Hi there,

Sorry about the troubles your child is having at school. This is a common problem we've heard from our readers over the years, and we have a few articles that address this issue that I hope will help. They are:

Remembering to Turn in Homework Assignments

A Homework System That Works for ADHD Students

Simplifying Homework for ADHD Children

Hope these ideas help! All the best,

Mary Web Editor

Quote

My son has the same problem. We have tried several things but what seems to work the best is: - having an extra set of all books at home...one less thing to remember -my son has a locker but he keeps all of his books, notebooks, folders for each subject in that classroom and only puts materials in his locker that need to come home. When he gets ready to come home if it is in his locker it needs to come home These 2 things seem to have helped my son the most, hopefully you can find them useful Good luck!

Quote

My son is 14 and will be going to high school next year. He has been having the "I forgot" issue for some time now, but this year it has gotten really bad! Unfortunately, this year he also has teachers who also have a very difficult time understanding how his ADHD effects any of this. I have tried every single thing I can possiblt think of and not a single one has worked. He's been given 4 different agendas this year, has a seperate binder for each subject, and still not much luck. Unfortunately it is school policy that they are only allowed to go to their locker twice a day (once for all of their morning class materials, and once for afternoon class meterials) so if he doesn't remember everything necessary for those classes that one time, he's sort of out of luck. Plus, with him being in 8th grade I have no way of knowing what homework he has in order to make sure it's being done. I do have a copy of each of his text books at home, but that doesn't do much good if I dont' know what he's supposed to be doing in them. Every time an issue comes up with one of his teachers I always seem to get the same response, he needs to have an agenda...well if I had a dollar for every time I heard that I would never have to work a day in my life and neither would my son! The problem is, he doesn't remember to write the stuff down and if he did write it down he wouldn't remember to check his agenda at the end of the day, and IF we were lucky enough that he got that far he would almost certainly still forget to bring something home. When I tell the teachers that he honestly does forget they look at me as if I have 3 heads, and I think this is actually making matters worse for him because they assume I'm making excuses for him even though they are aware of his diagnosis. We are in the process of having evaluated to see if he is eligible for an IEP/504...in the meantime does anyone have ANY suggestions? Everything I can find as far as memory exercises go are geared toward much younger children, haven't had any luck finding anything for a child his age. But, like I said at least I know I'm not alone in this!!

Quote

What about those WatchMinders? It looks like a digital watch but you can set reminders on it at different time intervals? I have been looking into those to maybe help remind my son of things he has to remember. Or maybe sticking up a list in his locker, one for the morning things he needs and one for the afternoon things. I don't know I am always thinking of ways to help my son...but sometimes it involves other people at the school. If he had an IEP maybe he could get help there. Good luck! Hang in there!

Quote

He's going to be in middle school next year, and likely loose at least some support that's just built-in during elementary school. From experience I know you are ABSOLUTELY right in that-- if the work doesn't get home, there's no chance of it actually getting done. From experience I can also tell you---middle school is a MUCH less AD/HD friendly place. If you think that there's even a slight chance that your son is going to still need help next year (hint hint, it's really LIKELY that 's he's not going to just up and get great at this by the end of this year) you have a much better chance of getting help THEN if you are advocating for him NOW. If he has a 504, you may want to request an IEP. If he has an IEP, request it to be re-evaluated. Don't let them put you off because we are nearing the end of the school year. DO IT NOW or you could have a huge uphill climb in 6th grade (and all the self-esteem issues, etc., that could bring to your son) Please believe me, even with all kinds of documentation, and a plan in place, next year will bring a huge change, and chances are that what's established in terms of support is going to be largely dismissed or ignored. There's still a prevalent myth out there that AD/HD is something that only little kids have. It's a really damaging myth. Middle school is exactly when all these "executive function" issues, organization, time management, even remembering to turn things in, gets taken to a whole new level. If you can't get the help in place this year, it's going to be MUCH harder to get in next year, so push for it now. Maybe 5-10 minutes at the end of the day, with a special education teacher or aide to help do a "backpack" check and see that materials come home would be all it takes to fix this. Fortunately, my daughter's elementary school had a system for this already, and students didn't even need an IEP to be enrolled in it. They called it "backpack buddies" --and those 5-10 min's a day made a huge difference. By the end of 5th grade, my daughter was able to overcome the "I forgot's" to a great extent, and had only minimal problems with getting things home in 6th grad. only because she got that support in elementary school--from 3rd through the end of 5th grade. It doesn't sound like your son is getting that help in school---which is where he needs it. If you don't get it in place now, it's going to be an uphill battle next year. I would seriously push for some kind of intervention at the end of the day, to help give him a fighting chance of getting the homework HOME to do, before your son goes into an environment of multiple classes and teachers, where it's only going to be that much harder. Don't let them tell you they don't do that. It's called and INDIVIDUAL Education Plan (IEP) for a reason. Even a 504 is for ACCOMMODATIONS--not just doing whatever they usually do anyway. You need to push for what HE needs, not just for what the school finds it convenient to provide. This just isn't something solved overnight, and it has a huge potential for impacting your son's education. Don't let the school get stuck on "well, it's his responsibility to remember" the school also has responsibilities here, and despite your wonderfully positive and optimistic outlook for them (which I do admire) it really doesn't sound like anyone's considering that this is something he needs relevant, real time, practical assistance with, before he gets home from school. Your obviously doing your part. I'm not trying to be hard on the school, but make darn sure they really are doing their part, too.

