Growing Up on the Spectrum by Lynn Kern Koegel

Author:Lynn Kern Koegel
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin USA, Inc.

Homework

We know that making homework meaningful and practical increases the likelihood that a kid will complete it. If the teacher is open to suggestions and can easily make changes to the assignments, suggest that he use the kids’ names and fun examples on the problems—those little connections can really capture the kids’ interest while they’re doing their work.

But making sure homework gets done is your job. You don’t have control over what the teacher assigns, but if your child doesn’t like the assignment, you can improve his motivation by giving him choices, like where to sit while he does it, the order in which he completes his different assignments, the type of writing tool he uses, and so on. If it’s just too much for your child, you can always request that he be required to complete a only portion of the homework. And remember: always let him do a fun activity after he’s finished his homework, something that’s worth working for.

And last, organization is critical. Time management will help her the rest of her life. You don’t want to be a constant nag, but you do want to help her learn to organize herself so that you only need to check over things. Many kids on the spectrum are dependent on adults to move them through every step of doing homework. If your child expects you to walk her through her work, there are several ways to deal with the problem. First, many schools have afterschool homework clubs on campus. If your child needs to learn to do homework independently and to gain organizational skills, those can be IEP goals. If your child’s school doesn’t have any homework clubs, see if she can get a study hall where the teacher will work with her on independent completion of assignments.

If you want to work on this at home, first you’ll need to coordinate with the school to make sure your child is actually writing down the assignments and bringing the work home. Teachers can be a great help with this. Have them let you know immediately if your child isn’t completing assignments. We had one middle school girl who told her parents she had finished her assignments every night. It wasn’t until the open house that her parents learned she was the only student who didn’t have her work up on the board. While her parents fixed the problem by hiring a college student to help with organization and homework completion every day after school, many weeks had passed before they even knew there was a problem.

One quick note: many middle and high school teachers now post assignments online, which is a great fallback if you or your child wants to double-check what’s due. Unfortunately, online assignments cannot be relied upon completely because not all teachers post online and some forget to post assignments on a daily basis. Your child needs to get in the habit of writing down her homework assignments for each and every class—it’s an important skill and the most reliable way to stay on top of things.

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