I've been dealing with ADD with my son since 2nd grade. Your senario is kind of how I realized that he was ADD. He had left his library book in his desk one day and I went to his classroom to get it & discovered over 50 pages of incomplete work stuffed in his desk. Needless to say, he worked all weekend long to get the work done. I don't know how the teacher was grading him! Anyway, one thing that worked for us was to give him one folder to put everything in so that he could bring it home and we could help him organize it. He was able to manage ONE folder, but having several frustrated him. I also asked the teacher to check his desk once a week to see if he was stuffing papers in there or not. He completely missed a field trip that year because the note that told us to have him at the school early was stuffed in his desk. We never saw it. He's in 7th grade now & we are still struggling. I just hope & pray that I don't wake up some day to realize that he's 25 & I'm still helping him organize! We hope that he gets a grasp on it at some point, but I think I'll start praying now that he finds a real organized wife when he's older! Good luck ! ;)

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I've been dealing with ADD with my son since 1st grade. We still haven't figured out a good system to keep it under control. His teachers have always referred to his desk area as "the war zone since a bomb went off" not only the desk but the area around the desk as well.

We are now in 6th grade and have graduated to a locker which is just more room for stuff to get stashed and never be seen again, including jackets and coats!!!!!

One folder to put everything in to bring home or return to school seems to work best for us. He still needs supervision at home and at school making sure it is "put in the folder" and into the backpack.

I also asked the teacher to check his desk once a week to see if he was stuffing papers in there or not. We even make surprise visits. It is a good way to find all of the library, text books and jackets/coats that end up getting lost as well.

I am thinking either at some point the is going to be totally dependant on an organizer or heaven forbid, live his life in chaos. I shudder to think about the chaos with a job!!!! I don't want to support him forever!!!

If you find the secret please let me know!!! Good luck ! ;)

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Hi I was like that all through school, it wasn't until college that I found a system that worked very well for me. The key feature of the system is that it is PAPERLESS. My problem was that I can never keep track of loose pieces papers, so I just got rid of them. I put all my assingments in my cell phone calender with alarms, I email the papers and projects i'm working on to myself so I never lose or misplace them, and email them to the professers instead of printing them off. Now I never misplace or forget my homework, all I need is internet access! Plus it is ego-friendly.

Now I know you probably don't want to give a child a cell phone, so to make sure homework makes it to your home, I would suggest through elementry and middle school having the teacher email you everyday the child's assignments (they would hopefully have electronic copies of any worksheets or permession slips) and to avoid loose paper at all cost. If you feel like the child won't learn responsibility that way, instead of five pieces of paper, one for each assingment that your child has to remember to put in a folder, have them write down all their assignments in one planner or notebook that the teacher double checks.

Also even if your child doesn't like the homework, I bet they hate getting in trouble even more. Ask them for ideas on how they could remember to bring home assignments, kids are very creative.

Another idea just off the top of my head; instead of at the end of the day having the child remember everything and go through all of the books and classwork in their desk , just to find the homework to put in their backpack. At the end of each topic of the class, math, science and so on, have the child put everything they need for that topic's homework in their backpack. That way the papers never get a chance to be lost in the desk

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Hi Alyssa,

Thanks so much for responding to my post. I really like your idea of having the teacher e-mail my daughter's assignments...it's my understanding that the teacher she will have next year does this with his class, but I will be sure to make that request for Grace. I also like the idea of putting her assignments right in her backpack...they are less likely to get lost in the "endless pit" of her desk. She does have an assignment book that keeps track of all assignments due for each subject and that helps her (and me) stay on top of things. She's doing much better since my original post but we take it one day at a time. Thanks again...I may need your gudance in the future as it sounds like you've made a personal journey down this road. Take care!

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