Quote

Where we are it seems to be pretty common for IEPs to include having the teachers and parents sign the agenda daily. The teacher(s) are acknowledging the the assignment is written down correctly - or that there is no homework today. The parent is acknowledging that is was completed and/or adding a note about a problem that the teacher will see the next day. So if the child hasn't turned in a paper they at least know to ask for it. This doesn't completely prevent the missing worksheet or text book but provides a simple and timely reminder.

Our sixth grade (middle school) teachers spent a lot of time on agendas and notebook organization for all students as they transitioned to changing classes. Some wanted parents to sign nightly for all students the first quarter. So while the transition is big hopefully your school will have some wider mechanisms in place that you can expand on as needed.

My son has been using a single 3 inch zippered notebook for all classes the last 4 years (so everything is with him all the time - his choice). I found PLASTIC dividers with pockets that survive the entire year and can be used for papers that don't have holes punched. The front pocket/divider is just for homework, permission slips, etc. He also has two pencil case things inside so he has room for calculator, flash cards, etc. If you try this pay extra for a notebook that has both a handle and shoulder strap - not sure if they are better quality or he just treats them better!

Quote

HI. I am an ADHD mom with ADHD ds in third grade. Some of the things we have done is get a homework buddy. Also the teacher checks his bag most days. Though this not always mean the homework gets home.

You can ask the teacher to email you the homework to your home email or send 2 copies of the homework. Request a second set of books to keep at home for the year (i.e math book, geography book). Ask that your child is allowed to email his work to the teacher if it is done on the computer. You can get this included in his IEP and this should be applicable in high school too.

In Quebec (Canada), ADHD is not recognise by the ministry of education as a disorder, but we are allowed to have an IEP for children termed "at risk". So I am pushing on my school to have this done and talking to his teachers every chance i get. I informed them that all homework may not be done everytime and I will ok that. The same with studying. Once I deem that my son cannot take anymore, I let the teachers know how far we got. They were a little surprised when i said that but i held my ground. Now my son is studying all his words and sentences and getting 17/20's and above.

Be pushy and advocate for your child. Keep asking for meeting with the teachers and explain that you are here to fight for your child as this is your job as his parent. They should never fault you for that. Check out CHADD.org for more help on the education plan., Good Luck. Julz

Quote

I have also ordered a complete set of text books for my daughter, in third grade, to keep at home. So, we're down to dealing with remembering to write the assignments down and to bring home her homework planner and homework folder. We have packing checks written into her 504 plan, but the school was trying to encourage "autonomy" by having her look at a checklist and pack herself. That didn't work for long.

I just keep nagging the teacher, who is very sweet but does not understand enough about ADHD. Although the teacher said that the students are supposed to "master" copying down the homework assignments by 3rd grade, she is back to checking my daughter's homework planner every day and has assigned a new buddy to remind her about the packing. (She had one before, who forgot to remind her every day.) I am going to send in a pack of stickers every couple of weeks for her homework buddy as a reward/incentive to him to keep helping. I am also giving my daughter points every day if she brings everything home and extra if she also checks them off on her checklist. (But that alone is not enough to help her remember.)

I have a meeting scheduled with the teacher tomorrow, and I am going to tell her that if it were that easy for an ADD kid to remember to pack and write down the homework properly, she wouldn't need a 504 plan. And my husband would not always forget his appointments!

Quote

I have the exact same problem... we have to pay $10 for the agenda, and I NEVER see it - it comes home at the end of the school year with it looking like it had never been opened! This year's teacher had even refused his (and my) requests to have a homework list written on the board each day (because he's in grade 7 and is "supposed" to do it on his own now). There has been one thing that has worked for us for the past couple of months. At Christmas, my son saved and bought himself an iPod Touch (he's been asking for years and I made him save up all his birthday and Christmas money from his grandparents). The saying "there's an app for that!" is true - and we found and use a homework app. We spoke to the teacher and got permission for him to use his iPod for writing down his homework, and we put together a contract saying that he can take it to school, but only with wifi off, no playing games at school (including recesses), and only used at the end of the day to write down homework. If he breaks the rules, it will be confiscated by the school or us. He's been using it for 2 months, and haven't had any problems with misuse. He loves his iPod and is doing a good job of taking care of it. It's helped A LOT. Now, most of his homework comes home. MOST - not all (I don't know if we'll ever get all), but most is way better than before. Now his problem is not "homework" but those projects that are assigned and worked on at school, expected to be finished at home, and due in 2 weeks - those are the ones we're redoing from scratch the weekend before because all his work is saved on the school's computer and he forgets to print off or email home. Maybe I'll find an app for that.

