Getting independent work done

[mitch1114]

My 10 yr old son is in ctc. I cannot get him to do his independent work. He has ADHD. I don't know if that is part of it. Does anyone have any experience, suggestions with a child with adhd who doesn't want to do thier work? Should I just do everything with him and not have him do any on his own? I'm frustrated. We went through this last year also.

[StephanieU]

First, if you post on the main board, you will likely get more replies.
Second, how are you approaching independent work? Have you done Preparing before?

With my kids, we start out going slowly, to make sure they understand everything. Then we move to full speed. They know they can ask about instructions at any time though. Also, we have a "schedule" which helps them know what they should do when. We aren't slaves to it, and often we don't follow it completely, but it is a good tool to help us get a routine going each year.

[mitch1114]

Yes, we did Preparing. We don't necessarily have a specific schedule. I have a child in LHFHG and one in BHFHG. So while I work with them in the morning I tell my older 2 that i expect them to do thier independent stuff in the morning so i can work with them in the afternoon on everything else. He knows he can ask questions and sometimes he does. But most of the time it seems like he's just wondering around the house or outside doing anything but schoolwork. My husband set up a table for him in the basement this morning (it's a finished basement and it is where my husband is working out of for now) and he actually got some stuff done.

[StephanieU]

I have found that I can't wait until afternoon to work with my oldest. I do start with my youngest (in LHFHG), but then I rotate through the other three (CtC, RtR, and WG). So the middle two only have 1-2 boxes to do before they meet with me. I do 30 minute chunks with each student, and often at the end of that 30 minutes, the "big ones" come to get independent things done. Especially with ADHD, having a long list to complete would be overwhelming! Start with expecting 1 thing done. Then move to 2. My oldest often comes to me with a HUGE pile, but she has always been very independent! My other two rarely come with more than 2 things done.

[mitch1114]

Thank you. That makes sense. I might try that next week and see how it works. My oldest has never had a problem getting her work done. I might try switching between my 8 and 10 yr old. Work with one for a bit then the other. Thanks. Its 430 right now and I havent even started with the T boxes with my 10 yr old. I was just hiding in the bathroom almost in tears. At least since setting up a table in the basement he has gone down on his own throughout the day to do some work.

[mitch1114]

Thank you StephanieU. I have been doing smaller chunks with each of the kids and rotating around. It's not perfect, but things are going a lot better. My 10 yr old is getting much more done in a day. I will keep tweaking the schedule till we find what works for everybody.