Tips to help a house with ASD and ADHD be organised at secondary

[ToriTheStoryteller]

3rd day in and my head is already exploding with panic about what might have been forgotten!

So I thought I'd start a tips and tricks thread to share what helped (you and your kids) to make the mornings feel a bit easier:

• We have a little shoe bench in the hall that is only going to be for DS's stuff now: his bag, shoes, PE kit etc.
• The side of the fridge where you stand to open it will have the timetable enlarged on A3 and stuck on it so it's looked at multiple times a day.
• Note on the wall by the front door with a checklist: food, water, glasses, calculator, pencil case, book, PE kit, phone, etc etc.
• Bag will be checked after school for any relevant paperwork.
• Online system will be checked after school for homework and deadlines added to kitchen calendar.
• Clubs added to kitchen calendar.

Anything else that people find helpful?

Keep one place for doing homework/storing books. We have a filing tray for exercise books, they all go in there and never anywhere else other than school. Helps avoid the situation where they dumped their bag out in a random location and now can't find their Science book and don't remember if it's at home or being marked.

We've had the "I don't know where the book is" but it's easier for me to say "it must be at school" because it is never going to be under the bed/in the toilet/fallen down the back of the sofa.

Good idea. I have one of those filing trays that was in the boot sale/charity pile so that can come back in the house!

I photocopy lots of copies of the timetable and DD always has one folded in her pocket to check when she is moving around at school. I have an A4 size canvas box by the front door that has the timetables packable umbrella, squishy stress toys and is where DD dumps books she doesn't need that day.

My DS has started this week too and is even more disorganised than DD so will see how that goes...

I have separate section of their wardrobes for uniform and PE kit with everything hung on hangers so that it is all easy to see.

DD swears by having an open 'note' on her laptop home screen - any task given by a teacher is saved there. Tasks don't always make it onto the system to be checked at home so this helps her feel in control.
She also organises her browser by subject tabs so that she can open and shut the tabs depending on the subject she is focusing on - super important for her not to lose web pages or get overwhelmed

We also have filing trays where all books (and scrappy bits of paper, which are cleared out monthly) are kept.

More for girls (but maybe boys too!)
We have a shelf and mirror by the front door... for hairbrushes, hairbands etc. So we can always find them

...Also having plenty of uniform/PE kit. I'm always picking up bits when they turn up in the local charity shop or Facebook page.

I have separate section of their wardrobes for uniform and PE kit with everything hung on hangers so that it is all easy to see.

Yes! I did this at the weekend, all the school stuff, including school socks in a bag, is hung on the side of the wardrobe that is always opened first. Then when we pack the bag for the next day it should be easy to grab everything needed.

I also realised this morning we need to get into a habit of charging his phone as it was on 7%! He's had one for a while but it wouldn't get touched for a week at a time, so now charging it can be part of the evening routine.

Have several of these:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Checklist-Portable-Detachable-Reusable-Replaceable/dp/B0BCFNMJLD/

you can have one for morning, one for after school and one for before bed.
What's important is that the last task on each board is to set all the knobs to red/not done on the NEXT board that will be needed in a few hours.

These are great tips for everyone. Thank you

DS kept forgetting to charge his phone so I bought a battery pack in case of emergencies.

It can be used multiple times before it needs to be recharged so it's very easy to chuck in his bag when needed.

I had to make it clear to the whole household that it belongs to me, and must be returned to me, so that I could make sure it was always available, otherwise DH has a habit of wandering off with things.

We also have a family calendar with all clubs and events on it. It's right next to my desk so I fill it in as soon as I get an email and check it multiple times a day as my memory is rubbish.

Colour code the school timetable by subject, put everything for that subject in a zipper B4 (slightly larger than A4) pouch in the same colour to make it easier to have the right books on the right days and to keep everything together (yes it means an A4 pad for each, and possibly 2 sets of maths tables or colouring pencils...but those live in that pouch). And put multiple copies of the timetable around - locker door, inside homework journal cover, at desk at home, on fridge door...

Firstly, as a teacher, I would say, try not to panic. It's expected at the start of Y7, students will forget things, lose things, get confused about what "week" they are on, get lost etc, and teachers ought to accept these as genuine mistakes.

If it were me, I would try the following if possible:

1. Have a separate pencil case (and calculator?) for school and home. The school one stays in his school bag, the home one stays at home. Check the school one each half term for essential stuff and replace.

2. Have 5 plastic wallets, labelled for each day of the week. Things he needs to remember like homework, permission slips, etc, go in the relevant wallet. Each night, the next day's wallet goes in his bag, and the other one comes out.

3. Try to do homework etc the night it is set- I know this isn't always possible but otherwise it may mount up and feel insurmountable. He can then put it in the relevant wallet from point 2, and not worry about it. If he would benefit from homework support, the school may offer a "homework club"?

4. Put reminders on his phone calendar for clubs and important deadlines. Take a photo of his timetable and have that on his phone too!

I'd also speak to the SENCo if you haven't already to ask what sort of strategies they usually put in place for students who struggle with organisation. The school will have 100% seen this before and may have some great school specific ideas! Also, make sure his teachers are aware he struggles with organisation- that way they can check in specifically with reminders and find strategies that work in terms of communicating important information!

@Postapocalypticcowgirl wow those are all really helpful!
DS is actually pretty organised, it's us who struggle: I can easily walk out with something niche like a watch that needs a new battery fitted but forget to take my purse and keys.🙄 So my strategies are to make sure he doesn't end up like us and that I don't have a heart attack.😂

He is very much a last-minute person though which he gets from us so I've said that homework will be done as soon as it's set (because we were finishing the summer homework the night before Day 1😱 and I can't handle that for 5 years).

We use Cozi Gold family organiser (integrates with outlook too), plus a wipeable monthly and weekly calendar from Temu on our fridge. shopping list there too. Cozi also has daily reminders for new things (such as new clubs) until they become habit.

We sit down on Sundays and chat through the coming week and also check in most mornings. One of us usually forgets something 😬

Keys-phone-purse-wallet-glasses always on the same shelf and hook. Umbrellas in each car. Use WhatsApp a lot to remind each other if regular things change or new things go into calendar.

Shoes in baskets, shelf near front door for hairbrushes, bobbles, sunglasses, suncream, plus any letters/notes/parcels that need to leave the house and be taken to school, posted or returned.

Also I try to set out uniform for DD when I put her to bed so that I know she has clothes available and reasonably clean, etc.

Seperate plastic zipped folder for each subject for all exercise books/datasheets etc.

Enough kit so nothing needs washing during the week
I bought those tiered filing trays with days of the week on so she'd know which slot to put homework in
Homework done the day she got it
Eventually she just carried everything she owned so she felt safer
A place to completely decompress when she got home (sometimes found her in a wardrobe)
No list of questions when they get home, save a few for later on.
She needed a whiteboard with everything written on. Or music etc. I know it's in their planner but that wasn't the right format for her