Have any of you tried going to Sylvan Learning Center to get your children extra help.  My son is in 3rd grade, is on metadate CD and is really struggling at math.  He is a smart child but sometimes I think he rushes through his work just to be done and he makes stupid mistake - but what if it is really not a mistake and he truly doesn't understand.  He tested average on a math test when doing a battery of tests for adhd/learning disabilities but on his PSSA in 2nd grade he got a very low score - below basic.  Yet he doesn't qualify through the school to get math help.

He still can't add 2 numbers in his head.  I'm talking small numbers like 3 + 3.  he has to count them out on his fingers.  We do math facts drills, etc.  He just doesn't seem to get it.  Money, heck that itself is horrible.  he adds when he is suppose to subtract and subtracts when he is suppose to ad.  I don't know what else to do to help him.

Any good reviews from Sylvan Learning Centers?

Thanks for any info.

Wow, that is a lot of money and unfortuantely we can't afford it.  It's just so frustrating because I know he is a smart boy but I don't know how else to help him.  I don't want him to repeat 3rd grade as that would not be good for his self-esteem, yet I don't see anythink improving between now and the end of the school year in may (i know its a long time off, but things are the same now as they were when we started).

I've sent my kids to Kumon Learning Centers.  You might check to see if they have one in your city.  I think it helps a lot but it is not tutoring.  You start with easy worksheets and work up to your grade level and beyond.  Though my son was making As and Bs in Math he was still counting on his fingers.  The worksheets helped him learn his basic facts.

It costs around $80 a month for a worksheet a day (more if you want).  This would be an excellent supplement to tutoring.

Who tested him? The school?

I bought my daughter both the Leap Frog Turbo Twist Spelling and VTech Quiz Biz Math Mania for Christmas.  VTech and Leap Frog have the best learning products.

When the testing was done for learning disorders, did they tell you if your son had a preference for a particular learning style (audio/sequential vs visual spatial or tactile and kinetic, etc)? This may have been indicated by the subtests of the IQ testing. Some kids that are visual/spatial or tactile and kinetic learners have problems with math facts, yet do well when getting into the more complecated consepts like algebra.

There are different tricks to teaching kids that are not audio/sequential learners. Check out these resources for a start:

http://www.visualspatial.org/

http://www.ldonline.org/educators/strategies/math

http://www.schwablearning.org/articles.asp?r=1055

Also, have you talked to the prescribing doctor about the med dose? It may be fine for simpler tasks but not quite enough for more challenging ones. If the metadate cannot be increased, you might speak to the doctor about adding guanfacine to augment the stimulant:

http://www.peacehealth.org/kbase/topic/detail/drug/hw164961/ detail.htm

Good luck on this difficult journey. You are not alone.

Sylvan was one of the things that we tried with Chase in the over 2 years that I was resisting the growing gut feeling that he needed to be tested for ADHD.  It was fun for him, but a total waste of over $2000 which we had to take a Sallie Mae loan for.  We just paid it off.  When they tested him for placement, he scored above grade level in all subjects and they had to teach him what normally they would have worked on for 5th graders (he was in 4th).  On one comprehension test that was supposed to take him an hour and a half, they called me to come get him after only a half hour....the teacher later told me that she went over the test answers 3 times because he finished so quickly she was sure he had to have guessed.

He had a perfect score, which placed him as reading and comprehending at a 12th grade level!

I pulled him out and had him tested for the ADHD...put him on Concerta and now he does fine.

We have to tweak the meds now due to insurance issues and some problems with it wearing off too soon, but I don't regret putting him on them and feel Sylvan was a waste of time and money unless your child has issues other than ADHD.

My daughter is a visual-spatial learner as well. You might really check out Dr Silverman's site for some great articles (especially if you are not a visual spatial learner).

http://www.visualspatial.org/

Mydaughter also loved math blasters.

My son (ADHD) and on Adderall is in 2nd grade, and he too, has difficulities all across the board even though his IQ is normal.  I have had private testing completed through a neuropsych as well as a regular psych and the results on a LD was a bit inconclusive.  He is currently being tested through school...I suggested he be tested for speech/language and CAPD.  They are also doing IQ and LD testing again.  I will get the results Jan. 16th.  I know there is something more to his inability to grasp counting money, adding simple digits, reading, etc.  I am a special educator myself, and I work with him at home on these concepts.  My son is currently receiving a tutor during school hours through an Americorp Program provided by the school...does your district/school have anything like that? 

Hockeymom

I¡¯m not familiar with Sylvan Learning Center. My daughter is using beestar.org. It¡¯s a great web site for primary school students. It offers exercises of math, English language art, science, etc. My daughter is doing the math exercises. There are 2 exercises weekly. All the exercises are timed and there are corresponding invigorative mechanisms such as honor roll. That can improve the efficiency greatly when children doing the exercises.

Lisa