@futurebird in my chemistry class at 17 we had an exchange student who's first language was not English. To support them the teacher gave everyone a copy of her full class notes and all the equations for every session. In previous years she had written everything on the board while explaining concepts and expected everyone to copy it all down whilst learning. That year the whole class grade went up because she levelled the playing field for everyone not just the exchange student, people who struggled to write fast or copy accurately could focus on content. She carried on with the strategy in future years afterwards. If there's anything you can do to reduce demands and allow the student to focus on the maths (rather than writing or copying etc) I'd suggest that.

@futurebird On a semi-related note, that may or may not have anything to do with your post (but I think it does)...
I was friendly with someone a few years ago who joined a hiking group, for people of varying abilities, and found that when those at the front stopped to take a few minutes break while waiting for those at the back to catch up, those at the back would never get a break, because the group would set off as soon as the stragglers caught up.
This friend raised this with the group leaders, but they couldn't understand that, with her physical problems (arthritis in knees and hips, and asthma), walking for long periods was both slow and painful, and not getting even a few minutes respite occasionally made things worse.
Back to your post - I always found that maths came easily to me, I was always amongst the first to finish any assignment, and was racing way ahead of everyone else - but I also knew that not everyone worked at that pace, and they wanted a break as well after wrapping their brain around a new concept, so never pushed to go faster.
Hell, some of the people who struggled in maths lessons excelled in art, where I was the one struggling, so I knew exactly how they felt!

@futurebird

I had help, and when I didn't I dropped out.

But that's catching up after being behind for a while (when I had help, I did end catching up), not indefinitely struggle with a subject, so maybe not the same thing as what you're asking.

@futurebird
I like to remind people that it's more important to compare your current self against you in the past - how far have you come? Rather than comparing yourself to others, who are on different journeys than you are.

@futurebird at the time I started to study physics, I thought I’m too stupid to understand math. It’s been my friends that kept me going - and later, I finished mathematics with a diploma… I wouldn’t have been able to do so if they hadn’t been there.

@futurebird

for me it was the maths teacher who took the extra time to sit down with me and see that I had understood it, even if I wasn't as fast as the others at solving the problems. Just knowing that she knew that I could solve the problems but was just slow was enough.

@futurebird I stopped caring about grades and focused on what I could learn on the subjects. I developed this mentality not long after I started college.

There were subjects I had a low grade but learned more than subjects that had good grades.

@futurebird For me it was focusing on two things:

1. Whether I was good at something or not, was I learning? Maybe I was struggling, but at least I was taking in _some_ new (hopefully practical) information.

2. Focusing on the end goal. The class might be hard, but it was getting me to the next stage - in my education, in my career, in my hobby. The individual grade/test wasn't important, the class was moving me toward where I wanted to be.

@futurebird I didn't. I quit. I had a peer tutor, but it wasn't enough.

I studied art instead, then education...then ...architecture?

I work with math profs. When we drink and I ask them about math they tell me my questions are the best and that I'd be so good at math.

But like, I never opened a textbook after grade 7. In grade 6 Mr. W let the boys play video games while the girls worked from the textbook. In grades 7 & 8 I got D's. In HS the teacher quit 1/2 through so we all passed.

@futurebird I was such bad at mathematics because of a very bad teacher who horribly bullied us when we had questions, especially when we wanted to know more philosophical stuff (like ' did humans always had a zero?'). Unfortunately, nobody helped us in school time.
Very late, when I designed jewelry with paper art, inspired by natural forms, I suddenly learnt that nature is fascinating geometry and mathematics, and that I intuitively used the good old Pythagoras. Ictried to relearn it.
But the

I would add that "keep going" isn't always the right answer. But, if it is, how do you hang on through the (seemingly) unrewarding part of learning?

Set your own bars for success? Know that getting a C- when you started from behind is a big deal and harder than just getting As with little effort since everything has been just how you needed it for years?

I think sometimes when students can work through this stage they do get to the other side. It gets easier.

And yet. It's hard.