Ask Rick La Voie: Questions and Answers
for Parents
Thanks to: Ask
Rick column in www.ldonline.org:
April 2000; Reprinted from LDA of CT Circuit, Spring 2001
Dear Rick,
Whoever wrote the
song, "Summertime and the living is easy" never had a learning
disabled child! I have a son and a daughter with ADHD/LD and summers
are often a disaster. Can you help?
Amanda/Texas
Dear Amanda,
I once saw a bumper
sticker that said, "Raising kids is like being pecked to death by a
duck." That's rather a sardonic view, but parenting can get pretty
rough in the summertime! Without the structure and expectations of
school, kids with learning and attentional problems can have
considerable difficulty.
Each June at
Riverview (School), I conduct a seminar to help parents prepare for
the summer months, Some highlights:
Discuss "drug
holidays" with your child's pediatrician.
Increasingly,
doctors are recommending against discontinuing the use of
psychotropic medications over the summer. After all, the child's
neurological system has not changed, Perhaps he needs the
medication's effect over the summer, as well.
Rule of Thumb:
Continue medication use if: a) he is driving, b) he is attending
camp or summer school, c) if external controls are lessened (e.g., he
will be home alone a lot), d) his behavioral improvements a11ow the
family to function better, and, e) the medication controls
impulsivity, anger or frustration,
You may want to
discontinue medication if, a) you are concerned about
growth/weight, b) the child has a strong desire to discontinue, or c)
the pediatrician recommends it.
Encourage the
child to "keep the summer alive" by maintaining ongoing projects
like diaries, videos, audiotapes, photographs, treasure box or
collages.
-
Maintain a family
calendar with important events and dates (e.g" swim practice,
Grandma's Birthday, Uncle Dan's cookout, etc.) Remember, kids with
learning problems genera11y do not like surprises!
-
Kids don't need to
attend major league ballgames, Broadway plays or star-studded
concerts. They get equal enjoyment from watching Little League
games, community theatre and high school band concerts! Expose them
to such activities often; don't wait for the annual family trip to
the stadium.
-
Encourage them to
"find something to do.
"Don't tolerate
boredom." (One of my favorite Dad Lines is, 'If you can't find
something to do, I will find something for you to do!" Watch them
scatter!)
Encourage problem
solving. Avoid your tendency to rescue them.
Assign chores and require your kids to
complete them. Design a consistent “reminder system" with predictable
rewards and consequences. Charts and checklists help.
REMEMBER:
“The ability to work
as a child surpasses all other childhood variables in predicting
adult mental health, success and interpersonal relationships."
-
Require your child
to care for pets, plants, their own “stuff,” etc.
-
Use regular summer
activities to reinforce specific areas of weakness:
If your child has
difficulty with SEQUENCING, try these:
-
setting the table
-
planning meals
-
retelling events
from movie or TV
-
using a calendar
-
summarizing
sporting events
-
preparing a
shopping list
If your child has
difficulty with ORGANIZATION, try these:
-
sorting laundry
-
keeping a diary or
log
-
doing chores (feed
pet, clean room)
-
writing letters
-
keeping a
scrapbook
-
making maps (of
house, neighborhood, mall)
-
helping with
shopping
If your child has
difficulty with DECISION MAKING, try these:
-
select movies, TV
shows, activities
-
check newspaper
ads prior to shopping
-
play card games
and board games
-
teach comparison
shopping
-
visit the library
Good luck…only
three months until the school bells ring!! |
