Homework Helpers
I’m not a fan of homework, but if your child (and you, too) are struggling to get through this time, here are some tips to make it easier on everyone!
Breaks - Children and teens deserve a break when they get home. Especially for autistic students, they have been processing a lot of extraneous sensory inputs others filter out, in addition to academics and social information. When they get home, transition time and relaxation time should be a priority. It is really helpful to brainstorm with your child about what breaks work for different times, as what might be possible for each type varies according to child/household. Discuss in advance what makes a good short break that is easy to transition back from and save the longer, more engrossing break activities for their free time upon completion of all their have-to-dos.
Types of Breaks
Short Relaxation Break - if your child has homework or other responsibilities later, a relaxation break will work best if it is something that is easy to transition out of. Something highly engrossing like a video game with no save points is not a good idea. This is better saved until free time, after all the have-to-dos are done. If you are allowing something like a 20-minute YouTube video or a video game that has clear cut playtime and is easier to stop, you may still need to monitor as it will be a temptation to start the next video or round.
Mini-breaks between Tasks - these are short breaks that are easy to transition back to tasks, such as a stretch break, some jumping jacks, walking to another room for a glass of water, using a Rubik’s cube for 5 minutes, etc.
Free time activities - these are those longer, highly motivating, and engrossing activities which may be more difficult to transition from, like movies, video games, building complex Lego structures, etc. It’s best to save these until later, when it’s time to unwind.
Make Things Predictable - establish some guidelines and routines collaboratively with your child so they know what to expect and moments of frustration are reduced. Visual schedules on a white board (which enables flexibility when tasks and activities vary) can be helpful, though over-scheduling too many things will have the opposite effect.
The Homework Environment - work with your child to find out works best for them. Do they need to sit at a table or desk? I had one student who worked best comfortable seated on a cushion on the floor by a coffee table! What distractions can be cleared? Do they have a snack, water, etc to give them some glucose and to keep them hydrated? Many neurodivergent students also benefit from atmospheric noise, which distracts the distractible part of the brain and somehow makes it easier to focus. I have students test out tracks from my soundscape playlist: Background Noise - YouTube
Chunk and Check-in - to build independence at homework time for children who are used to supervision, begin by reviewing homework tasks together, and breaking them down into manageable chunks. Ideally, collaborate with your child to identify the sequence of tasks they wish to work on, and over time challenge them to make those choices on their own.
First, think about how long your child’s attention span reliably is. 5 minutes? 10 minutes?
Review the first portion of work to be done in that time period. (Chunk it!)
Ask your child what has to be done and review steps, together. This way you know they understand the task and are ready to do it on their own.
Step away so they have physical space but you are in the vicinity if they need help. You can still monitor from a distance that they are on task, but you are giving them a chance to try without as much prompting. Aim to return before their attention span maxes out and check in to see how they are doing. Eventually, you can extend how long they are expected to work independently (e.g., 3 mins, 5 mins, 7 mins). This time increases as they build capacity and confidence.
Give mini-breaks after every 15-25 minutes, or after particularly frustrating tasks.
Repeat!
Planning & Prioritizing - These are two executive functioning skills that need support in many neurodivergent children. I’ve noticed many of my clients or students struggle to estimate how long a task will take, and feel like it will take forever. Anxiety kicks in, and so do the delays. If a student tells me homework time takes forever and they procrastinate, argue, or delay, I use two methods to help them to realize that homework does not just disappear, and that delays tend to have undesirable outcomes, such as eating into their free time.
Comparison Bars - Many of my students have benefitted from making a visual representing their use of time together. I’m old school, so I grab a sheet of paper and draw out two long bars, which represent the time after school which can be allotted to homework time and free time. I have the student colour in how long homework time took them with all the delays. Then we move to the next bar and colour in how much time homework likely would have taken without the delays. (Sometimes, we even add emojis to show stress levels!)
Homework Organizer - For older students, to help them learn to estimate time, I do this in chart form. This template can be found in my Resources section.
