organisational skills for DSs in secondary school

[2marys]

Does anyone know how to find assistance for boys who need support with their organisational skills? Faced with overstretched SENCOs ad teachers , I suspect that what we need is someone who understands young people with learning issues (on the spectrum/dyslexia/dyspraxia) but the key is how to tackle the mounds of work with sufficient but not overmuch attention. Ie i am not looking for subject tutors, but people who can say ok, so this is how you organise yourself/start addressing a question, in principle but which can then be applied. I think we'll need 1:1 support which we'll probably have to stump up for.

[LIZS]

Learning Support Assistants should be able to help - part of SN department - in terms of study skills and organisation. It is as much about finding strategies which work for the individual as imposing any particular regime. ds(13) is dyspraxic but now well organised, using timetables to check bags and equipment required, homework diary, notebook of questions to ask and of whom. His learning support sessions were initially about spelling and handwriting but over the years moved on to more general methods of leanring and independence. He checks and double-checks and has routine when he gets in of relaxing then doing homework. How old are your dc ? We have noticed a huige imrpovement in self organisation between 10 and 13 and even the quality of presentation in the work he produces , including diagrams, graphs etc which he has found very hard to grasp .

[tabulahrasa]

Do you mean in class or for homework?

[2marys]

Thanks, LIZs, we'll try that - DS is now in year 12 and having pulled off a better set of results than the school was probably expecting - although not so good as he would have achieved otherwise, and did really well in maths although the school was predicting he wouldn;t get into the A*-C band. But the SENCO is so busy that his support hasn't been consistent - understatement. The demands of 6th form with its even more independent learning are making things hard.

Tabulahrasa (love the name), we'll see if the school has resource, and if they do, well and good - but they haven't even done things like get him extra time before now - he seems to drop off their radar. So I'm not pinning my hopes on it. therefore we ought to explore out of class too.