Homework Focus Issues

I have my 9 year old ADHD son sit at the kitchen table to do his homework while I fix dinner. I have him sit in a chair so that he can't see what is going on in the rest of the house. If I catch him goofing, I remind him to get busy again. If there are younger siblings in the house, it does get really hard to keep them focused though. I have a 2 year old and a 4 year old. I try to keep them out of the kitchen and as quiet and occupied as possible. Sometimes it is impossible to keep them quiet. We are currently switching from Concerta to Strattera and I hope that it helps.

Hopefully she is attempting her homework within 1-2 hours of eating and no later. Low blood sugar will cause lack of concentration and memory issues.

Magnesium and b12 are both needed for brain/nerves and it is a common deficiency which can cause lack of concentration, brain fog, etc. B vitamins give energy, so I dont give them past 3pm, but if she could give LIQUID b complex and LIQUID b12 UNDER THE TOUNGE in the morning it would help. That is the best place for them to be absorbed. She can give the magnesium (pill form is fine) later in the day. Magnesium malate or citrate is good.
Dehydration is a biggie for the brain, since it is mostly water, it MUST maintain hydration. The body will shunt water to the brain from other areas,(skin, colon, lungs) if it gets a low water signal, but if those areas are low too, then it is still not enough water and the brain will be affected with its ability to think clearly.

I homeschool 3 kids, and I will tell you that during those younger elementary grades all kids have trouble focusing on bookwork, especially at the end of a long day. A child who didn't I would consider 'superkid.' It would be like an adult who hated math , doing algebra at 8pm after an entire day of brain duty at work. We'd dilly dally too!

As they get more mature they have a greater ability to manage their time, and will be more likely to get it done than to dally around. 3rd and 4th grade are magic years for dilly dally. There is simply no reason to put every kid on ADD medicines like what is happening in our current era, when these are natural traits for most kids.

This is not uncommon, especially for the begining of 4th grade when students make a leap from learning to read and write to reading and writing to learn. That requires a different skill set.

The skills that make her an exceptional student are not the same skills that she uses to stay focused or to work independently. The skills that it sounds like she may be having trouble with are those of executive function, and very smart people can have this issue and still be very, very smart.

Mom should speak to the teacher about what is going on in class, as the year goes on, many of these issues may overwhelm her ablity to cope with the new challeges of 4th grade, and Mom does not want it to get that far. Home is not going to be the only place she has this issue, so a close working relationship with the teacher is going to be essential and Mom should meet with them ASAP to discuss what she is seeing at home. A neuropsycholgical evaluation would be the best way to pinpoint exactly what will help her to learn more effective executive functioning, as a very smart child who is probably not showing significant educational need in school, Mom will proably have to pay for this evaluation privately, but it is not out of the question that the child would qualify for something called a 504 plan and some assistance with these issues based on the private evaluation.

Especially if Mom is spending a great deal of time (more or less-acting as her daughter's executive functioning) and that this is causing tension, she should assume that it will only get worse without targeted interventions (because it will) so first, she needs to identify what is really going on via evaluation.

M.

Just a note, no child should be put on ADHD medication without a full psycho-educational and medical evaluation, and medication is only appropriate as a part of a comprehensive theraputic treatment program. The concept that too many children are improperly diagnosed with this condition is inacurate and damaging and may discourage those parents who are seeking advice about the appropriate way to treat this very real, very serious, very dibilitating, and very treatable condition.

That there may be practitioners who diagnose inapproriately does not negate the need for parents to seek proper evaluation and standard care. Please learn to differentiate between the two categories of diagnosis. The vast majority of children with ADHD have a full evaluation that is entierly different than the off handed insensitve commentary that is repeatedly suggested on this site; most parents do not settle for a five minute convertation with their pediatrican and a pill. That is ludicrous, and those who do need to come here and learn how their child was short changed, so that they can seek appropriate standard care. Parents who did "due dilligence" and sought out a full evaluation have nothing to be ashamed of, and parents who have been given less than standard care from an irresponsible physician should not feel guilty for not knowing any better, and should have the opportunity to seek out a more intensive evaluation without then questioning their own motives for doing so; no parent is looking for a pill to shirk thier responsiblity to be a parent. Please do some more research on how ADHD is diagnosed, what the treatment really consists of before you monger this myth any further.

