Parents of children with ADHD are faced with unique child-rearing challenges -- and issues such as lost homework, unexpected outbursts, and behavioral issues at school can cause these parents to feel as though they're always playing catch-up.

In a Feb. 10 article on examiner.com, Devona Fryer advises parents of ADHD children to use their need for organization as a jumping-off point for revamping the family's behavior patterns for the benefit of all family members:

Map out how you want your mornings, afternoons, and evenings to go. Figure out what goals you are trying to achieve. Having things mapped out in a time scheduled format is best and you have a greater chance at success if you stick to time guidelines. ...

If you are having trouble putting your children to bed, try establishing a bedtime routine; such as, brushing his/her teeth before bed and then settling them down with story time. ... Change will take time. Find out what works best for your family. This new system will help more than just your children; the whole family will benefit and know what to expect.

Labels: behavior, parenting, family, organization

Posted By: Aspen/CRC 1 Comment

More than four million school children in the United States have ADHD. For many of them, medication is an important part of their treatment. It shouldnt, however, be their only treatment.

"Doctors who treat children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder said structure in the classroom and at home is vital." Columbus, Ohio news station 10TV reported. "Doctors recommend also including organization, prompts to keep kids on task and even checklists so they can follow their routines."

According to the 10TV report, Dr. Daniel Coury also suggests having students complete homework as soon as they get home so that theyre not having to stay focused later at night when medication may be wearing off.

Labels: organization, structure

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Life is busy and hectic for every family. But for families of children who have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder children, organization and structure are even more important. A new website, Organizing For ADHD, aims to help parents by offers suggestions for keeping the house in (reasonable) order.

"The more stuff we own, the more difficult it is to find places to store it all. When this happens, sometimes our things enter spaces that they don't belong, and the kitchen becomes the playroom. One easy fix for this problem is to designate rooms or spaces in the house for each activity."

Sample pieces of the advice offered on the site include the following:

• If your child is young enough to have toys, consider sorting through the toys and putting them in plastic, see-through bins. This will make it easier for your child to find the toy he wants without dumping the whole bin onto the floor.
• For older children, start putting homework right in front of the door. That way, they are less likely to forget it.

Source: eMaxHealth

Labels: organization, tips, families

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

"Executive function" refers to the brain's ability to take in and organize information in ways that allow a person to accomplish goals - whether short or long term. A helpful analogy might be to think of executive function as performing the same tasks for the brain as a conductor does for an orchestra - organizing and guiding different instruments to play alone or together, loudly or softly - to accomplish the goal of playing a certain piece of music. Deficits in executive function may cause academic problems for students with ADD or ADHD.

"Although the impact of executive function deficits on school success is profound, this fact is often unrecognized by many parents and teachers. I learned the hard way with my own son that a high IQ score alone is not enough to make good grades."

In particular, poor working memory - one attribute of executive function - affects a student's ability to recall past events, prepare adequately for upcoming events, remember instructions, or memorize facts. Students with ADD or ADHD will greatly benefit from modified lessons that take executive function issues into consideration. Writing demonstrations, active learning techniques, and modified testing are just a few.

Cedars Academy is a specialized boarding school for non-verbal learning disorder (NLD) and Asperger's. Learn how they can help your child today at CedarsAcademy.com.

Labels: schools, organization, academics

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Alex Regenold was handling school pretty well until he entered fifth grade. Then, the increased homework and papers became too much for him to keep track of, and his ADD made matters worse. His parents tried a handful of organizational programs but nothing worked, so they made one of their own.

The system they invented (patent pending) is smart in its simplicity. Pockets labeled ‘Turn In’ and ‘To Do’ sandwich a color-coded assignment notebook.

A student assigns sticker labels with a class name, in chronological order of their classes, to each of the colors. Handouts (but not homework) from the classes go into corresponding file folders of that color.

Everything fits neatly in a briefcase-shaped bag that’s big enough to tote a few books, but that doesn’t become a bottomless pit of forgotten stuff. [Source: Des Moines Register]

The first semester he used the system, Alex’s grades went from Ds to Bs and As, and his parents were getting requests for their organizational system from parents and teachers. His parents started mass producing the system, tentatively called School PLANit, in 2009.

Labels: students, schools, organization

Posted By: CRC Health Group 1 Comment

Whether you homeschool or send your kids out of the house to get their education, organization is key for students with ADD/ADHD. A new trend that is designed to promote organization among autistic homeschooled children can help.

The trend is called Workboxing… The reason the workbox system can work for students with [ADHD] is because each drawer gives the child a clear beginning and end to the task. They open the drawer and remove the assignment, complete it, and move it to another drawer or basket.

Or they can put it back in the same drawer and close the drawer again. They must complete that task before moving on to the next task in the next drawer. [Source: Fort Wayne Homeschooling Examiner]

The benefit of this method is that is keeps the student focused on just one task. Rather than having all his books, notebooks and paperwork out simultaneously, only one assignment is visible at a time. It also keeps ADD/ADHD kids from getting distracted while digging through messy backpacks looking for homework.

 

Labels: autism, students, organization

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 1 Comment