Additional Needs
One-to-one tutoring offered for additional needs support.
Morton tutoring offers support for Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Autism and ADHD.
Dyslexia & Early Intervention
Early intervention is crucial for dyslexic pupils. After assessments, pupils are offered highly systematic phonic teaching. An action plan is prepared so pupils can develop phoneme awareness. Support is provided to develop decoding, basic reading and spelling skills.
Dyspraxia
Often children with co-ordination difficulties can be diagnosed with dyspraxia. Children with dyspraxia can find difficulties with fine motor skills (cutting and using a pen) or gross motor skills (running and catching a ball). Often pupils can experience difficulties with organisation, memory and processing speed. Fiona assesses and arranges one-to-one Additional Support Needs lessons.
Autism
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is the name for a range of interlinked conditions, including Asperger syndrome, which affect a child’s social interaction, communication, interests and behaviour. There is no ‘cure’ for ASD, but speech and language therapy, OT and good-quality educational support are available to help children and families.
ASD children frequently have problems using non-verbal behaviours to interact with others – for example, they have difficulty with eye contact, facial expressions, body language and gestures. They make no or only brief eye contact and ignore others.
Children with ASD tend to repeat words or phrases spoken by others (either immediately or later) without developing their own language, or in parallel to developing their language skills.
Frequently they demonstrate repetitive obsessional play and find it hard to interact with others. Children and young people with ASD often experience a range of cognitive (thinking), learning, emotional and behavioural problems.
How does Fiona help children with ASD?
Fiona develops strategies and a learning framework tailored to individual children. She creates a safe base for the pupils in order to reduce anxiety. Fiona uses visuals so the pupil is able to predict what is happening next and to support the child’s understanding of an activity. She uses timers so that the child is aware of how long an activity will take. All planned activities are broken down into manageable chunks and are achievable.
Fiona structures her communication, which is clear and precise, for the child and always uses the child’s first name to secure their attention before giving an instruction and before moving on to the next part of the task.
She identifies and uses the pupil’s strengths and special interests to plan lessons and activities. She ensures that the expectations are realistic and achievable to encourage motivation and success.
Fiona ensures parents are involved throughout the process to help monitor progress and review targets. She is happy to liaise with the Class teacher and SENCO and other professionals to draw up behaviour and learning support plans together, which can then be used consistently across home and school.
Often children with co-ordination difficulties can be diagnosed with dyspraxia. Children with dyspraxia can find difficulties with fine motor skills (cutting and using a pen) or gross motor skills (running and catching a ball). Often pupils can experience difficulties with organisation, memory and processing speed. Fiona assesses and arranges one-to-one Additional Support Needs lessons.
What is ADHD?
ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. It is a medical condition that must be diagnosed by a doctor or chartered Ed Psychologist. A person with ADHD has differences in brain development and brain activity that affect attention. Children with ADHD have often difficulties controlling their emotions and learning. They also tend to be impulsive. The ability to sit still, and general self-control can be tricky, which can also result in hyperactive behaviour difficulties.
ADHD can affect a child at school. They may miss important learning blocks because their concentration is compromised. Many children suffering from ADHD, often do not complete their school tasks. They may daydream or dawdle too much and lose track of their thought processes. They may rush through tasks and make careless errors.
How does Fiona help children with ADHD?
Fiona works on techniques to encourage the child to focus their attention, concentrating and staying on task. Fiona finds that with a supportive programme, attention, activity, and self-control can develop little by little and most pupils are able to learn the skills. Fiona is happy to liaise with the class teacher / SENCO to develop a programme that will support your child.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is the name for a range of interlinked conditions, including Asperger syndrome, which affect a child’s social interaction, communication, interests and behaviour. There is no ‘cure’ for ASD, but speech and language therapy, OT and good-quality educational support are available to help children and families.
ASD children frequently have problems using non-verbal behaviours to interact with others – for example, they have difficulty with eye contact, facial expressions, body language and gestures. They make no or only brief eye contact and ignore others.
Children with ASD tend to repeat words or phrases spoken by others (either immediately or later) without developing their own language, or in parallel to developing their language skills.
Frequently they demonstrate repetitive obsessional play and find it hard to interact with others. Children and young people with ASD often experience a range of cognitive (thinking), learning, emotional and behavioural problems.