What is the difference between tutoring and educational therapy?
While “tutoring” is often associated with helping a student with coursework such as math or biology, “educational therapy” emphasizes the therapeutic relationship between the educational therapist and the student. Educational therapists provide students with strategies to help them to learn how to learn most effectively, and they use students’ textbooks and homework as a vehicle for teaching strategies. Educational therapists aim to capitalize on students’ individual strengths while working on their areas of difficulty. The therapeutic relationship combined with effective strategy teaching leads to successful outcomes, increase motivation, self-confidence, and self-esteem.
What are the programs and techniques in which your staff is trained?
Our staff specializes in teaching research-based, cutting edge strategies. Our educational specialists are also trained in a variety of programs, and each staff member has one or more areas of specialty. ILD has reading, math, and writing specialists trained in programs such as Orton Gillingham, Project Read, Wilson, LiPS, Visualizing and Verbalizing, Saxon Math, Touch Math, and On Cloud Nine. Our educational specialists also work with students to improve their executive function processes such as time management, organization, planning, prioritizing, and self-monitoring using lessons from ResearchILD’s SMARTS executive function curriculum.
How long will my child need these services?
The duration of educational therapy services varies from student to student. Most students begin their work at ILD at the start of the school year and continue to the end, especially if their educational therapy is focused around their school curriculum. Other students work throughout the summer and focus on particular areas of difficulty to prepare them for the coming school year. Students typically work with an educational therapist until they become independent learners and begin to apply strategies automatically.
How will I know if my child is making progress?
Every student is different. Progress can be measured in many different ways and does not only manifest itself in higher grades. Students may show increased self-confidence, effort, and motivation in school. They may demonstrate a strong willingness to attend their educational therapy sessions or a strong bond with their educational specialist. Students may also show an increased understanding of themselves as learners and become aware of new strategies and techniques that help them learn better. Many students do show an improvement in school performance, but more importantly are empowered with a sense of accomplishment in their work.
How do I find out about my child’s progress?
Educational specialists check in with parents frequently on an informal basis to continually monitor students’ progress. A parent conference is usually held at the end of six sessions so the educational specialist can report on a student’s progress and assure that there is a good teacher/student match . At the end of the school year or when your child has finished his/her educational therapy sessions, the educational therapist often writes a report summarizing the content of the sessions and your child’s progress. At this time, a parent conference is scheduled to review the report and discuss recommendations for future services. If you have any concerns about your child throughout the course of the educational therapy sessions, parent conferences may be scheduled at any time.