Lazy teen not doing school work please help ......

[EverythingIsTicketyBoo]

So my very nearly 16 year old is lying about homework, our turning up to extra classes and now not attending his catch up sessions (if he doesn't go if will fail the subject as he needs to complete a controlled assessment). I think you also need to know he is hearing and visually impaired but there are things in place for him at the school to keep up.

We have a good relationship with his teacher and work together with incentives/punishments but we get nothing more that short term changes, or he does just enough to stay out of real trouble but then just goes back to not doing his work. Now in year 11 he is at real risk of failing and there's nothing I can do to help. He has done exams in the past but does not do any of the work, he says he can see the papers clearly and can read the questions but chooses not to write anything. I just cant get through to him, he has no motivation what so ever and doesn't seem to care that he's going to fail

I do realise that his disabilities already make school hard for him and an uphill struggle but he gets lots of support and things in place. Just don't know what to do anymore

It is his 16th birthday next week and we have got him an i pad, he has done nothing to deserve it but it's his birthday present :( I'm so torn and sad, sorry if this makes no sense, I have tried not to drip defence get everything out at once.

I think that at his age it is all about motivation. Does he know what he wants to do? It must be so difficult now. The carrot of if you study hard and get to a good uni you will get a good job, is just no longer true.

What is he interested in? What implications do his disabilities have on his future prospects? It is bound to be something that influences his thinking.

My son needed to leave school before he found the motivation for future study. The combination of a dead end job and travel really gave him the kick to get his arse into gear.

I think that at his age it is all about motivation. Does he know what he wants to do? It must be so difficult now. The carrot of if you study hard and get to a good uni you will get a good job, is just no longer true.

What is he interested in? What implications do his disabilities have on his future prospects? It is bound to be something that influences his thinking.

My son needed to leave school before he found the motivation for future study. The combination of a dead end job and travel really gave him the kick to get his arse into gear.

Thank you for replying. He is interested in cooking and is doing food tech as one of his subjects but we struggle to even get him to do that at the moment. His disabilities do limit his opportunities but catering/cooking is something he should be able to do.

I just cant get through to him :(

You can try telling him that the only person that he is cheating is himself - out of decent earnings and a good life. That he will have to fend for himself one day and you won't be there to pick up the pieces. It worked with my son. Many teens seem to think that they will just stay with their parents and be looked after for ever. Much as we love them we know that wouldn't be good for them. I told my son that if he stayed at home with no qualifications, he would have to hand over any allowance he was given as rent, and that I would be finding him a job at the nearest Teco as a shelf stacker. He started at uni this year. He has short term memory problems, so you can imagine how hard it was for him to learn all the facts he needed, but he did it.

Do you know MadeofKent I don't think that is an approach we've taken, we have touched on it telling him he can't get a job he wants without qualifications, and pointed out that only he can do it, I can't get him through it or do it for him.