She might have to be close at hand to keep her daughter on focus. Maybe have her do one section at a time and the mom can check on her after each section. Maybe the whole things seems overwhelming. But if she only has a little bit at a time, then maybe she can stay on task longer.

When mom is in the kitchen, making dinner or cleaning it up afterwards the daughter can sit at the kitchen table. This way mom can do what she wants while still being around to help keep daughter focused.

If that goes quikly what other room is the mom in most while the daughter is doing homework, living room, bedroom, basement? Have a small table set up (or even a folding table that can be set up and taken down) in that room so the daughter can sit there and stay focused since mom is around a lot.

In the end the mom is just going to have to keep an eye on her daughter, and keep reminding her if her focus is drifting. The "desk" can be set up in an area that either the mom spends a lot of time at night, or the mom walks by often where she can just glance to see how it is going. My mom always had us sit at the kitchen table, so she was there if we needed to be reminded to focus or there to help.

It could also be that the homework is boring for her daughter, you said she can do it quickly when she does put her mind to it which suggests that she is smart and gets bored and does not want to do something that does not challange her. Obviously the daughter still has to do it but maybe the daughter likes to read books or draw, well she cannot do that till after homework and that will challange her.

My youngest is also easily distracted when doing homework. He discovered that if he puts his ipod headphones in and listens to certain music while he does his homework it actually allows him to concentrate better. He is now a Sophmore in High School and last year we were fortunate that most of his teachers allowed him to do this in the classroom as well, as long as it was only while he was doing work and not while the teacher was lecturing.

Mom,
At our house TV , computer and video games did not go on, or calls to friends until homework was done after school. Be sure the girl has a quiet spot in the house where these things or siblings will not be bothering her while she does homework. It needs to have good lighting and a desk or table and chair for a homework area. My child got a snack when she got home then started her homework immediatley in grade school, this worked best for her because she was still in the school mind-set soon after she got home and could concentrate better. Hope these suggestions help your friends daughter, establishing good study habits are so important. especially b4 she starts middle school where the homework loadsincreases a great deal.

I have a son that has had the same problem here are some ideas that may or may not work for your child and sometimes work for my son.

1. Set a timer for 15 minutes have her race the timer. Give a reward (free time, computer time, play a game with her, etc) if she stays focused and works during the 15 minutes. Then give 15 minutes of a break and then return to homework for 15 minutes if she isn't finished.

2. Set a timer (that she can't see) at random intervals tell her that when the timer goes off if she is working on task she puts a mark on a paper. When she earns 5 - 10 marks she gets a reward.

3. Restrict playing, going with friends, computer, tv until homework is done. (Sometimes this one is hard if mom is busy) My son just goes off and plays by himself unless I force the issue.

I have also heard that 3rd, 4th grade is the time some kids are diagnosed with ADHD. So I would just make sure the attention thing isn't a problem at school as well, I know I am watching my son very closely to make sure he doesn't get behind. I'm going through the same thing so I feel for mom. Good Luck....

Sound a lot like the inattentive subtype symptoms of ADHD (much less often caught until homework time, sometimes slips to college) so that is something she might want to keep an eye on. Regardless of, a few ideas:

1. physical stimulation while sitting. Rather than do her work in a chair at the table, get an exercise ball that she has to sit on. There are a number of other options if you look into sensory integration materials, like mats and gel pads, but the ball is cheap and easy to find and also helps with stomach muscle development

2. Frequent breaks: like another mom said, set a timer for 15-ish minutes, then get up, take a 3-5 min break (timed), and repeat until done.

3. Some type of non-distracting music, metronome, or something along those lines that pull her back from day dreaming or losing track of what she is supposed to be focused on.

4. Have the other siblings sit with her at the table and do something quite as well, like color, write their names, read, etc (at age appropriate levels) so she does not feel like she is being punished while everyone else has fun.

The other moms have some other great ideas, and wish your friend luck.