Reading & Other Learning Disabilities

From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities

A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis

A Guest Post by

Louis Pica, Jr., Ed.D., Child Psychologist

Note: Louis Pica, Jr. was an outstanding child psychologist who worked tirelessly to help children and youth with learning, emotional, cognitive, and attention difficulties. Because Lou was practical, humane, and highly structured, the children with whom he worked benefited greatly. Below are several of his tips for helping parents of children with attention difficulties to monitor their children’s learning and to motivate them to succeed. In addition to attention difficulties, these tips have proven effective for children with learning, emotional, cognitive difficulties. Of course, you may want to modify these so they reflect your child’s stage of development and his school and home situations. But reading these, and then discussing them with a psychologist, learning consultant, or teacher, may be a good place to start. Thanks Lou. – Howard Margolis

Homework Book: It is absolutely essential to require children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders (ADHD) to use an assignment book. The following procedures should be employed:

• Parents should make arrangements with the teacher to check the book at the end of each day to insure that the assignments have been correctly recorded and for the teacher to sign the page to indicate the assignments were recorded correctly. It would be helpful if the teacher wrote all the assignments on the board—in the same place—for the child to copy.
• Parents should check the book after the homework is completed to insure that all the assignments have been completed. Parents should also initial the book to indicate that they checked the work and that it was done satisfactorily.
• Parents, with their child’s help, should set up a homework chart. They can use a simple block calendar or construct a more elaborate chart. This chart should be large and quite visible; it should be placed in the child’s homework area. For each night that the parents initial the book indicating that it was brought home, assignments copied, teacher initialed, and all assignments satisfactorily completed, parents should place a sticker, star, or check on the chart. The chart should be large enough to reflect at least a month’s worth of homework.
• In the summer, parents should have their child work to earn money; the money should be put in a jar and kept in a visible place. If the homework book is lost (or beamed aboard the Starship Enterprise), the money in the jar should be used to purchase a new book. For each week that the book is not lost, parents should add money to the jar; later, the child should use the money for something he wants.
• Parents should, with the child’s input, construct a list of favorite activities. This list should be posted next to the homework chart. The number of stickers or checks needed to gain access to the list for the weekend should be indicated on the chart. Initially, the number required should be set low and gradually increased as the child becomes more proficient at completing the homework assignments.

Homework Time: Parents should set a consistent time for their child to complete his homework. This time should be before 7:00 pm. During homework time, quiet is needed throughout the home; no TVs, radios, stereos, or other media should be on. The standing rule is that no electronic devices may be operated in the house (including Nintendo) until homework is completed. Completion means that the parent signed the homework book.

General Considerations: Parents should not allow homework to become an arena for hand-to hand combat with their child. The child has the right to choose to not do homework. The consequence is that he does not gain access to any pleasurable activities (e.g., television) that evening. In addition, he does not earn credit on his homework chart, which will impact his weekend activities.

Parents must convey—through a calm, firm, matter-of-fact emotional demeanor—that the child has a choice and it is the child who will be most affected by the consequences of his choice. Parents should remember that frequent and contingent verbal praise for appropriate school performance, even when it’s infrequent at first, is critically important to enhance performance. In the long run, yelling, screaming, hollering, threatening, punishing, and other punitive responses never improve children’s school performance.

While their child does his homework, parents should not sit with him. If their child is highly dependent on adult help, parents should spend a few minutes reviewing the assignment and directions to insure the child understands how to complete it. Parents can then tell their child to work on the assignment for a set amount of time and tell him that after the time has elapsed, they will return. The time between checks can be gradually increased until the child can get through all the homework with the parents checking only the final product.

Edited by Howard Margolis, Ed.D. www.reading2008.com