Do you feel that you have to struggle every time you do homework with your child? That, they always have excuses, difficulty to focus, and/or simply refuse and throw a tantrum. You are probably exhausted from dealing with their behavior problems. Here, we will share with you 5 of our methods to help your child to do their homework independently. So you can sit back and enjoy your coffee.
First: Find a good timing to ask your child to start writing homework
It is really hard to ask your child to leave their favorite toys, activities or TV shows behind when they are in the middle of it. You are asking for failures. To start off with, you should build a solid habit with them.
“first do your work, then watch TV or play”.
Also try to insert a homework time into their routine. So they can get use to do homework. Try to make sure their physical needs are met, so they are not too hungry, too tired and too excited.
IF you have to let them play before doing homework, try to ask them to write homework when their activity just finished.
Second: Establish a homework reward plan
If step 1 did not work for you, some children with autism may need a reward plan to increase their motivation and help them to achieve the target.
There are different types of reward system, for example; you can set a timer and the child gets the price when they finishe writing homework before timer goes off. Or you can utilize sticker system, they get a sticker for writing x number of questions. Once they got all of the stickers, they can exchange for rewards, such as breaktime, snacks or free play.
A little trick here, is to have a clear target goals and clear rules for the child to get the reward. Fluctuating rules and demands will make the child confuse and difficult to adapt.
Third: Save the best for last
Reserve the right to special activity or prizes only when they finished writing homework. You can reserve child’s favorite toys, activities, food, or screentime etc. for the purpose.
Forth: Start from baby step
Parent can lower the criteria and expectation in the beginning in order for the child to succeed. For instance, only complete a few questions to get the reward. This help the child to understand the reward system and have a sense of accomplishment.
When the child is familiar with the system, parent can slowly increase the level of difficulty or increase your expectations for completing the reward system. Small baby steps, while maintaining the child success, tends to work better than taking big jumps.
Fifth: Frequent practise
Practise makes perfect。It’s the same for building any behavior. At the beginning, it would be tough to enforce a reward stystem or ask the child to do his homework first before watching TV. But no matter how difficult it is, try to stick to your plan. Once you have establish the demand, you can easily adjust your demands with small successive steps.
If you can stick to the above 5 points, with practise and proper demands. It’s only a matter of time for your child to do the work independently.
If you have any questions or enquiries, please feel free to contact us.
Tel / WhatsApp：+852 5448 5438
https://autismilee.com/
