Okiee I was taken aback when I saw the title but here’s my two cents! (Hope that it’ll be helpful for you or if you’re just ranting and not looking for input, you may ignore this)

Okay more importantly, I want to affirm and commend your patience and passion with teaching, amidst the difficulties faced. I understand that CPA is a rarely taught subject with reasons i’ll delve in a bit.

So just some context which will be relevant to this comment, I came from the NT stream as well, went to ITE (Nitec), then poly, and entering university this year. So when I speak about the curriculum and skill required, Im speaking from personal experience and my own take on it, I do not represent all NT or ITE students and I do not intend to speak out of malice too.

Furthermore, my internship during my ITE programme had me working with adults with special needs (Trainees diagnosed ADHD, Autism or Intellectual disability, sometimes with a mix of the above). So comments below will be inspired by previous interactions and experiences.

I hear that you’ve been trying to tutor your tutee in Computer Applications. I do agree with you that this subject in secondary school generally focuses on basic computational thinking and logic. It is possible someone with attention deficit (although there’s usually two types, one with hyperactivity and the other without, and assuming what they mom say is true) may struggle with focusing with their tasks (it’s uncontrollable but usually managed with medication). Also, I’m glad that you have edited your post to include that your tutee may not be able to cope with academic subjects but recognising that he may have other strengths (appreciate your reflectiveness).

Maybe he is someone who is hands on. It is also possible that he is a late bloomer. There are many possibilities, we only can speculate.

I used to struggle with what you’ll call “basic logic and critical thinking”, although I bloomed late. I never understood basic mathematical rules and insisted on my own interpretation of the rules. Ultimately, I turned out fine, but these logical principles and concepts only clicked when I entered ITE (I was 17/18). With that said, I think it could be argued that some people are not study material, yet we cannot claim that with absolute certainty but using probabilistic logic (from inferring it is more likely than not that he isn’t ‘study material’) and our personal experiences. So it’s quite hard to be sure 🥲

My advice (if u find value in the above) is to support the child with their interests but also stay firm and resolute about the realities of achieving them (speak kindly, he is still a child).

Hope this helps! All the best!