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Practicing Organizational Skills at Home
Many people, not just those with learning differences, experience difficulty living in an increasingly complex world, with full schedules, and multiple demands on time and energy. Organization can make the difference between a busy and productive family and one plagued by disagreement and disorder.
Many people equate organization with extreme neatness and cleanliness, and therefore feel that they can never be organized. But organization has much more to do with patterns of activity. Most children with learning differences thrive in an environment that includes structure provided by habits, routines, systems, and patterns.
Here are some things you can do to support organization at home:
- Set up a large master calendar that clearly displays schedules, appointments, and deadlines. Use a bulletin board or other convenient location to post "To Do" and "To Buy" lists, team schedules, or family chores. Save tickets and receipts in an envelope posted on the bulletin board. Use a large metal clip to collect school notices and permission slips.
- Establish habits and routines for school and home activities. Children who turn their school mornings into a routine, who do chores or homework at regular times, or who put materials away after activities are reducing stress on their memory and attention systems, and establishing lifelong habits which support productivity.
- Develop specific routines to address problem areas. For example, the child that can't get out the door on time in the morning can lay out school clothes and pack up his school backpack the night before.
- Organize essential materials in one place. The car keys, lunch money, library books, or sports equipment can be kept organized in a special, specific place.
- Allocate time on a regular and frequent basis to get rid of clutter. Teach students how to identify what is important and what is not.
- Promote regular, healthy patterns for eating, sleeping, and exercise. Encourage regular attendance at school and activities.
- The best habits, routines, and systems are flexible, creative, and based on need. Highly planned and rigid schedules may increase the anxiety of children with learning differences.