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How can I improve my school work?

How to help son improve his school work speed?

  • DS is of average intelligence but he always tests very low. I've spent a good bit of time worrying about his progress and he's spent much time with his teacher last year. She came to the conclusion that he knows the work but simply doesn't do it for whatever reason. So I spent the whole of summer trying to figure out where his weakness was... in his brain or somewhere else. Well I'm no expert in teaching or behavior but I am an expert in my DS so the conclusion I came up with was that the "whatever reason" his teacher couldn't figure out was simply that he works slow. And by slow I mean that what should take a student 5 minutes to complete it seems to take him 20 minutes. No amount of standing over him and prodding for quicker thinking seems to work. He has not tested positive for ADD or anxiety, it just seems that he needs to digest each question like it was the first time he ever saw it. So apparently he was testing low not because he was getting wrong answers but because he was not completing the work in the required time frame. I KNOW this is an issue not for Y!A but for the school but assuming there are educators in this section I'd be curious to know if you have ever encountered this before and what your thoughts are on what I should expect for his progress this year. Is there anything, besides an IEP which I'm reluctant to entertain, I can do to encourage a quicker process for him? Is it wrong to hope the teacher may accommodate this issue by allowing him more time to complete his work?

  • Answer:

    By asking for more time, you're asking for an IEP by definition. It's not a bad option - many students at all levels have individual educational plans to accommodate for all sorts of things, and if it helps him succeed in his studies, it's worth it. To get an IEP, you will have to have a more formal diagnosis than your own hunch, of course. You know your son well, sure, and you should have input in the process, but don't lock yourself into your own theory of what the problem may be. Observing that he takes longer to complete something is, if true, something that can be proven by others, and the opinion of experts in learning accommodations will go far further than your hunch. You are, of course, a biased observer of your own son. Keep on exploring what the nature of the problem is, but do with professional help and don't feel ashamed or reluctant to accept solutions that in the end will help your son.

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They should never get in trouble for doing work slow, as long as they get it done. But when they move up in a grade, they will have to get working. If you give him more time, and sit there and help him do it, he may get faster. He may not know what to do or he just might be putting it off. Wish you tons of luck

At the beginning of the school year put it in writing to the school/district that you want to have him assessed/evaluated for an IEP (Individualized Education Program). Legally, the school must comply and they will put him through a series of testing to determine why he is struggling. If he qualifies for an IEP, and it sounds like he will, you can ask for extra time to complete homework and tests. You can also ask that he gets special attention directly related to his specific learning disability. The problem could be anything - the most important thing to understand is that having a learning disability does not mean dumb. Very intelligent people of all ages have learning disabilities. Best of luck!

By asking for more time, you're asking for an IEP by definition. It's not a bad option - many students at all levels have individual educational plans to accommodate for all sorts of things, and if it helps him succeed in his studies, it's worth it. To get an IEP, you will have to have a more formal diagnosis than your own hunch, of course. You know your son well, sure, and you should have input in the process, but don't lock yourself into your own theory of what the problem may be. Observing that he takes longer to complete something is, if true, something that can be proven by others, and the opinion of experts in learning accommodations will go far further than your hunch. You are, of course, a biased observer of your own son. Keep on exploring what the nature of the problem is, but do with professional help and don't feel ashamed or reluctant to accept solutions that in the end will help your son.

At the beginning of the school year put it in writing to the school/district that you want to have him assessed/evaluated for an IEP (Individualized Education Program). Legally, the school must comply and they will put him through a series of testing to determine why he is struggling. If he qualifies for an IEP, and it sounds like he will, you can ask for extra time to complete homework and tests. You can also ask that he gets special attention directly related to his specific learning disability. The problem could be anything - the most important thing to understand is that having a learning disability does not mean dumb. Very intelligent people of all ages have learning disabilities. Best of luck!

Jeff

They should never get in trouble for doing work slow, as long as they get it done. But when they move up in a grade, they will have to get working. If you give him more time, and sit there and help him do it, he may get faster. He may not know what to do or he just might be putting it off. Wish you tons of luck

Kiley

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