My advice to you - find something that works for him - a tool he likes to use. Agendas (or even postit notes) didn't work for us because my son wasn't interested... but the technology angle works with him. I still check his homework app every day, and I still bug him each morning to remember this and remember that... but it's a real improvement! Hope you find something that helps!

2Quote:

aly1979 said: ... He's been given 4 different agendas this year... Every time an issue comes up with one of his teachers I always seem to get the same response, he needs to have an agenda...well if I had a dollar for every time I heard that I would never have to work a day in my life and neither would my son! The problem is, he doesn't remember to write the stuff down and if he did write it down he wouldn't remember to check his agenda at the end of the day, and IF we were lucky enough that he got that far he would almost certainly still forget to bring something home. ...

Quote

I can sympathize with you. My 13 year old daughter (who is in 8th grade) is forever forgetting to write down her homework assignments in her assignment notebook. We are somewhat fortunate in that our school district uses an online program that parents can access and view grades, assignments, etc. Unfortunately, what I really want to be able to do is look tonight on the program and see all the assignments she has for tomorrow but this is not possible as the teachers have to enter the information themselves and some are more computer savy than others. We have a 504 plan in place and at the end of last year I requested a resource teacher for her, which was granted. She has this teacher the last period of her day. She also has either a 3-ring binder or pocket folder that contains her assignment notebook - this changes depending on my daughter's mood. What she uses does not matter to me but what I insist on is that she keep her assignment notebook there and any homework sheets she gets she puts them on one side (or in one pocket). She also has another pocket that she puts completed work in. She has struggled up until just a few months ago with writting homework assignments down - still struggling with upcoming tests/quizzes - but even this is improving with offering her a "reward" when she comes home each night and has all squares completed in her assignment notebook (including putting NH for a class that she has no homework in). It was a struggle when she entered middle school but keep meeting with teachers and any guidance counselor. I found that contacting the teachers over the summer worked for me and I just introduced myself and my daughter and let them know of the problems we have had. I also set up a meeting with all teachers for early in the school year and avoided parent-teacher conference day as there was never enough time. Keep up the good work!

Quote

When my child attended elementary school, some teachers provided a weekly packet that we kept in his binder. It was nice, because he could work out how much work had to be done each day. Where we ran in to issues, is that sometimes teachers would wait to the end of the day to write assignments not in the packet. Not only did my child not "get it," neither did the non-ADHD students. It wasn't until I stopped in to pick him up from school a few times, that it isn't always the child's issue.

The other thing we had to work on is to get the teachers to write the assignments on the board in the same place every day. For the most part they have it written on the board and are asked to write in in their planners at the beginning of class. (the planners were given to each student by the school) and then the instructor has time to "check" that the work and materials are organized. Fortunately the school is motivated to do the accommodations because they receive Title 1 funding and are working hard to keep kids at "grade level."

I also check in with the teachers on a regular basis, to advocate for my child and make sure we are communicating. I go straight to his school counselor if I get any push back, because the counselor understands ADHD, and will go to bat for my kid. Speak up and be a squeaky wheel, you can do it nicely, but let them know you are not going to go away by being talked down to, or placated. I would do the same thing even if my child didn't have ADHD. What I have found at our Middle school is that the staff actually appreciate the communication with us as a family. I hope this helps

Quote

My son is in 7th grade. We included the form which his teacher, myself and he would sign everyday and it would notify me if anything was missing. It would work as long as he didn't lose it, and of course it was lost most of the time.

My son forget to turn things in, mostly because he forgets what asignments he's supposed to do, and or because he cant find where he put the finished work.

We decided to make/ give folders for each class with assignments to be turned in and homework to be done. That way all he has to do is pull out that one folder for that class and place everything in it our take out. We try not to make a stink about neatness at this point. The binder was difficult because he had issues flipping through to get to the area that corressponded to that particular course. So far so good.

We also have an "incentive" for him. His school calender book or "minder binder" has to be filled in by him everyday. He has to write a note even if there's no homework. If he doesn't get it from the classroom, then he's to look online...but he must have an entry on that day and for all the classes. We do this so that he could look online and write out what homework needs to be done. I check daily and make a mark. ( and the mark is different every day or week so he can't cheat) At the end of the week if all is filled out he gets money- $3.00-$5.00. If its not filled out he gives money back.

