Many students struggle with learning challenges before formal identification or diagnosis. Tutors can work with students to strengthen foundational skills, identify patterns in how they learn best, and provide targeted support while you pursue formal evaluation through your school or pediatrician. This doesn't replace professional diagnosis, but it ensures your child gets academic support right away rather than waiting.

If your child has already been evaluated, sharing assessment results with a tutor helps them understand specific areas of need and tailor instruction accordingly. Varsity Tutors can connect you with tutors experienced in working with students with documented learning differences.

Students with learning differences often struggle with reading comprehension and decoding, writing organization and spelling, math fact fluency and problem-solving, attention and focus during academic tasks, and managing multi-step instructions. The specific challenges vary widely—dyslexia affects reading, dyscalculia impacts math, and ADHD influences attention and executive function—so assessment and personalized support are key.

A tutor experienced in learning differences can diagnose where breakdowns are happening and work on specific skills like phonemic awareness, number sense, or organizational strategies, providing the focused practice students need to build proficiency.

A 504 Plan or IEP outlines your child's accommodations and goals within the school system, but they don't always provide the intensive skill-building that students with learning differences need. Personalized tutoring complements these plans by targeting specific academic skills, reinforcing strategies taught at school, and filling gaps in foundational knowledge.

Tutors can coordinate with your child's school team to understand current goals and accommodation needs, then focus on accelerating progress through targeted instruction. This partnership approach helps ensure consistency between tutoring and classroom support while building your child's confidence and independence as a learner.

Yes. Many students with learning differences excel in certain subjects while struggling in others—a student with dyslexia might be a strong math thinker, or a student with dyscalculia might be a gifted writer. Tutors can focus intensively on the subjects where your child needs the most support while building confidence in areas of strength.

Varsity Tutors can connect you with tutors who specialize in both the learning difference itself and the specific subject—whether that's reading intervention, math foundations, writing skills, or content-area support—ensuring your child gets exactly the kind of help they need.

One of the most important goals of tutoring for students with learning differences is building metacognitive awareness—helping them understand how they learn and what strategies work best for their brain. This means teaching explicit strategies for reading, organizing, problem-solving, and managing focus that students can apply independently over time.

As students develop these tools and experience success, they typically become more confident and self-directed learners. Tutors gradually release responsibility back to the student, moving from direct instruction to guided practice to independent application, so that skills stick and confidence grows.

When connecting with Varsity Tutors, you can share details about your child's learning profile—whether they have an ADHD diagnosis, dyslexia, dyscalculia, processing speed challenges, or other needs. This helps Varsity Tutors match your child with a tutor who has relevant experience and expertise.

The best tutoring relationships start with clear communication about your child's strengths, challenges, and goals. Don't hesitate to ask potential tutors about their experience with specific learning differences, their approach to instruction, and how they measure progress. A good match makes all the difference in helping your child thrive.