The Exceptional Child
Try techniques to help your teen with learning disabilities focus
Homework can be tough for any teen. But teens with learning disabilities can find the task even harder.
That's a challenge for parents. How much help is too much? How can you help your teen focus on what she can do, rather than what she can't?
Here are ways to help your teen with homework without doing it yourself:
- Create a climate for learning. Kids with disabilities are easily distracted. That means you need to turn the TV off. Keep the study area free from clutter.
- Plan ahead. Teens with learning disabilities may always need help with planning. Buy a big calendar and keep it close at hand. Write down every step in a big project. If she needs poster board, help her plan a trip to the store.
- Be positive. Kids with disabilities receive many negative messages each day. See that your teen gets at least as many positive messages.
- Remind her of what she can do. If you look at her math homework and she only got two problems right, talk about those two. Have her tell you how she solved them. See if she can apply that same method to another problem.
- Acknowledge her feelings. If she's refusing to do homework, she's probably frustrated. Saying, "I know it's tough," can help.