Kumon or private tutor??

[LewishamChildminder]

Hi Guys just wanted a bit of advice really, have a foster child who is 10 and has mild autism. The school is saying his 2 years behind academically and bottom 1 of the bottom in his year.

Now ive only had him for a few weeks and have been doing work books with him (which he loves the one on one attention and has been doing really well.) so not quite sure what they excpect him to be doing???

Anyway, they the local autority and fostering agency are now saying they would like him to attend Kumon, which he had endless tears against, telling me he dosen't wish to go to. I managed to get him there last week for an assessment and he left so upset that he dosen't want to go there.

He scored 60 out of 60 in the maths test taking 11 minutes out of what they say a child should only take 10...
Personally i dont think i would call that a 'backwards' child. Especially considering he was in a new enviroment and somewhere he didn't want to be alongside all the good work ivce seen him do.

Anyway I know its not purely my choice, but i personally feel a personal tutor coming into the home would be much better idea, helping him with his school work/curriculum as he goes along and feel id much rather spend £20- £30 once or twice a week for a tutor than £90 a month for sending him somewhere to sit a 10 minute test once a week and come home with questions he has to go through on his own.

I would love to here any opinions for or against the 2 options. Especially if anyone has any further insight into Autistic children and education.

Thanks in advance.

My 20 year old DS3 has Asperger's (an autistic spectrum disorder) and dyscalculia (the numerical equivalent of dyslexia).

He attended Kumon when he was about 13 and to be honest it was a waste of time-for him, anyway.

He hated attending the sessions. The children were just given the worksheets and left to get on with it. All the work at home is done by you-you have to do all the marking etc.

It was extremely boring and repetitive. DS3 is extremely bright and was bored stiff.

So no, I would not advise it!

Thanks Tiggiwinkle, i agree...

If you could find a tutor with experience of teaching children with SN, ASD in particular, that would definitely be the best way to help him.

I think it's great that you want to do something to help him - not all foster carers would.

Have you a Kip McGrath near you? My DD goes to one and loves it, the sessions seem to be fun for her and its helping her maths.

Hi Bigtillymint... Yes im trying to find a good tutor to see what and how they would help him.. Will also speak again with his SEN teacher at school, I think education is very important and if I can do anything with the kids I look after, than its to teach them best I can in a way that they will want to continue.. I think maths especially is so hit and miss as to whether a child will be good or not, one bad teacher can put you off for life.

Ive seen The concentration he puts in when working and the huge smiles when he gets all his answers right, and thats what i strive for (Happiness and achievement)

Stripeyknickers--
Kip McGrath?? need to google that as ive never heard of it, is it similar to Kumon or more like a maths club??

A second vote here for Kip Mcgrath. My DD goes once a week and just loves it. They do an initial assessment then set up a programme to help with any weaknessess.

There are about 3 children in dds group but all work individually on their own programme with the tutor working with the child then leaving them to do some independent work.

The sessions are 80 mins long with about 4 or 5 short activities within that time. Lots of praise and encouragement and a good mix of computer games and written work.

I know many people who have transferred to Kip Mcgrath from a local Kumon centre and their dcs much prefer it.

Another vote for Kip Mcgrath here. My DD started during the summer mainly for Maths but does a bit of spellings. She loves going and the improvement and confidence boast for her has been amazing.

My ds also liked Kip McGrath, (high risk of AS) it follows a structure and includes work on the PC so there is variety and structure.

My son goes to Kip McGrath mainly for his handwriting. He is in a small group of five children of mixed ages and there are two qualified teachers. The teachers are familiar with the national curriculum and teach the right mathematical methods. Prehaps Kumon is more suited to Japan. It costs £22 for 1 hour and 20 minutes. It has really boosted my son's confidence.

If you don't mind me asking, what areas of school work is he struggling with with. I know a lot of children with autism and learning difficulties and each child has wildly different problems.

A common problem is language comprehension. Ie. a child with autism might struggle to understand the style of school questions which are often very discriptive and long winded even if their mental arithemic is good. Kumon tends to ask questions directly

ie. 12X3=36

Rather than "I have been given 3 boxes of chocolate and each box contains 12 chocolates, how many chocolates do I have in total".

Kip McGrath cover the whole primary curriculum, so would be able to help with reading comprehension as well as Maths.

Sorry I meant Kip McGrath is £22 for 1 hour 20 minutes.