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My 7 yr old son has ADD and we have tackled many obstacles so far in this journey. However, we have run across one I can't seem to resolve. He isn't aware of time/deadlines. We have to constantly stay on him to get dressed for school, or eat breakfast faster, etc. He get up in plenty of time to take care of these things. And we get as much ready the night before so that doesn't drag us down. But if he doesn't want to get dressed in the mornings, he'll just lay there. Any other time, I could handle the situation with other tactics. But considering we HAVE to be out the door by a certain time to catch the bus, this is a great problem. Now he is taking his precious time to get out of the van and get on the bus. The past two mornings the other children in our car pool have already gotten on the bus, found a seat, and the bus driver was STILL waiting for my son to get on the bus. How can I get him to do the things that have to be done in a timely manner without WWIII breaking out every morning? I don't want us to leave each other in the mornings with feeling hurt and dissapointments.

Deborah Maragopoulos Replied: Your son needs positive motivation. Using a sticker system, reward him for being on time. Break up the morning in five minute increments and give him a star for every minute he saves. For instance...give him two five minute blocks to get out of bed and get dressed. Get a timer and start it as soon as you wake him up. Have the sticker chart ready to go on the fridge clearly displayed. He can help you decorate the chart. Reward multiple stickers (enough to get him on the bus on time)with something he loves, like going to the park and when a whole week of not being late goes by, make the rewards more enticing..like ten stickers are worth a quarter and he's saving up for a new toy. Ignore any fussing. His behavior will change with positive reinforcement and he will learn to monitor his time.
Posted On 2010-04-21 00:37:57

Jack Marcellus Replied: Try to impress upon him that time is a commodity and is something that we all spend. Even at 7 a child realizes that time wasted means less time for the things "they want". Make that connection in a calm and supportive manner and you may see improvement.
At my center, The Focus Academy, we work with many "ADD" labeled children. Many times fun games that involve timing with stop watches begin to give the kids a better sense of just how much time is passing by.
FYI-ADD the inability to attend to tasks has many root causes. One of the most common is a weakness in eye muscles and visual acuity. Since the position of the eyes determines what part of our brain we are accessing at any given moment, the inability to control one's eyes significantly diminishes their ability to focus. Many times kid's behaviors change because the activities in school are proving to be challenging and they feel as though they are not keeping up with the work or what other kids seem to be doing easily.
Posted On 2010-01-17 13:17:01