But The Dog Ate My Homework
Wednesday 7 November 2012
Thursday 4 October 2012
Helping Children with ADHD Tackle Homework
Imagine
being at a theater to watch an orchestra perform. This particular orchestra has mixed reviews: when
they concentrate they are amazing! But when they have difficulty communicating
they are horrendous. The musicians take
their starting poses and the conductor raises his baton, which suddenly falls
to the floor. Everyone is frozen; the proper ‘go’ signal has not been given. The conductor grabs hold of his baton, gives
the ‘go’ signal and the music begins.
The entire orchestra, however, seems anxious and communication
difficulties persist. As the melody
continues to be out of tune, the conductor abruptly gives the ‘end’ signal and
runs offstage. He feels like a failure
and resolves to quit his job.
Now
imagine you are a child and the conductor in your brain is having communication
difficulties, just like the conductor of the orchestra. Quitting life is not an option so what do you
do? Welcome to the mind of a child with
executive functioning weaknesses, one of the core deficits of ADHD.
The
brain’s conductor, or our executive functions, control our actions and emotions,
such as our ability to take initiative, manipulate between sets of information,
problem-solve, plan, organize tasks and materials, and self-monitor (control impulsivity
and hyperactivity). These are all key
parts in becoming successful and independent.
But what should we do when the brain’s conductor is having a hard time
doing his job, especially in the case of children? Is success possible? The answer is absolutely YES! They just need our help… especially when it comes
to homework!
Homework
can be difficult and frustrating for children with ADHD since it involves the heavy
use of executive functions. There are
lots of steps involved:
-The
homework must be written in the agenda.
This in itself involves finding the agenda, figuring out the date and
writing down the work (usually while looking back and forth between the board
and the agenda—and at all the distractions in between).
-The
proper materials must be brought home. This involves finding the agenda,
remembering the date, turning to the proper page, reading the homework,
remembering the materials needed, finding those materials, and putting
everything into the backpack.
-The
homework itself needs to be broken into smaller steps and organized.
-The
child must do the homework, assemble
it and place it in the backpack.
-The
work must be brought to class and handed in.
Children
can become very frustrated and discouraged when doing homework. Let’s use these strategies to set them up for
success!
1. Plan a schedule that is non-negotiable
Children with ADHD need a firm, consistent
schedule. With your child’s help, make a
list of things to be done after school: homework, play/free time, supper,
shower, bedtime, etc. Then, together, design
a schedule giving each activity a time slot and post it in plain sight. You can
also come up with a plan/secret word to remind everyone to stay on schedule!
2. Set clearly defined expectations
By setting specific expectations for your
child to follow, homework can become structured and stress free! Expectations should be discussed in a
positive manner and everybody working with the child (parents, babysitter,
tutor, etc.) should be on the same page.
3. Make a ‘cool-down’ zone
Pre-designate an area for your child to express
frustration. Place a blank piece of
paper across from the homework area and explain that if your child feels frustrated/angry,
to walk over to the paper, write down or draw out the problem, take a deep
calming breath, and then return to the homework. Once the problem is put down on the paper, it
is left there. This is not a punishment but a special gift of
support.
4. Develop a meaningful reward system
When developing a reward system, involve your
child to ensure that he/she is working towards something meaningful. Also, remember that rewards do not always
have to be material things! Kids love
earning 20 minutes of special one-on-one time with a parent, a short extension
on free time, or a visit to the movie theater.
5. Keep to your word!
Remember that consistency is key! You must
follow through on both positive and negative consequences, even if your child
tries to negotiate, throws a fit and/or promises to do better next time. Also, if you must give a negative consequence
it should be short and appropriate. Praise, on the other hand, can be more
outrageous and loud!
Keep
in mind that what works for one family does not work for all families. Stay focused, keep your head up and with hard
work, perseverance and creativity, homework will
become easier for everyone!
Robin Bernstein is a life, academic
and ADHD coach for youth. For more information about her services and upcoming
workshops please visit www.brightsidelearning.com .
Friday 15 June 2012
Tuesday 15 May 2012
Who have you inspired recently?
Inspiration: to produce a feeling or thought to inspire confidence in others.
I once asked a very wise woman if
she thought that I would be successful in the helping profession, even though I
carried a lot of personal baggage. It
was something that I was always worried about: how my self-esteem issues would affect
my ability to help others. What this
very wise woman told me was surprising: “Of course! I don’t know anyone that enters the helping
profession that has not overcome challenges.”
