Sophomore struggling

[Anonymous]

I have an ADHD/executive function issues sophomore who is still struggling with high school. He struggles both with the classes (good at English, crap at everything else including electives) and midterms/finals. We got him a tutor for math since that seems to be his weakest subject but he still bombed his mid-terms for all classes even with a set study schedule and study guides. I am pretty much at the end of my rope with him and trying to figure out his needs. He is at a private school (but has an IEP) already so he is in small classes with teachers giving support. He is generally a B/C student, so I am not looking for As for him but am hoping to get him to need less hand holding and work on study skills.

I am just not sure what to do any longer. I think we need a tutor who will work with him on all subjects each week. Does a person like that exist?

He is very happy at the school and has great friends. Hasn't fallen in with a bad crowd. Not doing drugs or drinking and generally a happy kid. He actually likes going to school so I am hesitant to move him plus not even sure where to move him if we were going to since he is already in private.

Any ideas?

[Anonymous]

We are there too with our DD. Having her evaluated for ADD, trying for smaller school, tutor and lots of help with homework

[Anonymous]

My sophomore DD with ADHD has a tutor, but lately they have been working on specific study skills. That includes going over tests and evaluating what works or did not work, and strategizing on how to change what didn't work and extend what did. A study guide alone just overwhelms her. She doesn't know what to do with all that input. It's too much. She needed help coming up with strategies on how to synthesize the material. She's managed to pull two high D/low C classes up to a B-, so I am hopeful.

Also, is he taking medication for the ADHD? If not, it may be time to think about it. I know there is no way my DD could focus like she needs to without the meds. She gets all the studying she can done while her meds are at their peak. She has her down time when the meds wear off.

[Anonymous]

He is on medication and has been for years. Do you work with a specific tutor? Maybe in DC? I have been googling a bit and it seems like academic coaching is more what he needs?

I found school easy so this is all so foreign to me. I just don't know where to turn.

[Anonymous]

We are in NoVA and the tutor is through Educational Connections. They may have tutors in DC, I don't know. But I don't know what we would do without her. They used to work on organization and planning, but DD seems to be getting the hang of that. This year they have focused almost exclusively on test taking skills and strategies.

They go over all of her tests and talk about why she made the mistakes she did, what can she learn from that, and what she should do differently next time. They also talk about what study strategies helped or did not help.

My DD does not really need help with the content, so that is a different issue. We did finally realize that her math teacher was horrible, and now she just goes to Khan Academy. It makes me angry that she has to spend 3-4 hours a week on Khan Academy to learn what the teacher should be teaching, but I guess it is what it is.