wants to modify her art program to work more on fine motor tasks and copying skills.
Ideally I would love to get him a tutor, so will look further into some of the suggestions above.
My understanding from the families I have worked with is that Kumon provides more practice at the child's skills - bit essentially is an additional curriculum of which the child gets homework as well - so thats on top of the work from school. It's not adjusted for the child's individual needs - but a typically developing child might get benefit from the extra practice.I believe they get booklets for their grade level and work their way through them.
It's not something I recommend for parents of children with dyspraxia or other difficulties. Id also advise an individual tutor who can liaise with the class teacher and ensure the work is directly related to what is happening at school or your child's specific needs. A university student studying teaching or a related course may be another option if an experienced teacher is a bit expensive for you.
The OT may also have some advice about related strategies as well. Good luck! It's hard watching your child struggle.
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Kumon???
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