Increasing concentration skills

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-19-2004
Increasing concentration skills
3
Wed, 03-08-2006 - 6:32pm

Hi folks,

I have a ten year old son with Asperger's who we are trying to help successfully navigate through school. He has improved dramatically over the past years and is a completely different boy to the one that had me in the School Principal's office every week of his first year of school.

My question is - do any of you have ideas, exercises or ways of increasing concentration skills in the classroom - he is having HUGE problems getting and staying on task in the classroom and is coming home with an entire day's worth of work to finish off as homework. He has a great teacher and I agree that he needs to be doing the work - he just needs to learn to get going!

Many thanks,
Maree

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-25-2003
Wed, 03-08-2006 - 9:48pm

Maree,

Does he have an IEP? If not, he may need one. If he has one, it probably needs tweaking. It is not OK for the school to delegate all of their responsibility onto you.

Try to find out what the interfering factors are: noise, light, visual distractions, lack of adult intervention, and then work with the school to diminish or emiminate those interfering factors.

If you use any strategies at home to help your son stay on task, share those strategies with the school.

It very often helps kids who had difficulty concentrating or staying on task to break the work into bite-sized chunks. Cover half the page, and have him work on that half, then cover the completed half, and so on. To see all of the information at once can be very overwhelming. There may be some strategies they can teach to help him to help himself, but I am no expert on this stuff.

You may want to check out the special ed/IEP board for more ideas.

-Paula

-Paula

visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Thu, 03-09-2006 - 12:43pm

There is a therapy out there called interactive metronome.....I believe that concentration is one of the things it works on. Check out braintrain(dot)com

I just requested more info on this from a center that is near us.....I hear it is a wonderful therapy but expensive.

just a suggestion,
Christie

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-12-2004
Thu, 03-09-2006 - 1:12pm

Have you looked into the possibility that he may have ADD or ADHD as well? My 8 year old son has Asperger's, but also ADHD. His Concerta has made a HUGE difference in his classroom performance. Maybe you have already had him evaluated for ADD/ADHD but I thought I'd mention it.

Kelly