Your HFA/ADHD 6-7 yo - keeping up with school and camp things

[Anonymous]

I recycle my name badge holders to hold our lists. And we bought hte $20 laminator too. And we have a lot of ziplocs to keep stuff together- the 2 gallon are my favorite. Those get labeled with sharpies with name and contents.

My son's 1st grade teacher told me that she loves the ziploc moms- becasue she knows it really helps kids keep control of their stuff.

[Anonymous]

Mom of ADHD inattentive 6 years old here. Just starting medication. Can someone give examples of the checklists? I'm struggling with how much or how little I should be making him keep track of.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Same profile kids and DH- yes I made laminated checklist business card size that clips to handle of backpack (carabiner). I made one for each day of week as activities vary. We have a matching checklist by day on magnet board of hall in house. And we have an adult version of the routine in a notebook on the kitchen counter that we all refer to. This helps when grandparents are babysitting- they can do the pm checklist so we are ready for the next morning.

It is compulsive and takes me about an hour to type all of the lists and make the cards etc each season. But it keeps us all organized.

And the one time I didn't get them done before the session started both my husband and kids asked where their lists were.

We also talk through the pack list each morning before we head out and then before we leave school/ camp.

And we have 2-3 spares of everything and all of my kids socks are the same and therefore interchangeable with matches. We really should buy stock in label daddy because everything gets a sticker. One year I even kept a bag of spare swim gear and water bottles in my car- since then we've chosen less complicated camp schedules.

Good luck! It is really frustrating when it feels like you have to parent your spouse too. I found I resented making the labels/ lists once less than I resented the daily reminders.

I love this.

I've just started with checklists and it really helps .. if we're all consistent. A big part of the problem is I have ADHD too so I don't always get the checklist done on time, am not always consistent with it, and forget the rewards half the time.

I like the idea of laminating small checklists on the bag. I just bought the kids bag tags so their TKD bags are easy to identify. Maybe I can get those little clear badge holders and stick a short checklist in there.

PP here- I have ADHD too so the lists are just as much for me as them. Those badge holders are perfect. I often forget the rewards too- so I tell myself my kids are on an intermittent reinforcement schedule

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mom of ADHD inattentive 6 years old here. Just starting medication. Can someone give examples of the checklists? I'm struggling with how much or how little I should be making him keep track of.

You'll want to exercise his executive functioning muscles as much as possible, so you should start making him track of the most important things, then add new checklists as he improves/gets older. It may take him a while to really get it, that's okay, this is a long-term project. Offer good rewards and lots of praise for successfully completing a checklist each time he does it. Examples of checklists:
- everything that goes into a backpack before going to school/camp.
- complete morning routine from waking to walking out the door.
- how to complete a multistep chore, like laundry.
- homework checklist, from taking assignment sheets out to checking his work to putting everything back and straightening up desk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mom of ADHD inattentive 6 years old here. Just starting medication. Can someone give examples of the checklists? I'm struggling with how much or how little I should be making him keep track of.

In addition to what PP said, here are my thoughts. Keep your eye on the big picture and take small steps to get there. Don't try to do too much too fast. Develop good habits in the home (identifyng a place for everything and making sure that everything is always put there immediately with no intermediate stops, always do homework, set a chore schedule). And the most successful checklists and organization systems will the the ones your child makes for themselves.

[Anonymous]

He's 6

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He's 6

I posted earlier with strategies, but also wanted to foot stomp this. My ADHD kid did a pretty good (but not great) job of keeping up with stuff at 5, 6, 7. We lost some things - a towel, goggles, clothes - at camp. School was easier because the lost and found was readily accessible and the school was good about putting things in it. This year (8yo) has been different - if he forgot stuff at school, he at least remembered where he left it and could get it the next day, and so far he hasn't left anything at camp. So I think maturity has played a part.

DH and I are all about lists for ourselves, but haven't tried it with DC yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He's 6

You know, we got this a lot when our child first started having issues, and I never understood it. Because at some point, "He's 6" with the implication that he's too young to be expected to do X becomes "He's 10" with the implication that he should be doing these things for himself. It doesn't happen by magic, you have to help them learn and you have to find the method that works for the kid you have. My 8-year-old will make lists and have stuff by the door the night before with very little prompting; my 10-year-old has ADHD and executive function issues and needs more support.

(Also, when we got the "He's 5" from our family when they objected to our kid being evaluated, we decided that, if the kindergarten teacher with the masters in special education who saw 20 5-year-olds every day was concerned, maybe it wasn't just a "he's 5" kind of thing and we were going with the professional.)

[Anonymous]

I should start doing this list stuff. But so far I check at pickup. I only buy water bottles at Five Below so we are not losing $20 water bottles. I buy goggles in bulk and lots of swim suits from Target so if we lose it, it's no biggie.