My son DOES not complete his schoolwork | ADHD Information

As far as the homework, can you go to school with him, walk into the classroom, and put the homework on his teacher's desk? Jessica N39908.4026967593

Hi- this seems to be a major issue with our children- the inability to finish schoolwork, settle down for homework and then being able to be organized enough to hand it in. Your son is not doing this deliberately and punishing him for this is not going to help. What may help is for you to become proactive for him: call the school and set up an appointment with the special ed teacher, guidance counselor, principal, teacher. Have your concerns written down and how you would like to see them addressed: ie, can't finish classwork- too many distractions, can't write and think, afraid of failure, maybe giving up. Write down what you would like the school to do about it: perhaps less written work, a quiet part of the classroom etc. The same with homework and any other concerns that you have. Get your son's doctor involved. Let him/her know your concerns for your son and ask his/her opinion and suggestions.

Maybe it is the time of year, also. Too much sugar is not good for our children and this is the time of year for it. Also, the change in seasons seems to make our kids even more sooooo than usual.

Hope some of this helps. Document everything you ask, every call you make, every person that you see.

Teachers say he isn't acting out- but he just does not finish his classwork.  He is not doing his homework either.  Sometimes they give him work to take home to complete and it never comes back in. Some of the assignments that are missing, I know he finished because I saw them.  He just loses them or doesn't take the initiative to turn the work in.  Other assignments he just doesn't do.  I am afraid he will flunk out of school.

He is nice and pleasant at home but is feeling bad about his grades and is a bit down in the dumps lately.  He has already had TV and video games taken away for over a month because of his grades.  Although we do let him earn some tv time for chores on the weekend (ie: he folded a basket of laundry and was allowed to watch a movie that night)  The only thing left to take away from him is soccer- and I hate to do that, as it is the one thing he is really good at. But I am at the end of my rope.

HELP?!?!

Oh- by the way- he is 11 and on 36mg Concerta.  We are seeing the doctor on Thursday. 

 

KidsInSpace39735.5753472222

I love the post-it idea.  He does have a planner and the teachers are signing it daily so I know he has written everything down. He also has a folder that he goes through each night- During the day all work, notes, and other papers go in the right side- when he gets home he makes 3 piles- 1 for recycling, 1 for work that needs to be completed or filed in his binder, and 1 for notes and papers for me.  All assignment that need turned in go on the left side.  So everyday- he comes hoe with his folder full of stuff on the right, sorts through it "completes" his work and then puts everything to be returned on the left side.  SOunds organized, right? Sometimes the folder comes home with all the completed work from the night before still in the pocket.  In some classes that will be a zero, in others he might get 50% for turning it in the next day.  The major problem is the classwork though- not the homework.  I can't be there to hold his hand in class and assignments don't get completed, don't get turned in... The big problem with homework besides not turning it in is that it will be semi-complete or a very lame effort, so I have to be more diligent about making sure that I understand the work so I can thouroghly check it (like HealingRain- reading the chapter). 

I agree that punishment isn't working- I said I was taking away things- but basically TV & video games are earned priveleges in our house and if you don't meet your responsibilities you lose them.  And like I said- he can earn some of that back, so I am not sure what the right path is as far as the discipline/reward situation goes.  Maybe I will lift the NO TV, NO VIDEO GAME ban and allow him to earn back screen time on the weekend if he isn't missing any assignments for the week.  The problem with that is that I am depending on 7 teachers to let me know if he is missing anything- so that is kind of hard to regulate.

Also, he has a 504- it says he needs to be seated near the teacher, check-in with guidance 2x per month, allowed use of stress ball and allowed movement breaks.  Not sure if any of this is helping- and not sure what could be implemented to help him further.

A few other ideas:
- You can ask the teacher or teachers to make sure he writes down all assignments that he needs to complete in his agenda/planner daily and/or you can ask that teachers send (email) a list of assignments with written instructions to you.
- He could have a special homework/take home folder where he puts all assignments that need to be completed. He could put assignments to do on one side and completed assignments on the other. That way everything is in one place.
- You can put post-it "flags" on completed homework that need to be turned in, which is hopefully a visual reminder to turn in work.
- I would sit down with him after school each day and go through the backpack, binders, and notebooks. I do this with my daughter, and there are often times when she is reminded of an assignment she'd forgotten. At this time I also put all the floating papers away where they belong, with her help. I feel this is helping to teach her to organize and plan.
- If your son is losing credit for turning things in late, you can ask that he be allowed to turn in late work. This, and some of the other ideas, could be part of a 504 if he has one or gets one in the future.
- Communicate frequently with teachers. It is nice to be able to email a teacher to ask if your child completed an assignment or to tell them that he completed something and needs to turn it in. If your school posts grades online, this can also be a great way to check on missing assignments.

I agree that punishment is not the answer. I believe it is more effective to take all the steps we can to help our kids do what they need to to succeed in school. I believe that they want to do well, but with the lack of focus and organization, it is so easy for them to forget, misplace things, fall behind, and become overwhelmed. My daughter is sometimes like an ostrich; when things feel overwhelming to her, she thinks that if she ignores it, it will go away.
Good luck!
If you have already taken things away from your DS and you say he is down in the dumps, I wouldn't punish him more.  I found that rewards worked well for my DS.  He is really motivated if he wants something.  Good luck. 

I sit with my son (13) every night.  We pull out the books, folders, papers,etc.  Then we go thru homework together.  I make him do all of his homework and then I check over everything.  A lot of times, I'll have to read the chapter in order to check over his homework.  Having me there by his side (not doing house work or cooking) is very important for my child.  If he doesn't understand something, I'm right there.  This way I know it's getting done and it's correct. 

The post-it notes on folders or homework (saying - turn into Mrs. Smith today) works well for him also.

 

kidsinspace,
It sounds like you are really organized and doing great things at home to help your son.
So if you feel that the problem is mostly with classwork, I would put the ball back in the school's court. Like you said, you CAN"T be there to make sure he does the work and turns it in.
 I would ask for a meeting to review the 504 and tell the school what you've said here-- that your son is having a lot of trouble completing work in class, that his grades are suffering (partly because of the issue of forgetting to turn in work), and that you are also concerned that he is feeling badly about himself. Then ask for suggestions on what can be done, including changes to his 504, to help with these issues. I would definitely ask that he not be penalized for turning in work late. Lack of organization and forgetting (due to attention issues) is part of ADHD. If he does the work and turns it in, he should get credit IMO. There could also possibly be some type of reminder system. Maybe the counselor could check on him daily to make sure he's turned in work in all his classes (?)
Good luck!

My youngest used to have a binder with folders for each subject (and 2 pockets in each folder). The teacher was to put the unfinished homework in the "to be completed" pocket and after the work was done it was moved to the "finished" pocket. This was supplemented with the planner. We could check all homework was in the folders and make sure it was finished and moved to the "finished" pocket. I was easier to keep track of and she learned to keep more organized with this.

We also had a reward program in place for all finished work and tests. This was part of our overall reward plan so she could get rewarded for all of the work she did. On heavy homework weeks she could look at her marble jar and see all the rewards for the work and plan how to spend it (video games, game or tv time, etc).