I used to forget things, lose things, and be generally disorganized as a student, so I understand this aspect of ADHD. My dad could never understand why I lost my weekly homework page, but those of us in the world with ADHD understand that one piece of paper is like the needle in the haystack.
As a teacher, I'm able to be sympathetic and helpful, never judging when my students need help writing down homework and packing up backpacks.
Now it comes full circle. G is unsure of his homework each evening and isn't bringing home what he needs. Boy oh boy. At least I can sympathize.
I'm lucky. His teachers and his classroom are right down the hall from me. When he comes in each afternoon, we check his backpack, and I'm able to determine if we need to get more information or some materials so that homework can be done. I'm able to just slip in to his room and grab things without much notice being taken.
I think there are some things that will help in the future. Second graders don't have a real agenda- they simply have a homework sheet that the teacher makes up each week. Most homework is on here, but math isn't listed since G goes to a different teacher for math. In third grade, he'll have an agenda that will list all subjects. Hopefully G's executive functioning will improve, and he'll be able to remember more than one thing for more than two minutes.
Until things get better, I can just keep coming along behind him and double checking, sneaking into classrooms, and asking teachers for more help and clarification. And I'll keep sympathizing with my parents and all the other parents out there that have to deal with this frustration.
No comments:
Post a Comment