Homework

[opal]

I just wanted to ask about homework and how much help should i give my 8 year old.

Should i let him get on with the homework himself. He would have done this sort of work in class anyway. I will not be there in a test aschool. He usually has a meltdown during homework if it is hard. He screams because he may have things wrong as he is a perfectionist.

Do i show him how to work out the sum because it was maths HW this time.

It is hard to get it right.

[Suze]

Hi Opal, my son struggles with his homework also(9yrs dx AS).He is also dyslexic which compounds the problem and his willingness to do it.Ever since he began to get homework he has had a meltdown,we now do what we can on a Sunday morning, when I have to take the other children out and my husband stays at home with him where hopefully it,s quieter.He has broken a table ripped all his books/work up, thrown pencils etc all because of homework.He very rarely finishes it and usually storms off to his room in a rage slamming doors and screaming.This has had an effect on my daughter who has begun displaying similar behavours .I,ve got to the stage where I have told his teacher that I,m not prepared to keep doing this it is ruining the family environment and creating stress for us all,his school have been very understanding although I think they believe I,ve exaggerated the problem.(I wish).I,m currently looking at High school placements which have a similar approach as I don,t think any of us could cope with homework every night. I really feel for you Opal as I know how hard it is getting them to do thier homework,I,d allow 30mins and if he hasn,t finished it he just leaves it .Although if he,s a perfectionist this might be a problem.Could he perhaps do some of it in school?Best of luck.

[Helen]

Opal,

 

Yes you could show your son how to do the sum, but show him how to do an example.

 

If your son is having difficulty in any subject, I suggest that from now on you write a brief explanation for the teacher at the end of the exercise to show that your son has had some trouble with it, e.g. little Johnny needed help with this exercise, an explanation was given but the answers were solely provided by little Johnny. Then photocopy this exercise. Not only will it make the teacher aware of any problems but it will also leave a record for you, should you have to make a request for extra help for him.

 

When I self-referred my son for a statutory assessment I photocopied his homework as evidence for my parental representations. The homework exercises that I photocopied included all the comments that I had made during the remaining three years of my son's primary education. This evidence could not be ignored.

Edited May 24, 2005 by Helen

[Amanda32]

Hi Opal my son is 9 and as ASD he's in a sen class but doesn't get any homework not yet anyway. I try and do some learning things at home with him but he's never in the mood all he wants to do is play, especially on the XBOX which can be 4-6 hrs at a time over the weekends. I did tell his teacher about doing work at home and she said if it was down to her there would be no homework. When they are in school all day working they dont want to work at home aswell just play and wind down. She was saying my son probably dont tell me what he's been doing in school as hes there im not so shuts himself off. Not sure about this sept as he will be having a new teacher and may have work then to do, his teacher at present as been with him for 2 yrs now instead of 1. She's lovely and he works really well with her. Im sure you are doing really well and all I can say is maybe put things into a game with his work make it fun. Im trying to do more now in school hols and weekends as he's really not keen on doing anything apart from play. I am going to try and do the same myself such as if he doesn't do some reading with me etc for a few mins everday I will take some time off the Xbox that may work.

Hope you get it sorted out soon but be patient if he's not interested.

Take care

Amanda <'>

[KarenT]

Hi Opal. You say that your ds has a meltdown if the homework is hard. How about getting him used to the homework routine by giving him work that is easier so that he can cope with it, then build on that so that he can do the work he gets from home? For a long time before James started school, I anticipated that he would find it hard to focus on homework when he got it, because I knew how hard it was to even get him to write out a birthday card or whatever, so I planned for it by giving him homework of my own every day. We have a set time - just after tea, while we're still at the table (technically!) - and I give him a page of those star-reward books to do each night. He's particularly good at and keen on Maths so that was a good start; now we're on to doing some Literacy and the odd Science page as well. Sometimes I'll write him some sums out and he'll do those.

 

We aim for two short pieces of work a night totalling about 15 minutes and he usually does it without question now because it's part of the daily routine. Even if it's a particularly bad night I'll try to get him to do something, usually Maths because he enjoys it so much and it gives his head something to focus on which can help to calm him down if he's a bit high.

 

As for explaining homework to him - yes, you should. TBH I'm not sure that teachers should be giving out homework if they aren't confident that the children can do it themselves because it's meant to be an assimilation of what's been learned in class. If the child doesn't understand it then they haven't been taught properly in the lesson. So yes, go through it with him and explain it if necessary, and give feedback to school as to what help you had to give him to get it done. If it proves too difficult, have a reasonable stab at it then send a note in explaining why he hasn't been able to do it. As has been said, it all goes on the record of how much difficulty there is in teaching him, which can only go in his favour for providing further help if he needs it.

 

If you're interested in workbooks, I've found the Letts series are particularly good because they follow story patterns and follow on at each level. Have a look at: http://www.onestopeducation.co.uk/icat/1843153394main for Literacy age 8, and elsewhere on the site for other subjects.

 

Karen

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[Amanda32]

Many thanks KarenT..

I found the site very good going to have a good look later on but me myself not sure what to do best for my son. The teacher keeps saying dont do too much at home as he's had his day of learning so dont push him. I have the annual assessment in june so im going to ask what age is my son approx in his school work so I know how far behind he his in certain areas. Then I will know what sort of books etc I can choose to help him.

Take care

Amanda

[Hectorshouse]

Found this link from an earlier discussion on the subject, there is a Tony Attwood article on there that is really useful. I have printed off a copy for T's SENCO and TA ...

 

But was meet with the question ...

 

'Er .. umm ... who is Tony Attwood?'

 

Lets just say I took deep breath's and walked away trying not to mutter under my breath tooooo much

 

http://www.asd-forum.org.uk/forum/index.ph...st=0entry9086

 

HHxx

[KarenT]

The teacher keeps saying dont do too much at home as he's had his day of learning so dont push him.

