Anonymous wrote:The only advice I can give you is to not expect him to magically develop executive functioning overnight, or even over years. Resign yourself to being the "helicopter parent". THIS IS NOT A BAD THING WHEN YOUR CHILD REALLY NEEDS IT!! Brownose, beg, and wheedle the teacher to put any home work in a separate zippered folder for him, along with a copy of tasks to be completed. Do not expect him to be able to be able write down his own homework. Continue to make him do so, but don't let his success depend on it- get secondary verification. Email the teacher every Friday and ask after missing assignments so they can be completed over the weekend. Do NOT ever let your child be in sole possession of loose papers- zippered folders are miracles of God when used correctly! You need to be your child's forebrain, and don't let anyone tell you differently.
This does not mean you shouldn't try teach your kid organizational skills. Tutor him, strategize with him, show him what to do, but don't take the training wheels off or he'll just fall behind in his work again. You cannot teach these kids executive functioning via "sink or swim".
This is OP. Remember, I have ADD too. So ...do I get my overdue taxes (2011) done, or do I follow-up on his homework? (No worries, I'm not a scofflaw, we pay estimated taxes and always get a big refund!) ANYWAY, even if I did remember to do this, up to what grade can you realistically do this? Next year he is in 6th grade, and will have so many different teachers, changing for each class, etc. Also, my son HATES it when I try to look at his binder or help him. The fact that he can "wing it" in school and do well really hides a lot of the issues.