Many children with autism struggle to start and complete their homework assignments. They may lose papers, notebooks, and teacher's notes. Some may find it difficult to plan and prioritize their actions, and to self-monitor. When children struggle in these areas, it is often a sign of issues with executive functioning skills. These are skills that play a significant role in success at school, but many autistic children find them particularly challenging. The following are some strategies that you can use to help your child with autism build stronger executive functioning skills.

Time Management

Children with executive functioning challenges often need help with time management. They might procrastinate or not have a good sense of how long a task might take to complete. You can strengthen your child's time management skills with a time management strategy based on estimated time/actual time. When children have a task to complete, such as a math worksheet or a science packet, have them estimate how long they think the assignment will take to complete and write down the estimated time. Once the task is completed, have them note how long the assignment actually took to complete and write down the actual time. There will often be a big difference between these two times when students with time management issues start using this technique. Over time, however, the two times will become closer as they practice the technique and make more realistic estimates. Read more at How to Build Executive Functioning Skills With Homework - EBL Coaching.