Why Reading and Math Help Tutoring Programs Fail

Traditional strategies, such as reading and math help tutoring programs, involve forcing the child into more and more intense and frequent contact with an activity they already find aversive.  It is an exercise in mental isometrics in which a child’s emotional drive to escape is pitted against the power of adults and structure of the tutoring program.

Just because you can force a child’s body to be in the presence of reading and math does not mean their attention will be there as well. Since the reading and math can be very aversive to some children, their minds are well-trained to shift focus away from the task and toward more pleasant images. This is a highly sophisticated, well trained defense system crafted to deal with the aversive feelings.  It is not a defect or deficit, but a skill.  This is clearly demonstrated by the fact that most of these children can attend for long hours to computer games, Game Boy and similar activities. 

Though these activities use the same parts of the brain as do assignments, children’s’ attentional patterns are very different.  The difference is not the content of the task, but the child’s feelings toward it.  They like computer games, so they can attend to them for a long time.  They dislike assignments, so their attention is highly trained to avoid the noxious feelings that doing assignments causes.  Sure, this is self-defeating behavior in the long run.  But, kids are not interested in the long run. Their concern is getting to the next recess, not college. Until the emotionally arousing interaction patterns around assignments, parents and school are corrected, making progress with academic content is very difficult, no matter what else you do.

Because of this, many expensive tutoring programs are unsuccessful because they focus on academic skills when the real issue is the emotions precipitated by assignments.  I'm not saying that academic skills deficits may not be a problem for these children.  But, I am saying that it is extremely difficult to assess or treat them until the emotional issues are resolved. ADHD

In the vast majority of cases that I treat, what has often been previously diagnosed as specific learning disabilities for math, reading, spelling etc. turns out to be nothing more complicated than a phobic response to these tasks. The phobic response causes arousal so the child cannot learn new skills or demonstrate the skills they already have.

Once these phobic responses are extinguished, their underlying skills become apparent.  Many of these children can suddenly read many grade levels higher, remember their multiplication tables, perform complex mathematical operations and, often for the first time in a long time, smile all the way through it. And, the smile is the most important part.  Once they feel competent, the sense of achievement and success naturally drives learning forward.  Learning becomes much easier.

If after the negative arousal is gone, it is apparent that skill deficits are still present because of a child’s long disengagement from the learning process, it is usually much easier to fill in the skill gaps. When learning is not impeded by negative emotions, the new information is much more readily absorbed.

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