I consistently need this type of positive reinforcement and feedback to be
assured that I am doing the right things and not sabotaging my own
success. And even when the feedback IS positive, I have a hard time
believing that someone could have that type of encouraging response about me: have I really succeeded and have
people really begun to regard me as valuable? I consistently have difficulty believing what
I am hearing and seeing. That is why I
became even more stunned when the very wise woman told me that she had read
some of my blogs and that nobody would ever be able to tell that I carry this
type of baggage with me. And this got me
thinking: Why do people do things? What
is their motivation? What do they get
out of it? And what does it take to
give?
What’s interesting is that a lot
of people who give do not even realize what they are doing. At Inspirations Newspaper, for example,
Mike Cohen, Wendy Singer and Yibing Shen may only be beginning to see how
important and life changing their work is.
Inspirations Newspaper, sponsored by the English Montreal School Board,
is distributed twice per year and provides readers with a snapshot of
Montreal’s special needs community. The
newspaper’s name is fitting, as it itself details stories of inspiration, hope
and success. But the people who are
responsible for sharing these incredible heart-warming stories are equally as
special and inspirational.
After including special needs
angles in a travel column that he was writing for Exceptional Family, a
magazine sponsored by the Miriam Home, Mike Cohen felt as though he was
providing a specialized service to families.
It was this feeling that motivated him to approach the Director of
Student Services at the English Montreal School Board, Lew Lewis, to propose
the development of a publication addressing the local special needs community
in Montreal. Known as a go-getter who
makes things happen, Cohen convinced the EMSB to sponsor and provide funding
for the publication now known as Inspirations Newspaper. Starting as a 12 page version with a few ads,
it has filled a void in Montreal’s special needs community. With the addition of Wendy Singer,
Coordinator of Operations, and Yibing Shen, Layout and Design, along with
various other contributors, the publication has grown rapidly and has received
extremely positive feedback and praise.
What makes Inspirations Newspaper
truly unique is that the people who are responsible for the publication are
inspirations themselves. Since
developing a relationship with Inspirations Newspaper over the past few months,
I have gained a confidence that I never thought possible and reached new personal
achievements that I never felt worthy of; I actually feel valuable. And to think it all started with a short
Facebook message from Wendy: “Hello Robin, Welcome to the Inspirations Facebook
page! I remember reading your blog about The Big Blue Hug and thought it was
wonderful.” This produced a feeling and
thought that inspired confidence in me, thus proving what the true definition
of inspiration is really about.
To find out more about Inspirations
Newspaper and view their latest publication please visit: www.inspirationsnews.com or www.facebook.com/inspirationsnews
.
Thursday 3 May 2012
Saving Education in Quebec
EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT
IT! Post secondary students in Quebec
are on strike and are protesting against a 75 percent increase in tuition! Stay tuned to find out what will happen next
in this saga between the government and its student population— actually, you
can now find out more from your choice of the following sources: city news, provincial
news, national news and international
news.
That’s right folks: Quebec is
making quite a name for itself internationally!
But isn’t it time that we begin making a positive name for ourselves around
the world? Shouldn’t Quebec begin to act as a positive trendsetter in the realm
of education instead of smearing its dirty political business all over
international headlines? Well here is my
little secret: I have a plan that could save our education system and turn our province’s image
around!
Here is my proposal:
If the government does not back
down on raising tuition fees, university students should accept the increase of
$325 per year over the next five years (totaling $1625), on the condition that
the Quebec government agrees to increase its contribution to elementary and
high school funding for each student by $325 per year for five years. Then, after the five years, both the students
and the government’s contributions will increase based on the cost of
living. I, for one, think that this plan
is genius! If the government will not
let up, at least hold them responsible for their spending! Not only would the government get its way,
but it would also directly be responsible for improving the quality of
education in Quebec. Imagine a
government whose legacy was an improved education system? What a dream.
Here is a Technicolor version of
my dream: I envision a society where elementary and high schools have all of
the resources that they need. This
includes textbooks in all official languages, adequate supplies and proper
technology. These schools would also
have teachers that were dedicated and passionate about their jobs and who were
being paid for their value and worth (since the cost of education in Quebec
would now be almost at par with the rest of Canada, so would teacher
salaries). There would be small class
sizes, where students would thrive in safe, positive environments; they would
learn based on their learning styles and receive individualized attention. Also, all students with special needs,
learning disabilities and behavioral problems would have the necessary
resources allotted to them, for as long as they would need. Additionally, there would be a full-time
guidance counselor, social worker and nurse at every school, as well as the
implementation of effective social skills programming. Children would learn the skills they need in
order to achieve success, thus decreasing the incidences of bullying and
violence. These programs would also help
increase the building of personal relationships, which would in turn increase
levels of self-esteem and motivation.
The end result: happier, better educated high school graduates.
I imagine a Quebec society where
the school system is superior to the rest of the world. This society would be a place where being ‘at
par’ with everyone else would just not be good enough. So, who’s ready to make
a deal? I sure am.
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