This works beautifully with the Chunk and Check-in strategy described above. Fill the homework organizer out together for each day. I recommend recording each task, one at a time until it is completed, to reduce visual overwhelm. Ask your child to make a prediction of how long it may take and record that time. Before moving onto the next task, record the actual time the task took. Often, neurodivergent students dread homework because we feel it will take all night and we don’t necessarily have an accurate sense of time. Recording this can make time more tangible and become a reference point for later (“remember, this subject took less time than you thought last time!”). Visually this chart can also show the impact of procrastination, arguing, complaining, etc and how unfortunately, homework doesn’t go away – but delays can impact free time, which neither of you want! Parents/guardians can also track any unnecessary delays and record that time after the entire homework session is done. At the end, review together whether time estimates were over- or under-estimates, and how time was used. If there were significant delays which caused homework time to be prolonged, ask your child what might help tomorrow to have a better balance. You both want them to have more free time!
As recommended with the Chunk and Check-in, take breaks between subjects (or at least every 25 minutes, or more frequently, depending on your child’s bandwidth).
You may want an absolute cut off time after which no more homework will be done and speak to teachers if there are problems with the amount to see how your child may be supported to meet more expectations within the school day. After a full day of school, they shouldn’t have to “work” a double shift, and unpaid at that! Especially for neurodivergent children and teens, who are at higher risk of anxiety, depression, and burnout, it is important to balance self-care and responsibilities, with a greater emphasis on self-care.
Breaking Down Larger Tasks Over Time - So many of my students and clients — and, let’s face it, I, too — struggle with managing assignments over time. We may leave it to the last minute or do it right away but try to do it in one sitting, which is overwhelming to say the least! Because it can be hard to conceptualize the end product, it’s also hard to get started. This is what I teach everyone to do.
Here's a visual of a middle school type assignment, which shows how you can divide the task up. Sit down with your child and go through all of the possible sub-tasks required, making a to-do list, including things not explicitly on the project description like getting feedback, adding transitions to slides, editing, etc. After, you can divide the tasks into manageable chunks over the remaining time.
Some students really benefit from mapping steps out on a calendar, so they can “see” the time allotted. By focusing on a day at a time, you are preventing that sense of overwhelm that comes from a giant list or an incomprehensible task! Externalizing this information helps us neurodivergent folk to see the time we actually have and get better at planning.
Are you more of a visual or auditory learner? I describe how to break down larger projects and use this strategy here: Chunk and check-in strategy video.
The Pomodoro Technique - This is a great time management tool. Have your child clear the workspace to set themselves up for success. Close extraneous tabs and put away toys and non-essential devices. This works really well with the Chunk and Check-In or breaking down tasks to the next smallest step. Pomodoros are a unit of time during which the person works, without distraction, prior to a five-minute break. Basically, you and/or your child set an intention to focus on for (up to) 25 minutes (depending on their attention span), take a five-min break, and work on the next task they expect to be able to complete in the next Pomodoro block. They can take a larger break of 15-20 mins after multiple pomodoro sessions! You can find YouTube channels and Spotify lists that work as Pomodoro timers, use a webpage like 25:00 - Time to focus! (pomofocus.io); or find an app, such as one one these: Ultimate List of 11 Best Free Pomodoro Time Tracking Apps to Benefit Your Productivity (2020) - Luxafor ; or my favourite web-based one: Pomodoro Kitty - A Cat Themed Pomodoro Timer. You can adjust the cat colours, timing, etc and set it up so that there is a virtual meow when it’s time for a break and when it’s time to get started again.
The Eisenhower Matrix - for older students, teaching them how to prioritize tasks may include this technique, which designates tasks in one of four quadrants: urgent/important or time-sensitive (e.g., project due tomorrow); urgent/not important or time-sensitive (e.g., study for next week’s test); not urgent/important (e.g., a quick email response); not urgent/not important (e.g., play another round of Candy Crush). The Eisenhower Matrix: How to Prioritize Your To-Do List [2023] • Asana This also works well with the breaking down work into subtasks/time blocking, especially when the workload feels heavier and you need to prioritize.