From the article: ADHD and Homework: How Can I Help My Son Improve Focus?
Homework is often a challenging time for kids with ADHD. What tips have you found are useful in getting your ADHD child to focus during homework time? Share Your Tips
what helps my 13yr adhd daughter work
- She likes to meditate 10-20 minutes before working and meditates every other break. We are so glad we discovered meditation oasis on iTunes (these are free podcasts). They are guided which makes them easy and relaxing. Beware of TV and computer during breaks. My daughter says the bright screen makes her feel disoriented and unfocused after about 20 min.
- —Guest Getting past ADHD
Homework With ADHD Son
- When days come that he is not focused and does not want to complete homework, I make a game of it. For example, the other night he did not want to study spelling words nor do multiplication. I pretended to be a Census Taker and asked him if he had time for a short survey. I began asking him how to spell one of his spelling words. If he answered correctly I would make the comment, "That just cost me 5 points" and if he got close to the spelling of the word I would award him 3 points, yet review the correct spelling. At the end of the spelling list I would tell him the amount of points he earned. I also made rhymes for multiplication problems like 5x9. I asked if he knew this answer and he told me no. I replied "Sure you do", he just stared at me. I asked him "What shot Jesse James" his reply "A 45" Guess what he just answered 5x9. I do this for other problems like 4x9=36 Yard stick, 6+7=13 Bakers Dozen...
- —junehanna
Grandma of an Add grandson
- My daughter has had good progress with having my grandson do his homework in the same space each day facing a wall in a quiet area with no distractions. She has him explain exactly what he is about to do before he does it. For example: "I am going to do these 10 math problems and then bring them to you to check." Then he does them and she checks for accuracy before he proceeds to the next item. My daughter is upstairs cooking while my grandson is in the lower level family room. He must come up the stairs to show her his work. This movement is good for him after he has been sitting doing the problems. She could have him near her but the movement and noise of her preparing dinner proved to be distracting to him. He would often stop to see what she was cooking and get off track commenting on the smells as she worked. My grandson is 9 yrs old and in the 4th grade and is doing grade level work with accommodations during standardized tests. He is not hyperactive and gets an "A" in behavior.
- —Guest Angela
Motivation and Reinforcement
- My 15 year old son has ADD and went from D and E grades to C and B grades in 1 term. He had trouble planning, doing and handing in his work, so we set up a schedule where he recorded what tasks had to be done, recorded the length of time it took each night and self monitored with ticks. I would check that the tasks were achieved - if he achieved 3 nights in a row where he completed each task, he celebrated with a favorite activity (e.g. more time on the computer). We started with an achievable result then increased it to 4 nights in a row. Initially, you can start with 1 or 2 nights, then slowly increase. Then when he saw his school results, he saw that he was able to achieve this independently, and is now more motivated to keep going. It's important to be consistent otherwise interest will wane. Also change the reinforcers to keep things interesting.
- —Guest Karen
Homework Tips
- The best tip is to remember that each child is different, so you have to try different approaches until you find what works best for your child. With my 4th grader, we have to do homework as soon as he walks in the door, with rewards to be had when he's finished. With my 10th grader, however, I have to let him take his afternoon dose of medication and give him about an hour of free time before he can work effectively. In the meantime, ask the teachers to be patient with you and your child while you figure the whole thing out.
- —Guest cstupar
Homework and ADD
- I have ADD and both of my kids do, too. I know that silence fosters daydreaming and distraction. I know I work better with the TV or radio on, because it's like white noise that drowns out the distractions. It also makes it more interesting, so it's not so painful to sit there for a long time! Timers make my kids panic that the time is passing, so they can't concentrate on the work at hand. For me, the idea of rewarding myself after so many pages or problems worked well, though. Medicine helped my son immensely.
- —Guest bec1124
Tips on Homework Help
- My son is now in the fourth grade and the homework has become more intense. I notice if he does his work immediately when we get home, it is not a struggle later. A good quiet environment always helps. I try to let him do as much on his own, but I am only a call away if he needs me. Not every day runs smoothly, but if we stay with the same routine it makes it easier on everyone especially him.
- —babypinkcherise
Intermediate Goals
- I have found that if you set intermediate goals that must be met before getting a break it helps. For example - "write 1 paragraph and you can have 10 minutes of computer time," "work 5 problems and you can watch TV for 10 minutes," "read 3 pages and you can run around outside for 10 minutes." It gives them something which seems more achievable than the entire assignment. You break up the monotony, and they get small rewards along the way.
- —jdp0062
IMPROVING HOMEWORK TIME
- My 9 year old son has ADHD...before my son starts his homework, I tell him that he will be starting his homework within 15 minutes...this eases him into his homework time...I also make sure that there are no distractions - no TV or noise - basically a quiet area. I found that putting a timer for 30 minutes really helps him focus on his homework for that period of time. After the 30 minutes, I give him a 15 minute break...then he continues for another 30 minutes.
- —Guest Diana
