deep thinker and absent mind

ahuvah4

Wed, Sep 10 2014, 10:20 pm

My ds, 7 yr old went to sleep crying today and a lot of days before that.. He lost his English homework today, Yesterday he misplaced his points from cheder. He's smart, a deep thinker, daydreams and I guess absent minded. He misplaces stuff and looses things constantly. I tried teaching him responsibility, nothing works. I thought losing important things are going to be his best lesson but I realize its somehow not up to him. He claims all his stuff have feet and run away from him. Im sad for him. He is so innocent and tries to be so good. Does anyone have any tips or ideas how I can help him.

seeker

Thu, Sep 11 2014, 2:00 am

Create a place for everything and train him to use the places. Get his teachers on board to prompt him in school. Label everything. English homework goes in the red labeled English homework folder and when giving it out the teacher should prompt him to put it in the red labeled English homework folder. Every single day make a routine when he gets home from school he should empty his knapsack and all pockets and make sure all items are in their places, returning whatever isn't. Praise/reward when things are in place. Repeat daily until he can do it himself. Do the same thing after homework - make sure everything goes back in the right folder/shelf/whatever before getting bedtime story or what-have-you.

It's not about responsibility or learning lessons, he does not know HOW to keep track of things and also has a hard time remembering these little habits that are routine for other kids. He needs to learn these habits and practice until they are ingrained.

If he's very spaced out and it is an issue that's interfering with his life and schoolwork, you should probably have him evaluated for attention issues. But if he's generally happy and OK and just losing things, then you can probably just focus on organizational skills and routines.

amother

Thu, Sep 11 2014, 2:24 am

Deep thinker with an imaginative mind + who has trouble with organization = ADD.

Sorry to brake it to you, but I'm really positive that's the case. Don't worry, almost every family has one, I have it myself. With a little outside help your son will begin to change for the better, and it is worth all the effort.

babysmum

Thu, Sep 11 2014, 5:33 am

When I was in school I also kept loosing everything due to absentmindedness and not knowing how to keep track of my stuff. Perhaps I had ADD, perhaps not. The good news is that although I'm still absentminded I now know how to focus and keep track of my important stuff. (that is not to say that I don't loose things from time to time) If your child is doing otherwise well in school I'd tell you to go with seeker and work on this issue on your own.