Sylvan | ADHD Information

anyone used a place like this and how did work out. Rachael38460.6527662037I am a fifth grade teacher and I have worked at Sylvan. I personally don't agree with it and it is a waste of money. I have also worked at a place called Kumon. It is a totally different approach but you have to be willing to give it a chance. I love it and wish I could do it in my classroom with my students. They don't "tutor" but they work on basic skills which in turn help with the school work. They start on your child's lowest level and work forward from there. Sylvan finds all the low spots and ONLY works on those. In education you find that everything links to each other in some way. If you skip over things, you don't reenforce along the way to get ready for more difficult things. You can't multiply if you can't add for example. I know students who started with memorizing their addition facts and they were in high school. Once they got those down though, they soared in multiplication and division which in turn helped with fractions and algebra. Sylvan doesn't do that. Not even close. I encourage parents to ask questions and be patient with it though. I know I sound like I am telling you that it is better and then almost questioning it but some parents don't buy into the philosophy and quit too soon. Look it up on the internet and go get an evaluation to see what they say. It is free for the eval and it is a lot cheaper than Sylvan. (about 0/mo for Math and 0/mo for Reading) You can do only one if you want. You don't have to take out a loan for Kumon like you sometimes have to do with Sylvan. I also went to Sylvan when I was in high school for the ACT program to improve my score and it didn't work. If you have any questions, let me know.I have had my son in both Sylvan and Kumon. I have to agree and say that Kumon was more valuable than Sylvan. Sylvan was way too expensive for me and my son only enjoyed it because he was able to earn points and buy a toy at the end of each month! Kumon was fantastic. Although he had some work to bring home with him each week, I saw more results from Kumon.I inquired about Sylvan & I was told that they did not specifically work with ADHD so I never gave it a try.I had my son in Sylvan twice. Both times were for Math and organizational skills. I think I paid an hour and he went for 4 hours a week. For the hour to organize they left him alone, to organize. Well lets just say if he knew how to do it he wouldn't be there. Sylvan said they did work with ADHD kids but my son really didn't get to far with them. At the end of the program he barely made any progress. We took him out. Some of my son's friends go to Huntington Learning Center. They are doing well there. We also have a place called Score which I think is for Reading and Math. I heard that was also a good place.Some of the people at Kumon will specifically work with ADHD but I know they won't turn you away because of that problem. I know where I worked, we worked with ADHD and modified the work to help the child be successful everyday. Then worked our way up with the amount of work and the difficulty. The child gets stickers for everyday they do their "homework" and each time they go to Kumon. After about 2 weeks, they get a prize. There are also prizes along the way almost on a weekly basis depending on the site. The time at Kumon is about 20 minutes per subject. (either Math or Reading) The "homework" they do on a nightly basis is about 10 minutes per subject. I love that people have tried Kumon and like it. They can start children as young as 3 and as old as college at some places. My child will probably start Kumon in the next year or so because I believe in it so much. My bro has severe ADHD and is on the borderline of genious. My mom took him to Kumon to keep him challenged because the school couldn't. He would take his "homework" to school and work on it during his free time instead of bothering other students. Hope this helps!!!

Sylvan = waste of money. Have not tried it but I don't think it helps much if at all. Save your money and do homework with your kids yourself. Especially if you have a 'troubled' kid I don't think it works for them. Just my $.02

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I try to help my dd with her homework but it seems as though I don't explain very well or something. That's why I'm looking for help. I wish I could help her myself as my funds are spread thinly. But as they say at Sylvan Can you really put a price on your child's education? /sarcasm

My son had difficulty learning to read. We only have a sylvan Learning center in our area,so I tried it. Combined with other interventions(school,meds,etc,) it really helped him quite a bit. He is the type that needed that repetitive learning to get the basic concepts. He did not respond well to me as a teacher-EEEEEKS-we had some really tough times with homework. Now, a year later he is a voracious reader and reads at the high end for his age!! it was a commitment, but it did work for us. My son was diagnosed with ADHD and DIS! Good-luck!

When I worked at Kumon, we had a lot of Asian students but a lot of other cultures too. A lot of times, the asian students would be coming to challenge their children more than extra help in problem areas. We also had several students that were homeschooled and needed the reading and/or math for their curriculum. I am happy to hear that there are so many people out there doing Kumon and believing in it. I wish it was more publisized. As for the Kumon director writing an email without proofing, that does concern me too. But, don't base your impression on one email. I know first impressions count A LOT but go in and meet them. Maybe the director is having a bad day. I know I miss spell a lot of words even on here but I try. I'm a teacher and still misspell and it is due to seeing so many different ways of spelling words from my students, I start wondering exactly how things are spelt. (there's one there)

Let us know if you go and see the center. I am interested to see if you are impressed after you meet everyone. Keep in touch.

