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6) Have student begin homework in class so you can check to see if he is doing it correctly before he goes home.
7) Remind student of due dates periodically. They may have it written down, but many students with learning disabilities have trouble with organization and may not have it as a current assignment.
8) Allow students to work together on homework. This can help child get reinforcement of information from his peers, and it can also help promote social skills.
9) Establish a routine at beginning of year about homework assignments. Be consistent and fair about reinforcing that routine.
10) Allow student to tell you at beginning of class time if he was not able to complete his assignment. There are valid reasons for not completing an assignment. Perhaps student just needs more reinforcement in that skill.
Ensuring that student can understand and complete assignments goes a long way toward boosting his self-esteem. He feels good because 1) he was capable of completing assignment, as did other kids, 2) he knows he has pleased teacher, 3) he has pleased himself, and 4) he has that much more information in his brain. Increased self-esteem will encourage him to take risks with searching for new answers and contributing to class discussion. And that will earn him more respect from his peers, as well as from himself. He will be a happy, successful student.
For more plain talk about learning disabilities, please visit us at www.ldperspectives.com.
Sandy Gauvin is a retired educator who has seen learning disabilities from many perspectives - as the parent of a daughter with learning disabilities, as the teacher of children with learning disabilities, and as an advocate for others who have diagnosed and unrecognized learning disabilities. Sandy shares her wisdom and her resources at www.LDPerspectives.com.