Help- My son was diagnosed with adhd about a year ago. How do you get an adhd child motivated or focused so that he can concentrate on work. He goofs off and does his work half-xxx. He has been test on IQ and to those who know him can know that he is extremely smart but his school work shows otherwise. It is so frustrating to see a child who is so smart-fail. We started him in a school that was specially for the adhd child (came highly recommended) but had to pull him out. they were so disorganized and did not attempted to help him. He is in the fifth grade and when he brought anything home it was 2nd and 3rd grade work. It only made things worse. He is on concerta but his self esteme is so low, I do not know what to do. HELP
I would discuss with the doctor to see if the meds are the correct dose and covering all the needed times (meds must be taylored to the individual's needs).
Also, look at the thread called Ogram's marble thread. It is a positive reinforcement behavior plan. Basically you reward for the bahviors you want to see. We used to have homework battles with my daughter and taking away things did not help. She is now on conerta and gets marbles for all completed homework; she gets a bonus if it is all done before I get home from work (this has stopped the fights between her and her dad during that time period).
Rebbecca, I know how frustrating it is. My 11 DS drives me nuts with his work too. He does do most of his work (if he doesn't I dock his allowance - money means a lot to him right now) but then he loses it. The work that does get done is so sloppy and poorly done. You may not be able to read it, but all the pictures drawn all over the page sure are nice to look at. He will "forget" to do 5 questions out of 10 and then has a fit if you tell him he needs to finish. Making him re-do sloppy work results in temper tantrums, lots of tears, arguing, and ultimatums that result in a worse looking paper and a rare slight improvement. It seems so not worth even trying.
I am sorry I have no magic answer for you - just wanted you to know that you are not alone with your frustrations. I will continue to monitor others comment and hope someone can provide some helpful options that I haven't already tried.
yes i am of 16 yrs of age. i slack off on my homework if i do not come home and IMMEDIATELY start it. i will find any excuse to just .. not do it. also is his medicine of a high enough dosage? i take 54mg and sometimes i myself feel it COULD be increased more! its enough to make me do my work when i am told so. if motivation is your problem.. anything goes.. if he has game systems, tell him you'll buy him a special game he likes. if he makes an improvement in one class do something special for him or her for that matter. anything really helps no matter size, just as long as they know your going to appraise them if they achieve it. sometimes saying it is different from knowing it.