The summer has been a nice break for parents of kids with ADHD. While you may have worked with your child on reading or math, there has been no nightly homework. Some kids with ADHD even take a medication break over the summer. For kids on ADHD stimulant medication, it is easy to resume medication, as it gets in your system instantly. For kids on non-stimulant medications it can take a few days for the drugs to enter the system and begin to work. Check with your doctor to see how much before school starts you should resume medications. Once you have resumed your medication routine, you may need some strategies to keep your ADHD kid on track.
It might be necessary to meet with your child’s teacher and ask that they cooperate with you to ensure that your child has a successful year. You can recommend some things that the teacher does that will make it easier for your child to complete his or her homework. Routine is important for kids with ADHD. It is helpful if the teacher will post the homework on the board in the same place every day, and give the students time to copy it at the same time each day as well. Have your child copy his or her homework into an agenda or notebook every day. If your child takes a long time to do homework, you could request that they only be assigned the odd numbers on a math worksheet so that they can demonstrate that they understand the concept, but don’t get overwhelmed by too many problems.
At home, try to have a designated homework space and time so that every day at the same time your child can sit down in a quiet environment and do his or her homework. Make sure this space is quiet, has good lighting and a clean workspace so there are no distractions. Encourage your child to write down his homework in the same notebook every day so that you can track it, and as a backup make sure you have the phone number to one or two other children in the class in case your child forgets to copy down the assignment.
If homework is still exhausting and hard to finish, your doctor may prescribe an additional medication that can be taken in the afternoon. He may add a non-stimulant medication or simply another short acting stimulant that only lasts three to four hours. This can help get through the homework slump as most medications given in the morning have worn off by homework time.
Communicating with your child’s teacher is important in order to have a successful school year with a child with ADHD. Keeping the lines of communication open and employing the strategies detailed above can help make every year successful.