Raising a child with special needs can be a struggle for many parents.
However, by enlisting the help of a qualified home tutor with hands-on experience managing kids with learning disabilities, you can give your child a huge head-start not just in school work, but also, and more importantly, help them achieve success in life.
Public schools in Singapore are not structured to adequately cater to the unique needs of special needs children. Teachers are often under pressure to manage large classes and as a result, are usually unable to adequately cater to the individual needs of every kid with learning disorders.
Though there are a number of special needs schools, many of them run by Non-Profits, they still cannot solely entrusted with the responsibility of providing your child all the tools they need to learn, thereby reinforcing the need to invest in a private home tuition for your child.
Tutoring kids with special needs requires more than just the ability to teach. Special needs tutors are highly-skilled instructors with the educational history and professional experience of helping kids with behavioral disorders and learning disabilities utilize their strength and become better students.
They are able to help you achieve your short and long-term goals for your kid by identifying their individual learning style, strength, and weaknesses and then adapting the private lessons to suit them.
Still wondering whether investing in a private lesson for your kid is a smart move? Here are seven ways your child can benefit from home tuition.
1. Familiar, comfortable, and convenient environment
One huge benefit of hiring a home tutor for your special needs kid is the convenience and one-on-one kind of learning in a familiar environment away from the buzz of a classroom.
In a typical classroom setting, a teacher may not be able to individualize instructions to cater to the specific needs of your child. However, at home, the tutor can give a 100% attention to your kid, helping him break through the complexities of school work in a way that is specifically adapted to them.
2. Identify Your Child’s Learning Style, Strengths, and Weakness
A major let-down of mainstream schools is their inability to effectively adapt to the individual learning styles of special needs students. While some learn best while seeing (visual learners), some others learn better and quicker by hearing (auditory learners). And then, there are some who prefer a more hands-on approach; they learn by doing (kinesthetic).
By identifying the unique learning style, strengths and weaknesses of your child, a tutor can employ techniques that suit their learning style and thereby make learning time fun time for them.
3. Keep up with classwork at their own pace
It is not uncommon or out of place for special needs students to keep up with their pairs in class. Listening, grasping different concepts, and generally coping with the pace of class activities may be real hurdle, but with a home tutor, it’s merely a speed bump, not a road block.
Tutors can review class materials with your child, explain the different concepts, till they fully understand them, all at your child’s pace. You can also speak with the school to share future lessons with your child’s tutor, that way the tutor can cover these materials with your child before they are even taught in class.
4. Overcome test anxiety and score better grades
Formal class settings provide little room for tests to be adapted to suit the peculiar needs of children and teens with learning disorders. Home tutors can help them better prepare for these tests by structuring test preparations in a way that reinforces their strength.
With the effective test strategies and adequate preparations, your child can easily overcome the some of these test anxieties and perform well in their assessments.
5. Help strengthen a positive sense of self
Special needs children often struggle with understanding their uniqueness and building a positive self-esteem. By working with an experienced tutor who can help them appreciate the uniqueness of their abilities and learning styles, they develop a deeper understanding of themselves and also overcome that feeling of inadequacy.
They become more confident, and are also able to actively participate in not just their academic development, but also in more important areas of life.
6. Improved mental, psychological, and physical wellbeing
Special needs children who have a deeper understanding of their unique personalities, a better mastery of their strength, who can effectively manage their weaknesses and have an improved and positive sense of self will generally fare better.
They can easily overcome the bouts of depression, frustration and anger, stay focused, be happier, and generally have better relationships.
7. Find time for yourself
As parents, we are often so preoccupied with caring for our kids that we forget to take care of ourselves. Parenting a special needs child can be even more daunting, but yet fulfilling at the same time. Still, you need to take good care of yourself, that way you can stay healthy enough to take care of your family and loved ones.
A private tutor helps you get some air and do your own thing too. We all need some time to cool off, don’t you think?
Final words…
While it is important you take the lead in providing your child with the tools they need to learn, doing it all alone can be overwhelming. By enlisting the help of an experienced special needs home tutor, you can take comfort in knowing that you’ve got an ally who can help you achieve your specific goals for your child’s future.
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