I was told the same when James was in Reception, but I think that was standard practice for all children - I think they assume that all young children get tired but you need a rubber mallet to knock mine out. The fact is, James needs this homework on so many levels - it helps to calm him when he's stressed, it stretches him beyond the work in class (even though they give him harder versions of class work he still needs that little bit extra), it helps him with having a homework routine to build on for the future. It's possible that your son's school are thinking neurotypically - that he'll get used to having homework in time - but if he's AS then that's not likely to be the case without the right kind of encouragement fromyou. If you feel your son would benefit from it then I'd say do it (the old adage of 'you know him best' springs to mind), and if he's below his peers then you can start him off on one of the lower-level books. Out of interest, Waterstones and WH Smith sell quite a few of these as well so you could browse them there to decide if the levels would be appropriate. Above all, make it fun, do it with him and teach him that learning can be enjoyable.

 

Karen

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[nellie]

This may be a useful for parents to show to teaching staff who don?t understand the problems with homework.

 

The following article on homework is from Rita Jordan's book Meeting the Needs of Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders.

 

Rita Jordan is an expert on education of children on the autistic spectrum.

 

" Work set by staff at school for the pupil to complete at home can cause difficulties for the pupil and his or her parents. Pupils may be reluctant to do the work as they see school as the place for school work or they may fail to write down or understand the task or strive for hours to produce a perfect product. Often the pupil with an ASD is able to read complex sentences without understanding or extracting the meaning and this can lead staff to overestimate their ability and set tasks which are too demanding. In addition, some pupils with an ASD can have the factual knowledge required but fail to recall this unless they receive particular prompts, or they may be reluctant to record what they know on paper. Some may have dyspraxia or specific learning difficulties in addition to their ASD which makes written work very difficult. Again, their ability to talk with ease about a topic might cause staff to think the pupil has been lazy when they come to mark the pupil's limited or poorly presented written work. This can cause stress for the parents and lead to difficulties for the pupil when they produce their homework. Discussions about what is sensible in terms of homework, including alternative means of presentation such as word processing or dictation, or completing work at school, are vital, to avoid extra pressures on the pupil and others. "

[kazzdt]

Homework has always been a major issue for Sam (ADHD/AS). It used to always lead to a massive tantrum and meltdown. He would throw the pen, run around the room, get under the table etc. I sometimes would even have to be holding the pen with him just to get a few words down. It was all in his head but getting it down was nigh on impossible.

 

When he was put on Equasym (methylphenidate) for his ADHD it made such a difference. The first day he came straight home got out his book and did his homework in one shot. It isn't always that way and we still have problems days but its much better. Some things, such as projects are still a no go generally. But his primary school are very relaxed about it, he works at his own pace. He is very bright though and to be honest I don't feel it matters that much. It's really not wotrth the battle as far as I'm, concerned. Come September though, he's transferring to secondary school, a whole new ball game - don't know how we'll tackle that one.

 

 

Kazz x

[KarenT]

In addition, some pupils with an ASD can have the factual knowledge required but fail to recall this unless they receive particular prompts, or they may be reluctant to record what they know on paper. Some may have dyspraxia or specific learning difficulties in addition to their ASD which makes written work very difficult. Again, their ability to talk with ease about a topic might cause staff to think the pupil has been lazy when they come to mark the pupil's limited or poorly presented written work.

Yes, very much so. James has great difficulty with written work other than short sentences. Recently I tried mind-mapping with him, and asked him to write something about Harry Potter (his obsession at the time), and he managed a page and a half quite well. Even so, it had to be very carefully handled - he didn't like repeating his work so I had to get him to do very sparse word boxes to prompt his memory, as if he'd written too much in the box he'd be reluctant to transfer it to his workbook. His teachers have been excellent about homework though, and tailor it to his needs very well - eg, he doesn't enjoy painting at school so they set him an art task a couple of weeks ago, which he did fairly happily for homework but would have struggled with in class where there are quite a few good artists that James can't compete with, and that makes him uncomfortble and less likely to work.

 

karen

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[Suze]

Thanks for that brill quote from Rita Jordan Nellie I can completely relate to it, and your post Kazzdt.My son has enough problems doing his work in school, trying to get him to do extra at home is impossible.I just want him to be happy and settled at home.

[Zemanski]

one of the reasons homework is sent home is to reinforce school work and make sure the child has an opportunity to practice skills.

If any child is finding something difficult then help them out - don't do it for them but don't leave them to flounder.

Sometimes reteaching the skill is what is needed, if so then (unless you don't understand what to do) go ahead and teach it to them - you know how your child learns best anyway and the teacher probably won't have time to do it all again for one child

 

zemanski

[Amanda32]

I've been out shopping today and seen some Key stage books in Matalan that seem very helpful and educational. I bought a KS1 mathematics and KS1 practice tests in Writing/spelling. My son is 9yrs old and I was told that his age is supposed to be at KS2. I know he's behind so I bought the level 1 and rang the school to speak to the head of the resource base and he said keep him to KS1. What im not sure about at what age groups are all the Key stages supposed to be for a mainstream pupil without learning difficulties? Going to keep him occupied over the holidays but make it fun aswell with treats for good efforts etc.

Many thanks

Amanda

Edited May 27, 2005 by Amanda32

[jomarie]

I've always had problems with M regarding homework, his self esteem is so low that he thinks he can't do anything properly & the perfectionist in him turns the whole affair into such an ordeal it often ends up with a meltdown. its not helped by the fact that the teachers tend to act like its MY fault the homework isn't done. I've tried explaining that entire evenings have been ruined because of all the fuss!! If I try to take away his computer privildges (sp) then that just makes it worse.