Teaching Your Learning Disabled Child to Be Organized

Most people will read this title and think that this is an inborn quality. You are either organized or you're not. Being organized is a skill that you will use your entire life. This is especially important for your LD (Learning Disabled) child. Teaching your child organizational skills cannot only help them with their schoolwork but through their life as well.

A great many children that are considered LD such as autistic and ADD children have already shown to their parents a need for schedule and a routine. This helps do away with tardiness, forgetfulness, procrastination and not being prepared. Even public schools are now teaching this to the older elementary students as a way to stop the amount of late or not-turned-in schoolwork. Parents being consistent with this approach help considerably to re-enforce this life long habit within the child. Here are a few ideas that will help get you on the road to teaching your child organizational skills.

A daily agenda or schedule should be set up during the school day or, in case of some LD children who need routine at all times, for the entire week. I set up 7-day-a-week agendas for both my ADD daughter and my Asperger's Syndrome daughter and post them on the refrigerator. In this way, they know what is expected of them during the day, cannot say that they forgot and, in the case of my Asperger's daughter, feel the comfort of knowing that she has a routine that she can follow. Since I began writing out her agenda, she has less meltdowns and tantrums.

If the school has extra texts, it would be helpful to keep a copy at home. In this way, if your LD child forgets to bring home their books, there won't be such an emotional upheaval at home with homework.

Checklists that help remind your child the steps to procedures. Our house, to an unknowing visitor, looks like list central. We have lists in the bathroom for their morning routine, lists in the schoolroom of what my oldest needs to do to prepare for school, and lists in the kitchen for how to do certain things like 'how to start the dishwasher', 'how to wash clothes' and once upon a time there was a checklist on 'how to make toast'. You'll avoid a lot of headaches if they have a simple list to follow.

Give verbal prompts on what needs to be done beforehand. A good example of this is to ask what he or she needs to do that night. If your child answers," Grammar" then ask what do they need for their Grammar assignment. You might need to give verbal cues as to what is needed and that will help your child remember. This can also help if your child has a special event planned on a weekend. Ask what she needs for the following day and give verbal cues. You might have him or her lay out what they need for the following day instead of running around at the last moment trying to remember.

Give your child organizers, day planners, outlines, etc, to help him or her remember projects or school assignments. My ADD daughter takes a small day planner to school where, when the teacher informs the class of homework assignments, she writes it down immediately. She knows that if she waits she will most likely forget.

Make sure that you have positive communication with teachers, counselors, etc, at your child's school. This way you will know where improvement is needed and when improvement has occurred.

Always make positive comments when your child has succeeded in these methods and discuss (not command) where improvements can be made.

In older students, teach your child how to take notes and how to highlight important information.