Dyslexia and ADHD: Advice for Tutoring

Some children have both dyslexia and ADHD--a difficult combination for tutors. How can you teach a dyslexic child how to read and write properly if his concentration only lasts for ten or fifteen minutes at a time?

First of all, keep the lessons short! Yes, children with ADHD need breaks, even if the tutoring class only lasts 45 minutes. Try to break everything you teach into short sections of maybe ten to fifteen minutes each. Rule of thumb: If you notice your student's concentration is getting worse, give him a short break.

Diversify the type of exercises you do with your student! Say, you started with making him write a short text. When you notice his concentration is wavering, stop it and give him a short break, then have him do something different for a short while (yes, even if the text wasn't done). You can come back to the first exercise later.

Make his tutoring lessons fun! This is even more important with dyslexic children, and with children who have ADHD. If you can find a way to make learning fun for them, it will be a lot easier for them to stay focused and to practise difficult skills.

Be positive! Your student concentrated well on the task but still made a few mistakes? Praise him nonetheless. He did something well, after all. Let him know that you noticed even the slightest improvement. Your goal should be to motivate him, not demotivate him by always pointing out every single mistake. Chances are, your student will never be able to produce a text without any mistakes, so just a few mistakes instead of many is a great achievement for him and should be treated accordingly.

Tutoring children with both dyslexia and ADHD can be very rewarding if you have enough patience and heed my advice.