Good organizational skills and habits can help children with attention deficit disorder. Rather than dictating organizational strategies from above, work with your child to develop them together. As positive changes unfold, show your appreciation for your child's successes. Better organizational skills can not only help her become a more successful student, but they can also help build her sense of self-esteem.
Develop a Predictable Schedule
The American Academy of Pediatrics advises that children with ADHD follow a predictable schedule that's agreed upon by children and parents alike. Many children with ADHD become stressed by abrupt transitions from one activity to the next. If your child knows that she always studies from 4 to 6 o'clock, has dinner, helps with the cleanup and then is allowed to choose her own leisure activity from 8 to 10 o'clock, the transition between activities may become smoother. Prominently post the schedule and offer your child ample warning if the routine needs to be altered for special events.
Define What You Mean
Don't presume your child knows what you mean when you insist that he clean up his room or clean out his backpack. If his bedroom is in chaos, deciding what to do first and what goes where may be so overwhelming that he pushes back. What appears to be a defiant child may actually be a child who doesn't yet have the skills to approach the task.
Decide together what constitutes a clean room. Psychologist Peter Jaksa, director of ADD Centers of America, recommends you get concrete and write down the specifics. Perhaps you'll decide together that a clean room means all laundry is in the hamper instead of on the floor, wrappers and debris are in the wastebasket and toys and games are put in the closet after use. These kinds of specifics can be more meaningful and measurable than simply demanding he "clean up his room."
Reduce Distraction
Reduce stimuli during hurried times like mornings before school. Keep the TV and computer off to avoid the distractions that could derail your child's routine. If your child has a cell phone, make a rule that she can't use it in the morning until everything else has been accomplished and she's ready and dressed for the day.
