Tutor in college ( ADHD)

[Anonymous]

My son is 18 and in college. He lives at home as we live near his college ( ie. we live in Toronto and he goes to univeristy in Toronto).
DH had ADHD, he is on meds for school. He started off ok, he did poorly on two midterms and I am worried. It could go either way...

My son has trouble with some subjects. I think he could use a tutor.
My DH has an attitude that ds should try harder and we need to stop making everything so easy for him. Ds is sometimes lazy and unfocused.
I think ds would benefit from a tutor especially with finals approaching.

Thoughts????

[Anonymous]

I mean DS has ADHD. My DH does not.

[Anonymous]

Call the disabilities office and see if they can help.

http://www.studentlife.utoronto.ca/as/academic-accommodations

I would get a tutor, kids with ADHD do not always learn well in the classroom. That does not mean they can't learn.

Look at the other accommodations and figure out if they will help.

I am doing the reduced course load program for my son's 1st year of college.

[Anonymous]

I'm trying to remain anonymous ( there are three universities in TO).
Thanks for your reply. He gets some accommodations ( extra exam time and note taking ).

But I think he needs some additional help. I will get him some tutoring.

[Anonymous]

Most colleges have a free tutoring center staffed by upperclassmen or professional tutors. Start there.

[Anonymous]

I think a tutor might be a good idea and you can suggest that to your son, but I also think he's old enough to start taking responsibility for making the decision to get more help for his ADHD rather than having his parent do it all for him.

[Anonymous]

What does your son think?

If your son is basically asking for a tutor, PROVIDE THE TUTOR!

If your son won't commit one way or the other on a tutor, consider making a deal that DS will get the tutor NOW and do everything possible to get ready for finals.

College is enough different from HS that he needs to see how to get ready for finals once before being expected to do it on his own.

The rest of the deal is that ONLY DS can bring up tutoring in the spring. Then all three of you can revisit tutoring in the summer/next fall.

If you are battling both your DS and your DH, it may be time to let it go.

[Anonymous]

Absolutely hire a tutor. Mine is a sophomore, and gets tutored weekly. I always had good lick with Wyzant tutors. Skype works well. One on one is the best way for adhd students to stay focused.

[Anonymous]

I'm a HS Biology teacher at a College for certain academy. Many, many college students use tutors and in fact, all of the colleges my students investigate have tutoring centers for that purpose. It's not a crime or a weakness for your son to need support. College is meant to be academically challenging and it is a rare student that gets a degree without additional supports of some kind. Good luck and God bless your efforts to support your son.

[Anonymous]

Op here. Son wants the tutor. So we will get the tutor. Th wasn't initially on board.

[Anonymous]

Has anyone tried “Yup” a new mobile tutoring app started by a Stanford alum?

[Anonymous]

I like the reduced course load idea. Let him go part time until he gets his act together. Or, he may be better staying part time. I went part time for years because I was working and liked the lighter course load. It makes a big difference.

[Anonymous]

Tutoring, eh, it can help but I think most people don't retain tutored material. Better he "struggle" so he better internalizes the knowledge. Part time can help with the stress.

[Anonymous]

Apart from whether or not OP’s DS has ADHD, some professors are just terrible and some material is really hard. My own DS is in a really hard STEM class with the professor nobody wants, and after initially refusing a tutor, is now really grateful for the tutor.

If lack of motivation is the problem, that’s a different set of issues. I guess OP needs to help him finish the semester and then have a Talk.

I disagree with pp who says students don’t retain what tutors tell them—if that were true, why have profs? Saving hours of frustration trying to understand something you just can’t get, or let’s face it, if you’re already behind, can totally save a kid’s sanity.

[Anonymous]

I don't know if they can help your son but with a try.

https://www.varsitytutors.com