Does everyone have their boxing gloves on? If not, go get them because, as I promised last week, you are going to learn skills to punch Executive Function Disorder (EFD) in the face. Just to review, a student with EFD has trouble:
- planning out long-term projects and papers
- initiating tasks such as getting started on essays, projects, and studying for exams
- prioritizing assignments
- organizing materials in backpack and work space
- being punctual
- meeting due dates for assignments
- memorizing and retrieving information for tests
- retaining information and then using the information to perform a task such as remembering the steps for a formula while working on an algebra problem.
- writing a sequential, organized essay or story with rich details
A kid with EFD is easy to spot. His desk is crammed with papers, dissected pens and old, sticky fruit rollups. He is frantically pawing through all his folders and looking in the bottom of his backpack for homework he swears he did the night before. He hasn’t noticed everyone else has gotten out their textbooks and are busy annotating chapter three. He will inevitably start his poster on the American Revolution the night before it's due, leave the assignment sheet at school, and make his mother go to Walmart at 10 p.m. to get the poster board and stick-on letters he absolutely needs.
How do we take this mess and make a good student out of him? Well, it’s a process that may take the patience of Gandhi and a good sense of humor, but it can be done. It is imperative that parents and teachers work together to teach and reinforce effective strategies. These strategies should be introduced in the classroom and practiced at home. Here are some ideas you can try at home to help your child
- Teach your child to set an alarm — on his phone, if available — to help him transition to new activities and remind him that it's time to do something such as go to hockey practice, walk the dog or leave for the bus stop.
- All homework should be done in a place where parents can see if the student is doing his work and not trolling through Facebook.
- Teach him to have his backpack packed and his clothes laid out for the next day before he goes to bed.
- Have a daily set homework time and stick to it whenever possible.
- Check his planner each evening to make sure homework is done. If he did not write in his planner, have him check the online teacher blogs.
- Provide necessary school supplies for organization and keep extras on hand. Kids with EFD lose things so he may go through a box of pencils a week.
- Keep a supply of poster boards, markers, glitter, letters, and whatever else might be needed for projects.
- Encourage to-do lists.
- Clean out his backpack with him once every two weeks. Throw away anything that is no longer needed, and have him put everything else in the appropriate folders and binders.
- Keep a monthly calendar in plain view so he has a visual of how much time is left before an assignment is due.
- Be available to quiz him before tests, even if Downton Abbey is on.
- If your school district has an online gradebook, such as Powerschool, check it at the end of the week to make sure he is actually turning in his assignments and studying. If not, or if his teacher(s) is not great at keeping it updated, it may be beneficial to send an email at the end of each week asking for a quick update. You can use the information you receive to provide a weekend reward.
The idea is for these strategies to become second nature and for your child to perform them independently. It will take time, and you may want to beat your head against the wall from time to time, but keep at it. Remember, slow and steady wins the race.
Sue Schaefer, M.ED., M.A.T., founder of Academic Coaching Associates, is an Academic Coach, Student Advocate, and certified teacher. You may visit her website at www.academiccoachingct.com, email her at susan.schaefer@academiccoachingct.com and follow her on Twitter @sueschaefer1
Train them. It states: It is imperative that parents and teachers work together to teach and reinforce effective strategies. These strategies should be introduced in the classroom and practiced at home........The idea is for these strategies to become second nature and for your child to perform them independently. It will take time, and you may want to beat your head against the wall from time to time, but keep at it. Not sure I agree with adding another task to teachers that are supposed to teach all students and they are supposed to be ready to learn. I'm impressed, they prescribed no pills, just training that they should have had, you have to be taught these things, obviously many disorders can't be handled this easily. Based on that I have a hard time believeing this is a disorder and I don't think the scientific community would agree, it is a lack of common skills but everyones life experience is different, one child may learn how to repair autos at a very early age, one may learn how to organize, it is all relative to their life experience and environment, not a mental disorder.
who do you people think you are? This is America, where the First Amendment GUARANTEES MY RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH. GUESS WHO IS ATTACKING IT?? YOU AND PATCH, want to be involved in a Discrimination suit? I believe Patch and you both violated my rights. You have a right to live in your fantasy world. I have a right to live in reality and post things that hopefully make you think and question authority. That's is all I have ever been about, trying to get you people to think. Guess it was a wasted effort.
She should be able to set the record straight or add info.
And Bill is right, a "discrimination suit" requires a statute making you part of a protected class. Trolls, to date, are not a protected class.
As the parent of four children, all offered "training", i is obvious to me that one of mine has simply has required more training to become proficient in basic every day routines from a very early age. I read a book called "Late, Lost, and Unprepared" about kids with executive function difficulties which helped me with some practical suggestions and I have worked on many of the strategies outlined by the author of this article. The degree of patience required as a parent to deal with a kid or teen like this cannot be overstated. It is especially difficult when others JUDGE parents for either failing to adequately "train" their child (eg underinvolvement) or for being TOO involved . As parents, educators, coaches, or other adults involved in teaching youth I would encourage all to be patient and supportive of these kids as they mature (as most of these kids are able to pull it together over time and are often very intelligent). Also I would encourage all to be supportive of parents and other adults trying to help these kids. Would welcome any further discussion regarding the article..
My real concern with EFD is the name and I question the validity of it being a disorder. I think the name gives a stygma. Everyone is different, people who appear disorganized to some are actually geniouses, Albert Einstein is one that comes to mind. Look at the kid with autism that can play basketball better than anyone on the world. Perhaps we should focus on their gifts instead of their disorders?
I mock his moniker because for someone who is all about central planning socialism, which of course equals big government, he takes on the nom de plum of a mythical character who fought against the government. And let's face it, someone like Robin, or you, who hijacks a discussion about kids with disorders to first insult them and their parents and then rant about the government and the right, well that's a troll by and definition. Of course I'm guilty too, of feeding the trolls. You're right though, if I don't want to step in the goose droppings around the park, I shouldn't feed the geese. If I don't want to see that same excrement in print form, I shouldn't respond to you trolls.
Bill, you are the biggest troll of all. Thank God for Obamacare: now you can get the Prozac you so desperately need.
Billy, I would respect you a whole lot more if you posted under your real name and debated in a rational and civilized manner without relying on insults and name calling to drive home your argument. You might discover that you do indeed have some substance to your point of view and convince others as well. I must end this thread since this is getting us nowhere. My point is that both Democrats and Republicans rely too much on anonymous invective, insults, and name calling instead of presenting their positions rationally and identifying the source of their statements: their real names. Sources of statements always matter: it is a requisiite of scholarship and distinguishes informed thought from hearsay and opinion. Anonymous postings are not worthy of any consideration since their authors do not have enough conviction in them to identify their source. I am not a flaming liberal. I hold many conservative views, especially those that are financial. I believe most Americans would find more that they agree upon than disagree upon. If more of us assumed responsibility for our statements, and presented them in a more dignified, intelligent, and respectful manner, we might be able to overcome this division among the 99% that is getting us nowhere. My sincerest best to you, Billy.