Overcoming Dyscalculia

Maryann's son was finding maths very difficult to comprehend, due to his dyscalculia. Thanks to Conor, he's getting to grips with the subject and is set to do well at Secondary School.

My son had just finished 6th class, and although he was above average in all other subjects, he struggled with Maths. This had been the case for most of his time at primary school. In the middle of 5th class he was diagnosed as having dyscalculia. Simply put, dyscalculia is like dyslexia, in that the child who has it struggles to remember or understand written Maths. All written questions and number facts - such as times tables - are very difficult to understand. He had just done his 6th class exam in Maths - the sigma-T - and it was obvious that his understanding of these types of questions and the facts that he needed to understand were well below what he would need to continue in secondary school. He had reached a level of extreme frustration and lacked all confidence in doing any Maths, so I started looking for a tutor.

From the first moment I got in contact with Conor he was extremely professional with me and with my son. He was prompt in setting a time to meet, within mere hours of me contacting him through First Tutors. From our first conversation I knew that he was eager to help, was determined to find a way to improve my son's learning and understanding: he listened to my worries with a great interest in helping.

The first meeting with Conor was great. As a parent, when we met, he immediately put my worries to rest as he had all the required paperwork in his possession including all his certificates and his Garda clearance which assured me that he was above board. He spent extra time with me in easing any worries or queries I had. My son told me he liked Conor as he was patient and funny when he first met him.

During lessons, Conor seemed patient, knowledgeable and interested in helping me and my son through the difficulties of dyscalculia. He used the earlier lessons to asses my sons ability and build up good rapport him before assuring him that he was a very smart boy and then slowly easing him into the workload in a fun and active way.

Since having lessons with Conor, I have noticed how my son not only reads Maths questions differently but has a better grip on comprehending complex English sentences. I've also noticed that he uses pencils, rubbers and toppers to explain things in a numerical way. This reminds me of how Conor used other items to show my lad how to understand words in Maths. I'm delighted with this.

All in all, Conor has helped my son immensely. He now has far more confidence, not just in approaching Maths, but also in his plans for secondary school. He heeded Conor's advice and is following his planned work schedule throughout the summer.