Teaching times tables

[Alice2468]

I'm tutoring a boy who is really struggling to learn his times tables. His class teacher is sending home a different one to learn each fortnight, or so, but he is still working on 3s with me. Meanwhile, the 4s and 8s have just 'passed us by'. He is progressing with the 3s, but it all has to be visual activities, as he doesn't retain anything verbal. Do you think we should stick to the 3s, until he's learned these, or do 4s as well? I don't think he'd cope very well with both at the same time. I also suspect dyscalculia.

Can he count in 3s? I find that more helpful and lealrning the whole tables thing as he can count the required amount on his fingers rather than going through a long thing. I would do 5s as they are easier and 10s. Just by counting.
Hit the button is a game on line which can help some children to get it. But he can only do what he can do so would go slowly. If he has dyscalculia he may never get them totally off.

Thanks for taking the time to reply. When you say leaning his tables, I really mean counting in the required number. We have worked extremely hard on this and I've used hit the button, before. At the moment, he's having great success using Mathsframe and he can really see the progress that he's making, with this. I agree and don't think he's ever going to grasp knowing them by heart, but mum feels pressured. I've asked her to mention it to his school, but she seems hesitant.