So far this has worked..as long as I don't slack off and not pay him, or forget to look.

He writes things down, and it seems to be helping him to remember what he's supposed to do for homework. Its not perfect but its working alot better than before. And he does get alot more turned in.

Quote

I have a 14 year old 8th grader with ADHD and these stories sound all to familiar!!! I just recently meet up with the school for a 504 meeting and came out of it completely exhausted. Its so true that you have to be your child's advocate. I am a single mother of 2 boys (11 &14) and checking homework for them both and working, making dinner, laundry, etc... can be very overwhelming. I was very scared about how he was going to be in high school if he cant even remember to hand in homework and keeping up in middle school. His teachers just kept telling me he was lazy. It started that he fell behind on a couple of assignments, then it all snowballed until he was drowning in make-up work! His self-esteem plunged and he was extremely aggitated all the time (me too). About 2 weeks ago, they took away his Spanish class and replaced it will a "resource planning" class class that meets every day, and its done wonders!!!! His teacher helps him write down homework assignments and class events in every subject in his planner. They keep up with him about completing homework assignments on time and keeps in constant contact with me and his other teachers about everything. He's handed in all missing homework and I am so proud of him! And he's proud of himself. WHAT A DIFFERENCE IN HIM!

Quote

I have an iPhone linked to my gmail account. When I have things that I need to remember, I don't use to-do lists. Using GMail calendar, I put reminders on my calendar around the time I need to remember. Getting an email, or an Iphone alert chime that says, "Don't forget to pack in bag" that requires me to click "ok" before I use my phone is what helps the most... that, and my Concerta....

http://askdreric-schoolpsychologist.blogspot.com/

Quote

i have same issue with my 10yrs old son. i have extra set of book at home (school provides that). have you ever thought about buddy/peer system? do you have any of his class mate lives near by? you can co-ordinate with that family and get help from his classmate for geting copy of missing assignments. also teacher should set up buddy system in the class room. buddy will help him to write down all correct assignement or will check accuracy. buddy system is the best to work with, it works with my son. you can talk to his teacher and see if you can have that also find out who lives near by....hope this helps.!!!

Quote

I have asked about the buddy system, but here is the problem. We live in area where "different" is frowned upon. Everyone's child in our neighborhood is "perfect" and if they have problems they don't divulge. We have SEVERAL little boys that live in our neighborhood that go to class with my son and none of them even accept him as a friend nevertheless a buddy at school. We have talked about this at school and because my son is impulsive and sometimes over-emotional, he basically HAS no friends his age. So the buddy system sounds great and I have done a lot with trying to get a system set up for OTHER kids, but sometimes the parents of the kids he goes to school end up being worse than anything because we have actually heard one of the parents say that they don't want their child hanging out with our son because he is a bad influence. Don't you love it? So we continue to struggle with things as they are. Reminders and notes seem to be working right now and I am in constant touch with his teachers if something seems funny. What worries me is when he hits middle school and has tons of different teachers for each subject. EEEK!

Quote

My son never, ever...ever...remembers to bring everything home. It's been an ongoing, frustrating problem. He's 10 yrs old and in 4th grade. He was recently diagnosed with ADHD, impassive subtype. The calls back and forth with the teacher, the never ending charts, lists, and notes that never work, nothing has made one bit of difference. I feel guilty now for being angry with my son over something I didn't relize he couldn't help. And frustrated with his teacher for not being more aware of what was going on.

I no longer ever expect to see everything come home. Instead I wait to see what he's forgotten. Usually something big like his trumpet, the biggest reading book they have, his coat...small things too of course. I used to ask him why that was but neither of us knew why. Now I just find it somewhat amusing. When all of the other children leave school with coats on and he's just in his t-shirt again I try to just find it kind of cute.

This is going to be a main topic of discussion when we go in to the school to discuss his IEP. It's all new to me but I'm trying to educate myself about it. Having an extra set of books would have been helpful, but his teacher said she had no extra copies. With a legally binding IEP we can make sure that they provide us with them since they are necessary for him. There are so many other ways that will help with this problem.

Other things we will ask for: -Provide copies of homework: his teacher has said that she can't do that because she never knows how much info they will cover on a day to day basis. His next teacher will have to make a much greater effort to provide us with this information -Cutting homework way down and allowing for some take home tests when needed. Doing homework on a nightly basis is like pulling teeth. That isn't made better by forgotten materials.

If more teachers were more aware of ADHD symptoms, both hyperactive and impassive, it wouldn't be so difficult for parents and children to deal with issues like the neverending quest for homework to actually make it home. This is a hugely important point.

Anyway, it's all new to me but that's my plan. Everything should get so much easier with an IEP. We can't wait.

Quote