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Tactics
Tackling Homework With Your ADHD Child
by
Lorna d’Entremont
Bio: I am a retired teacher with 30 years in elementary
grades. Special needs interests me as a mother and
grandmother of children with Tourette and sensory
perception issues. I have a blog
http://kidcompanions.blogspot.com/ and tweet
about Special Needs and family in general. My daughter
and I designed and sell an oral-motor tool for sensory
seekers at
www.chewelry.ca. Our Kid Companions are also handy
fidget tools for ADHD. My second career and being a
grandmother keeps me young at heart.
By referring to the characteristics of a child with
Attention Deficit (Hyperactivity) Disorder, you should
be able to furnish an efficient, study nook for your
child and establish a set of guidelines to make everyone
happier about the thorny issue of homework.
These are the main characteristics of a child with ADHD:
impulsive behavior, inattention, hyperactivity,
disorganization, hyper-focus, or forgetfulness. This is
what you and your child are working against so
counterattack each tendency.
Why Have a Regular Routine
Have a regular routine for doing homework so that there
are no arguments every day. Your child knows when it is
time to do his homework and he knows where he does it.
Allow for movement breaks and be nearby so you can
quickly explain a detail misunderstood so he can move
ahead. You surely want your child to have a positive
attitude about accomplishing his assignments.
What Features Should the Study Nook Have
The study nook should be quiet, away from family
activities and be stripped of distracting objects.
Depending on the type of work, your child can sit in a
chair, sit on the floor, lie on the floor or stand. If
you have space, you could have more than one type of
chair or stool and more than one height of working
surfaces. Be sure that your lighting is just right and
the lights do not hum or flicker in intensity. Provide
fidgets, like Kid Companions, worry stones, silly putty
or glued Velcro strips on or underneath the table to
busy the hands to allow the brain to focus on the main
task
.
What Homework Tools Work Best
The tools of the trade---simplest is best! Have
sharpened, ordinary pencils ready. Do not have any
colorful, mechanical pencils to take away his focus. The
same applies to his other ‘tools’ for homework. Make
sure all he needs is right in his nook because you want
his study session to be productive and as short as
possible.
How to Know About the Assignments
All this physical readiness is useless it your child
does not have an organized manner of knowing what his
homework is each evening. Moreover, the necessary text
books have to be brought home or make an arrangement
with the school to have extra texts at home. Be sure
that the child, the teacher and you, the parents, have a
plan so you are all on the same page. Some schools have
a weekly list of work to be done at home. Others have
students write their assignments is a plan book that
‘lives’ in the book bag so it is at home each evening.
In this day and age, some schools have web sites with
all communications with parents done electronically.
How to Organize the Work for Different Subjects
With your child and teacher, decide how the use of
colored folders or thicker binders can make it easier
for your child to sort, store and find what he needs.
Label everything with the same color system and easy
read print so book, scribbler, or notes are where they
should be when he needs them.
What to Do When the Homework Takes Too Long
 All
this preparation is to make sure the homework sessions
do not turn into a nightmare. If the required work is
absolutely too much for your child, meet with the
teachers and have a study contract drawn up so less is
done but the requirements are still met. Another
accommodation could be a longer due date. However, do
not put your child in the position that his classmates
see he is treated differently.
It is of upmost importance that your child continues to
blend in with his peers. All strategies implemented to
assist your child with his homework have to go unnoticed
by his classmates.
By striving for homework quality instead of quantity
your child will feel better about himself, about school
and especially about homework.
What approach works best in your home to get homework
done?
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