Have your child make a plan for when or how the task will get done.
Peg Dawson and Richard Guare in Smart but Scattered
I lead teams at the intersection of strategy and design. Autodidact. Polymath. Barbecue acolyte. I start fires (the good kind).
Have your child make a plan for when or how the task will get done.
Peg Dawson and Richard Guare in Smart but Scattered
Youngsters with weak task initiation also often have weak sustained attention—not only are they slow to get started on homework, they also are likely to quit before it’s done. These children generally have weak goal-directed persistence. However, we’ve found that if goal-directed persistence is a relative strength, we can encourage the child to use that skill to override his weaknesses in task initiation and sustained attention. These are the kids we can spur on to get their homework handed in consistently if we tell them that they can earn points for handing in homework on time and, once they have enough points, they can buy that video game they’ve been hounding us about.
Peg Dawson and Richard Guare in Smart but Scattered
Create plans for your child when young. Use the expression “Let’s make a plan” and then write it out as a series of steps. Better yet, make it a checklist, so the child can check off each step as it’s completed.
Peg Dawson and Richard Guare in Smart but Scattered
Once you and your daughter set up the desk as desired, make clearing off the desk part of the bedtime routine—initially, with on-site monitoring and supervision and eventually with reminders to start and check-ins when she’s finished. You may find it helpful to take a photograph of the space when you first set it up, so your child has a model to compare her work to. The last step in the process might be for your daughter to look at the photo and see how closely her desk matches it.
Peg Dawson and Richard Guare in Smart but Scattered
Prompt prioritizing by asking your child what needs to get done first. Ask questions like “What’s the most important thing you have to do today?”
Peg Dawson and Richard Guare in Smart but Scattered
There are two sets of metacognitive skills that you can help your child develop. One set involves the child’s ability to evaluate her performance on a task, such as a chore or a homework assignment, and to make changes based on that evaluation. The second set involves the child’s ability to evaluate social situations—both her own behavior and others’ reactions and the behavior of others.
Peg Dawson and Richard Guare in Smart but Scattered