Homework Strategies for Kids with Learning Disabilities
In this article, you’ll read about developing homework strategies for special needs student, including:
- How organizing a homework area can help your child focus
- How the right tools can help your child succeed
Homework provides additional learning time that teachers in Crystal, MN, use to help strengthen study habits and organizational skills. Buckling down and focusing on work when they could be playing makes it challenging for children, even when they don’t have a learning disability. Homework for special needs students can be frustrating for them and their parents. Understanding how your child’s disability affects learning can provide insight that allows you to use strategies that can help you both handle schoolwork at home.
Our Effective Homework Strategies
Use Effective Communication
Setting up clear lines of communication between you and your child’s teacher, such as touching base weekly, is a critical part of successful homework strategies. Sharing information, discussing expectations and concerns can help you work together for your child’s success. You can define homework goals better and help ensure the work completed at home reflects their classroom work. This can keep your child on track.
Create Structure to Help with Organization
At home, in an environment where they are comfortable, children have difficulty focusing on homework. They may need guidance and structure, similar to the classroom. Here are some organizational strategies to help with homework completion in Crystal, MN.
- Limit distractions such as the television and phone
- Create a space designated for homework, stocked with all of the supplies your child needs
- Establish a daily routine and schedule that includes snack time and unwinding
- Use a calendar or assignment book that you develop with the teacher to keep track of daily assignments
- Set a schedule that allows enough time to finish the homework
Hang a homework completion chart where your child can see it and mark an “X” whenever an assignment is complete. This gives them visual confirmation of their progress.
Children are often anxious to finish assignments and move on to something more fun and may require your supervision. Make sure the homework is in their backpack or where they will be sure to pick it up the following day. It’s common for children with learning disabilities to fail to turn in assignments and frustrating for everyone when they work hard on the homework and then do not get credit. Arranging with the teacher to collect the assignments due immediately upon arrival at school can help ensure your child gets credit for their work.
Utilize Technology to Help
Sometimes, keeping it simple with low-tech tools, such as rulers and colored paper works best. Using a sheet of paper to hide the problems or words that your child is not working on can help them focus on one item at a time. For children with motor skills challenges, using raised line paper can help them understand where the words are supposed to go. Weighted pencils can help them press harder for the desired results.
However, there is some surprisingly affordable technology available that can help your child learn in their own way. Software programs can help break down the number and word concepts, making them easier for your child to understand.
Be there for Guidance
Some students benefit from help getting started on their homework, while others need more guidance to keep them focused. Although it’s helpful to point out errors, try guiding rather than correcting them. Offer ways to help them sort out the problem but don’t give the answers.
Read the directions and complete the first few items together. Observe your child working through the next few problems and then leave the room, letting them finish the assignment independently.
Homework for special needs students in Crystal, MN, can become frustrating very quickly for everyone. Patience is the key to staying calm and ensuring your child has a study environment filled with love and support. Contact us to learn more about how we can help your student succeed in school.