Weak areas ARE addressed with my daughter's IEP--and while you are right, accommodations can't be made later in life, as children age and mature, they figure out coping skills to help them down the road. It's much better that grade retention, which is the worst thing I could have done for my child.The cost of this assessment, which includes reading, math, and a writing sample, is 5.00. We require a .00 non-refundable deposit to reserve the test time, and the remaining balance of 5.00 would be due on the day of the assessment....Once you choose to enroll in a personalized program, the hourly instruction fees will range between and per hour. We offer several payment options including the student loan program where your payments can be as low as - 0 per month. I was just gathering info on Sylvan before I read this thread. Above is a snippet of the email sent to me. The thought of another student loan for this program frightens me. I'm going to give Kumon a try. Anyone else?? HA payments as low as -0 per month.

My 8 year old daughter is going on 10 months with Kumon, and its one of the best decisions we have made with her. I admit the first few months I didnt notice a change in her school work, then all of the sudden it clicked and she was whizzing through her math in a flash. She is the top math female in her class (2) levels ahead, and tied with a boy at the same level. I agree with the other posts, you have to committ to the program for awhile before you see the results. The owner of our Kumon, even told me that she doesnt want short timers, it just doesnt work. The principle of repetition and mastery of the basic skills takes time, and trust me you will see a difference. We receive quarterly reports that chart her progress, compared to her grade level, her peers at Kumon, and the High Achievers at Kumon. I'm never wondering how she is progressing and have frequent meetings with the manager. I even believe our daughters strength in Math, masked her ADD traits.

Kumon is not exclusive to the Asian Community, although it was created in Japan.

Mommavic38468.4439351852Kumon, can it be bought and be done at home. Our sons reading problem is do to not using both eyes and poor tracking diagnosed at age 5. Vision therapy has helped make progress. Going to also look into eyeQ program. Rachael38468.275775463My son has been tested 3 times no dyslexia.Marshall art teaches concentration, discipline,self control,self defense. I have concerns just about using iep's because why aren't week areas being addressed. In the long wrong doesn't help. Real life doesn't have accomidations always. I found it out the hard way. I have disabiities. Hi Rachael. As to your question if Kumon can be brought home, yes, most definitely. Where we attend, we meet twice a week at the center, but the boys have to do their Kumon worksheets seven days a week, which take a minimum of 20 minutes. I decided to place my children in Kumon because as a homeschooling mom I wanted to make sure they're reading and math skills are emphasized, and they have improved incredibly. 20 minutes a day on each subject has done wonders for us in the year that they have attended. Good luck to you.

I RECEIVED A POORLY WRITTEN EMAIL FROM THE DIRECTOR OF KUMON IN OUR AREA. I HAVE TO WONDER HOW THEY WILL BE ABLE TO HELP MY CHILD IF THE DIRECTOR CAN'T PROOF AN EMAIL.

I ALSO HEARD THAT THE ASIAN COMMUNITY USES KUMON EXCLUSIVELY..CAN ANYONE AGREE OR DISAGREE WITH THAT? I CAN'T SPEAK FOR ALL ASIAN PEOPLE BUT I NOTICED THE ASIAN CHILDREN AROUND HERE ARE ALWAYS HONOR ROLL/MERIT ROLL ETC...

Hi. I've had both of my sons ages 6 and 9 in Kumon for almost a year. It's the greatest choice we've made. Since I homeschool my kids, Kumon has relieved a lot of the pressure for me and my husband. Our older boy is ADD and he fits in nicely with all of the kids in Kumon and does not stand out at all, which is such a relief for us all. Kumon does build up the self esteem. I really believe that because I see how good my kids feel knowing they can actually do the task at hand. I think the daily work is rewarding as well as they see with their own eyes how they are succeeding and whizzing through their subjects. Good luck with your choice. It's nice to read there are other parents who also believe in the Kumon philosophy of learning the basics. Good luck!!Talked w/Sylvan for about 30 minutes...they wanted MONEY was the bottom line here in FL. Now I gotta say that Marital Arts (IF you find the right one) can 'teach' your child to focus. It has helped our son but we are now on our 3rd school for Marital Arts and I gotta say we finally found one that works with more of a FOCUS approach than physical. Even though he comes home exhausted. He's 6 will be 7 in July. authenticmaritalarts.com (the web address) - one might be near you. I don't really see how martial arts can help someone focus in class.....but it does help self esteem issues to make someone feel more confident. I took kick-boxing for 3 years so I know. But it's true--it really was about the money with Sylvan --still paying that bill...the schools can be a good source for help if you demand testing for an IEP evaluation. It has done wonders for my child!Something everyone should know, as I found out the hard (and expensive)way, Sylvan doesn't test for learning disorders. 69% of people with ADHD have some form of dyslexia. Ask your school to test for dyslexia before you go drop, as I did, 3,500.00 to get absolutely no where!

Thankfully, my husband found a website and it changed our lives! We still struggle with the decision to keep her on Strattera or go back to Ritalin, but the school now recognizes her dyslexia and she's doing great in school!