Super Smart but Organizationally Challenged?
Is your child super smart but organizationally challenged? Maybe you don’t consider him or her super smart, but they sure are savvy- but they just don’t get as much back academically than they put in? Like a coffee strainer, most kids who work hard, get a robust experience out of school- however, children who have ADHD/ADD often seem smart but truly scattered- like a faucet running through a pasta strainer, they don’t often have much to show for their efforts. Truly this is due to the fact that most ADD’ers are kids who are organizationally challenged. They lack the tools to be independent and accountable thinkers, who plan and think before they act. They have difficulty with mental organization as well as physical organization. But with the right tools, they are highly effective students- who can do well.
Having spent over ten years working with these types of children, I thought I’d blog strategies we use with some of our ADD/ADHD coaching kids at Success4School in Cary. These are techniques and tools we teach to children grades 4-12- We teach what medication cannot- the life tools for coping, rising to the occasion- for getting it done, when it has to be done- for living and working with ADD/ADHD.
ORGANIZATION: System One. This first post is about organization, the first habit we teach. The student/child often feels this is least important, but parents sure feel better when it begins. It is the physical roadblock to academic success. A system is a way of doing something so that it becomes habitual and automatic when repeated over and over again to achieve a desired result. The last time you utilized a system with your child was probably when they were toilet trained- you don;t need to bring your fourth grader to the bathroom now- do you? So, your system worked- and they are successful and achieving your desired result- they independently use the toilet.
Start with the physical organization. If your child has a black hole- you know their desk , their book bag or their locker- January is a great time to drive them to school early with a locker shelf in hand and a garbage bag, to clean it out. A cluttered space often causes these kids a lot of anxiety. Next, clean out their binder with them- but teach them step by step how to keep it that way by setting up a Daily-Weekly-Monthly chart. Write down as you brainstorm with them what to do each day, each week, and each month to stay organized and on top of work; ie: daily: review each class’s work and file papers that are loose, weekly; record test scores and quiz grades on a grade tracker and keep track of their average, monthly: review vocabulary words from the month and build study cards or a study guide based on units covered so it does not have to be done at mid term time all at once. This chart will be a mainstay for them as it will also will be used to guide other daily-weekly-Monthly to do’s like chores, etc. Once you set up a system like this it can be flexibly used for other life things like chores, practices for soccer, etc. It is an organized to do from which your child will learn, with help, how to plan in a planner and frame their week. Mark with permanent marker what items go in each binder tab folder and create an “empty me ” folder for things that need to go home, and a “back to school” folder for items to be returned. Brainstorm in permanent marker right on the folder what items could go there: homework or signed permission forms, etc.
Have them create a physical location to keep their book bag when they come home with a luggage tag on the book bag marked with what comes home on one side and what goes to school on the other-or if the child feels this is not cool, label inside their locker and put up a chart above where the book bag stays at home with similar information.
Create a ten list- ten minutes to morning time, ten minutes from walking in the door from home time, ten minutes before bed. This strategy helps create a short list of things to be done right before a transition. It does not contain things the child already does well, but essential things they are missing:
Morning Ten: consists of the final ten minutes prior to walking out to the bus stop:
book bag, snack, lunch, bathroom, coat, etc. It’s a quick list. They can be sung, rhymed, or written on a chart in a central location. This can be done for bedtime too or for when your child comes right home.
Establish a dump zone for things in their room which need action: clothes to be hung, toys to be put away, and make going through this bin as part of their daily ten. They will eat away at the bin three times a day, with less fuss-especially cutting down the dreaded “clean you room” request, which seems to lead into a nostalgic journey down “let’s see what I’ve played with or done this week in my room” activity instead.
Bottom line: Focus on the physical first, all other organization can come following.
