Learning through curiosity to build confidence and reduce overwhelm

What Was The Young Person's Story?

The student is aged fifteen, in Year 11 and was referred for tuition by the borough of Hillingdon. He has a diagnosis of ASD, ADHD, anxiety disorder and homeostatic sleep pattern and although he is of average cognitive ability, he struggles with attention, concentration, self-regulation and social communication. He has had prolonged periods of non-attendance at school due to sleep difficulties and anxiety.

How Our SEN Tutor Made A Difference:

Tutor Iain has been working with the lad for a couple of months, focusing on maths, science and relationship-building within a stress-free environment to allow learning to take place.

The young man has previously struggled because of the pressure of thinking about future goals so the sessions allow him to learn out of curiosity rather than necessity.

Iain has used scientific experiments provided by MEL Science and followed the student’s lead in discussing and researching what comes up as a result of these. The student has a good background knowledge in science so the tutor has allowed him to explain what he knows and reference it to source materials.

What Was The Impact:

By fostering a positive, calming and respectful relationship and allowing the student to take the lead where possible, Iain has reduced the student’s anxiety and overwhelm and moved him from just one lesson a week to two. It is hoped that this increase in confidence will encourage the young man to work with a range of other tutors across the timetable.

It has proved important to minimise pressure on the student by not focusing on goals, qualifications or the possibility of going to mainstream school. Instead, Iain is helping the student to understand what he has learned and how he might apply it in future.