schoolwork Archives - EBL Coaching https://eblcoaching.com/tag/schoolwork/ We Help Students with Learning Challenges Thu, 29 May 2025 22:27:33 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://eblcoaching.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/cropped-icon-32x32.png schoolwork Archives - EBL Coaching https://eblcoaching.com/tag/schoolwork/ 32 32 Distinguishing Between Autism and ADHD in Children https://eblcoaching.com/distinguishing-between-autism-and-adhd-in-children/ Tue, 02 Jan 2024 14:24:33 +0000 https://eblcoaching.com/?p=14897 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.

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You may find that your child struggles with focus, communication, impulsivity and schoolwork. These are common challenges found ni both those with autism and those with Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Parents need ot understand the
root of their child's difficulties, whether tisi autism, ADHD or both. While ti can be difficult ot differentiate between the disorders because many of hte symptoms overlap, there are some distinct differences. Let's take a closer look at those differences sa they relate ot focus, communication and routines.

Focus

Individuals with ADHD tend to be easily distracted. As children, they may start a homework assignment but quickly lose focus when they hear the doorbell ring, the phone buzz, a newscaster speak on television, or people talk in another room. They may repeatedly start and stop an assignment and take what seems like forever to complete it. As adults, they may have similar trouble staying focused on such tasks as writing emails or creating a weekly schedule. Completing a project may take hours because of all the surrounding distractions.

People with autism tend to have trouble focusing on a task they do not like. For example, they may not want to read a particular book, complete a math sheet on multiplication, or finish a puzzle. If that is the case, they may "act out" and become very frustrated. However, they often have the ability to hyperfocus on topics and tasks that they do like.

Communication

Children and adults with ADHD may talk incessantly, regardless of whether others are listening or seem interested. They may interrupt their peers when speaking, or struggle to tell a story in an organized and sequential way. They may also overstep boundaries, and share inappropriate information with others.

Those with autism often find it challenging to express their thoughts and feelings using appropriate words. They may speak out of context or bring up a topic during an inappropriate time. They tend to have poor social awareness and weak language skills, and may have difficulty making eye contact when speaking to others.

Routines

Individuals with ADHD tend to thrive on routine, but often have difficulty sticking with the routine and following through with it on a regular basis. For instance, they may know they should exercise for an hour every day or spend some time each day organizing their belongings, but they are easily distracted when trying to complete the task.

Those with autism prefer doing the same routines over and over. For example, they may have chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast every day with a specific amount of butter, complete the same puzzle over and over, or prefer to have the same book read to them time and again. They thrive on routine and do not like change. Any altering of these routines may cause them to become overwhelmed or anxious.

You could also create a colorful poster to map out this routine with pictures or images that correspond to each step. A similar schedule could be created for after-school and pre-bedtime activities. It may be worth asking if your child's teacher would be willing to prepare one for the school day.
As already mentioned, ADHD and autism do share some similarities. These include impulsivity, executive functioning challenges, focusing difficulties, learning challenges, and social troubles. While some individuals may only have either ADHD or autism, others may have both. The only way to know which disorder your child may have is for your child to undergo a complete evaluation. This typically includes observations, questionnaires and formal evaluative tools. The earlier you can arrive at a diagnosis, the sooner you can seek appropriate supports and the more likely your child will be to thrive and reach his or her full potential. Remember that your child also has many gifts. Learning more about who your child is will help you to offer the support that your child needs.

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]]> Avoid The Mid-Semester Slump With These Tips https://eblcoaching.com/avoid-the-mid-semester-slump-with-these-tips/ Thu, 08 Feb 2018 17:15:05 +0000 http://eblcoaching.com/?p=7066 At the mid-semester mark (especially in the winter), kids can get disengaged and their grades drop. We have some advice to make sure they stay motivated!

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At the mid-semester mark (especially in the winter), kids can get disengaged and their grades drop. We have some advice to make sure they stay motivated!

Many students begin the school year on a high note. They are organized, motivated, and ready to tackle any challenge that comes their way. Yet at some point mid-semester, that motivation starts to wane. Tasks take longer than they used to, planning and time management dips, and grades begin to fall. Help your child prevent this mid-semester slump with the ideas detailed below.

Build Stronger Time Management Skills
Some students excel at time management year-round, but others have very little sense of how long a task may take to complete. Help your child become more realistic with his time by teaching him to estimate how long a task may take to finish, then compare it to the actual time it takes. For instance, say he has a sheet of math problems to complete. He might think he will take 15 minutes to finish, which is his estimated time (ET). As he works on it, he should keep an eye on the clock and note how long it takes to complete, which is the actual time (AT). For students with poor time management skills, the ETs and ATs are often very different when they begin practicing this skill. Yet the more they use this technique, the closer these times will become, and the more realistic they will learn to be with their time.

Learn to Prioritize
Some students may feel at times that they have a seemingly insurmountable quantity of work to complete in a short period of time. Homework! Tests! Soccer practice! School play! Dinner with friends! The list can feel endless. It’s important that your child learns to identify which tasks are more important than others, then learn to prioritize them. For example, if she has three exams, an English essay, and a project to complete by the end of a given week, and has also scheduled a dinner with her friends, she should create a list of priorities (i.e. 1. Science test, 2. History test,‎ 3. Math test, 4. Spanish project, 5. Dinner with friends). In doing so, she may quickly realize that she needs to cancel her dinner with friends that week in order to prioritize her schoolwork.

Break studying into chunks
There may be some times during the semester when students feel so overloaded with exams and schoolwork that they may not even know where to begin. This can lead to stress, anxiety, and worries about never being able to complete all of their requirements. To help combat these feelings, help your child break down tasks into smaller steps. For instance, say she has a research project that is due in two weeks. Encourage her to come up with a topic by day two, create an outline by day four, finish her research by day six, write a rough draft by day nine, edit the rough draft by day 12, and come up with a final product by day 14. She should put each of these steps into her homework planner so she has a concrete, manageable plan with individual steps for conquering what may seem like an insurmountable task.

Rewards!
When schoolwork seems endless, building in rewards may help beat the mid-semester blues. Help your child brainstorm some ideas that excite him. Perhaps he likes playing video games; if so, when he completes his English essay, he can take a 15-minute video game break. Maybe he likes certain snacks or treats, and can eat one after one hour of studying. Other rewards may include a movie, phone call break, special meal, or the like. Infusing a special reward to look forward to can ease the stress of long nights of studying.

Meditate
If all else fails and your child stills feels stressed, encourage her to try meditating. For even five short minutes, she can lie flat or sit in a comfortable position. Teach her to breathe in through her nose for four counts, hold her breath for four counts, then breathe out for four counts. Have her repeat this process over and over for five minutes (or longer), letting any thoughts that may pop in pass, without drawing any attention to them.

Many students experience the all-too-common mid-semester slump, which can leave them feeling anxious and stressed. Help your child become more motivated with these ideas and she will soon move past this phase and toward academic success.

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