How to Teach Organizational Skills to Children With ADD
According to the New York University's Department of Neurology at the Hospital for Joint Diseases, attention deficit disorder (ADD) affects up to 9 percent of school-age children. Children with ADD often suffer from varying degrees of organizational difficulties. They tend not to follow instructions well and are easily distracted. Many times they neglect to remember their homework assignments or complete them at home but forget to turn them in the next day.
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Things You'll Need
- Pen
- Paper
- Binder
- 5-8 different colored folders
- Calendar
- Cell phone
- Voice-activated recorder
Instructions
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Write a to-do list each morning. Not only will it be a gentle reminder of what needs to be accomplished that day but it will help keep your child on track. Also completed to-do lists go a long way in building your child's self-confidence.
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Help your child create a binder to take to school each day. The binder should contain a different colored section for each class. Each section should contain a place for daily work, homework and completed work. Encourage your child to file each piece of paper they receive in the binder immediately.
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Keep a small calendar in the front of your child's binder to record any important dates, such as field trips or homework deadlines. If your child needs daily reminders for a task, such as taking his medicine or feeding the dog, consider investing in a cell phone where you can set multiple alarms.
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Purchase your child a voice-activated recorder. As they go through their day, have them record any important information, such as the fact that they are supposed to bring three dozen cookies to class on Friday. When they get home, sit down with them and replay the recorder together.
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Offer positive reinforcements by rewarding good organizational skills. As per "ADHD: A Survival Guide for Parents and Teachers" by Richard A. Lougy and David K. Rosenthal, you should use your child's interest to determine what rewards are most effective.
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References
- Photo Credit Nai./flickr.com
