Learning Differences

My Child is Struggling in School

Not all students that are struggling in school have a learning difference and need intensive remediation. Perhaps your son or daughter is falling behind in math due to a lack of understanding of fractions, or has difficulty with comprehension because they do not understand exactly what the question was they were asked to answer. Maybe your child has a low grade in courses due to test anxiety or lacks study skills and test taking strategies.

We can help. Our tutoring is not cookie-cutter group tutoring! Our tutoring sessions are tailor-made to suit the individual needs of each student. Our Intake Evaluation can help identify an area of weakness in your child’s ability to achieve better grades in school. Take the first step and contact us! We will be happy to discuss how we can help your child achieve to the best of their potential.

I think my child may have a learning difference

Learning differences (LD) encompass a variety of disorders that have a negative effect on a student’s ability to learn. Quite often students with language based learning differences struggle with dysgraphia (difficulty with printing and/or written expression), speech delays and pronunciation, as well as auditory processing disorders.

If you suspect your child has a learning difference, you should seek advice from a psychologist. A psychological educational assessment can determine if your child has a learning difference. We can help you with this process. Start by booking an Intake Evaluation at Stepping 4words Learning Center.

Below are some signs your child may have a learning difference. Some children may have one or two signs but more often, they experience a combination of the following difficulties.

If your child experiences three or more of these symptoms, chances are they may have a learning difference.

We can help! Contact us for more information.

A learning difference may encompass the following traits:

Early signs

  • difficulty following directions
  • difficulty learning to talk
  • difficulty pronouncing words correctly (bisgetti for spaghetti, wat for rat)
  • difficulty expressing ideas verbally
  • difficulty remembering names, lists or symbols (b for d)

Grade school signs

  • difficulty learning, writing, and remembering the alphabet
  • difficulty forming letters and numbers
  • reversing and transposing letter and numbers (b/d, p/q, 6/9)
  • difficulty with sounding out letters and sequencing sounds (bat)
  • difficulty identifying words that rhyme
  • difficulty with sequence and memory for words
  • slow in advancing to learn to read, write, and spell
  • difficulty in remembering basic math concepts

A learning difference may also encompass the following:

  • unable to finish class work on time
  • untidy printing and/or poor pencil grip
  • struggles daily with homework
  • difficulty with concepts such as: over, under, before, left, right, before & after, etc.
  • poor concept of time & organization – constantly misplaces and/or loses track of things
  • inability to stick with a task
  • difficulty interpreting nonverbal clues, such as body language and facial expressions
  • calls him/herself stupid, dumb, and has a low self esteem as a learner
  • is often feeling ill and/or has head or stomach aches on school days

Are you an adult and think you may have a learning difference?

A combination of the following symptoms may indicate that you have a learning difference. Learning differences run in families.

  • I didn’t graduate from high school
  • I am reluctant to read
  • I have difficulty retrieving the right words while trying to express myself
  • I may need to read something two or three times before I understand what it says
  • I had difficulty learning in school
  • I had difficulty learning how to read
  • I avoid spelling and writing
  • I will only read privately and avoid reading out loud
  • I had difficulty paying attention in class
  • I have difficulty remembering lists
    I have difficulty following a map or directions

My child has a learning difference

Quite often students with language based learning differences struggle with dysgraphia (difficulty with printing and/or written expression), speech delays and pronunciation, as well as auditory processing disorders. Our multisensory approach can improve these struggles.

Our tutoring program is a multisensory approach. It was developed by Dr. Samuel T. Orton, a neurologist, and his associate June L. Orton. Dr. Samuel T. Orton’s work is widely considered to be the most effective way to treat learning differences relating to reading and understanding text.

The main objective of the one-on-one tutoring session is to introduce, teach, reinforce and help the student over-learn the sound-symbol relationships, spelling rules and syllabication strategies used to encode and decode English. The strategy is complex to implement, but simple for the student to understand and be led through by one of our Orton-Gillingham practitioners. It builds one block on top of the other to reinforce reading and writing skills cementing lasting change.

One of the most important benefits of OUR tutoring program is the confidence we foster in our students. They experience success in both reading and writing from the very beginning, at their own pace, learning through the sensory pathways. Our systematic tutoring approach allows for an experience that is individualized to meet each student’s need.

The following information is extracted from A Guide to Teaching Phonics by June L. Orton.

1. The method is a direct approach to the study of phonics, presenting the sounds of the phonograms orally as separate units and teaching the process of blending them into syllables and words for recognition in reading and recall in writing. This merging of the senses brings forward multiple reference points within memory, which is specifically helpful to struggling students.

2. It is an integrated total language approach. Each unit in sequence is established through hearing, speaking, seeing, and writing. Auditory, visual, and kinesthetic patterns reinforce each other and this also provides for individual differences among the students. It is a circular, multisensory process.

3. It is a systematic, step-by-step system, proceeding from the simpler to the more complex in orderly progression in an upward spiral of language development. The sequence is clearly defined and proven to be effective, however it is also flexible, allowing for adjustment and customization toward each and every student.