Tools

With the second nine weeks of school behind us, it may be time to take a look at how you might help your young student gain or maintain organizational skills.

When we think of being organized, we tend to think of the organization of physical spaces, but really, organization has more to do with patterns of activity. Most students can benefit from a structured environment provided by habits, routines, systems and patterns.

There are six main types of disorganization:

Temporal disorganization includes difficulty estimating time, transitioning from task to task, understanding time concepts and using time efficiently; procrastination and being habitually late.

Spatial disorganization focuses on physical spaces. Telltale signs include untidy backpacks, cluttered desktops, messy handwriting, and, possibly, trouble lining up math problems.

Categorical disorganization concerns problems with categorizing information. Students with categorical disorganization may never seem to know where things belong, may not get the big picture and are instead lost in details, may have comprehension difficulties, may not be able to determine relationships between items and are often off topic. Extreme problems in this area may be a symptom of language impairment.

Attention disorganization may present as difficulty staying on task, a short attention span, constant movement and fidgeting, and distraction. Extreme cases of this type of disorganization are often seen in children with ADHD.

Prioritization disorganization includes not knowing what is the most important information. Students with this type of disorganization may become overwhelmed with large and lengthy assignments, may not know what to throw away and what to keep and may not pick up on subtle cues about important information.

Symptoms of sequential disorganization may involve forgetting or skipping steps to a task or process, not knowing how to use charts, trouble with complex directions, avoidance reading directions or not using a logical order.

Any of these areas of disorganization can be a barrier to learning or completing everyday tasks, so it’s important to observe your child and determine whether he has a weakness in one or more areas of organization.

Nine Ways to Keep Your Student Organized

1. Create one master assignment notebook for your student. Include weekly and monthly calendars and daily to-do list, a section where your student can write down important information and reminders, and a section for school notes and permission forms. Take advantage of organizing tools such as tabs, color coding and pocket folders for loose papers.

2. Help your child prioritize by keeping goals clearly posted in your home. Goals can be both school- and home-related. Break down large goals into mini-goals, and review them daily and make adjustments as your students achieves them. Reward achievements.

3. Break down large projects into a series of smaller tasks. Help your student think about which steps need to come first and the best amount of time to allot to each.

4. When studying for long stretches, encourage your student to take frequent, short breaks.

5. Create an effective study area for your student. An ideal space will be quiet and well-lit. Avoid beds and too-comfy chairs that might cause sleepiness.

6. Prep in advance for transition times. Give your student enough time to get ready in the morning without rushing. Consider using music to calm or stimulate during bedtime and morning routines or for tasks that require calming or alerting behavior.

7. Make a date with clutter; schedule times throughout the year to clean out spaces around your home. Talk through this process by discussing what to keep and throw away and the reasons for those decisions, as well as where items kept go and why.

8. Keep simple written directions for lengthy tasks on hand.

9. Get assistance from teachers, family members and friends – a consistent team effort will set your child up for success.

Organizational Toolbox

If you find your child is struggling with organization, there are plenty of tools and academic strategies to put in place to help. There are special timers for students who may need a strong visual cue to know when “five more minutes” is up, software programs that organize information and help students tackle the dreaded blank page, discreet tactics designed to keep inattentive students focused, and more.

Some favorite resources are Judi Sweeney, an author and national trainer on assistive technology; Maria Gracia, an author who has published several books on organization; and the technology programs Kidspiration and Inspiration, which are designed to help elementary and secondary school-aged students with reading and writing tasks.

As you’re putting resources and tips to use, one of the most important things you can do to help your child take ownership of organization-related tasks is to constantly talk with him about the process. For example, don’t just set a wakeup time for your child. Talk about the steps involved in getting ready in the morning, the time each activity takes, discuss when your child needs to be at school, add up morning activity times and ask your child when he needs to wake up. Start small by making a game of forecasting time, i.e., “How long do you think it takes you to brush your teeth?” Then have your child guess, brush his teeth and learn how long it really takes. Predicting how long tasks take is a good way to test whether your child might have temporal disorganization. Forecasting and allotting time to complete tasks teaches a child how to make adjustments and is a skill he will use throughout his academic life and in future jobs.

Finally, remember that the best habits, routines and systems are flexible and based on need. Being too rigid can induce anxiety and counteract attempts to keep your student organized.

Tammy Simmons, M.S., CCC-SLP, is executive director of ACCESS, a nonprofit offering evaluation services, full-time education, therapy, training and activities for individuals ages 0-35 with developmental delays and learning disabilities. Find more of her tips at AccessGroupInc.org.