Prof Tracy Cross to Speak at DCU on 10th December

Social and Emotional Issues in Relation to Gifted Children

Guest Lecture by

Professor Tracy Cross

Professor of Psychology and Gifted Education

College of William and Mary, Virginia, USA

Saturday 10th December

Room CG12

Henry Grattan Building
Dublin City University

10.30am and 2pm

It’s not often that we in Ireland have the opportunity to hear in person, one of the world’s experts in gifted education. Professor Cross has written many books on the subject and is, not only an expert in the field, but a very entertaining speaker. CTYI welcome anyone to come along on Saturday but ask that you email Lynne Mooney at lynne.mooney@dcu.ie to confirm a place.
Directions and Map of DCU campus

Dazzled and I will be there for the 2pm session and are happy to chat to any parents and teachers afterwards. So, be sure and say hello!

The Junior Cert Reform Glass is Half-Full!

The current Junior Certificate was introduced in 1989 with the first exams in 1992. It replaced the Intermediate Certificate and was heralded as being a much more modern qualification. In the interim it has become a content-heavy “Leaving Cert Lite” with parents, students and teachers alike extolling its virtues as being “good practise for the points race”. Reform is therefore welcome and overdue if we are to address issues of curriculum overload, rote-learning and outdated ways of assessment in our education system.

Many of the proposals in our submission to the NCCA review have found a place in the final plan and we are pleasantly surprised at some of the elements proposed. From a “gifted” perspective there is much to be applauded and welcomed. Children learn in so many different ways and this document recognises that all children should get the opportunity to show what they can do within the exam system and outside of it. Of particular interest are the short courses which give students welcome scope to follow their talents and strengths. Many children already take part in activities both in and outside school from sports to music to computers to theatre. Lots of them shine in this their chosen environment. It is a very positive thing that their commitment to participation in a wide range of activities can be recognised and rewarded.

The new system may have much to commend it, but it also raises many questions. How will teachers respond? Will they think it will merely increases their workload? How will they feel about assessing their own students, long a hot-button issue for the teachers unions? Will some subjects fade into obscurity if they are not examination subjects? What implication does the new Junior Cycle have for Transition Year? What will happen to the Leaving Cert if students are examined differently for Junior Cert? Will it have the desired effect on Literacy and Numeracy, and the infamous Pisa study? And the biggest one of all; is this merely a dumbing down, no child gets ahead, minimum achievement proposition?

The jury is out for now, it will probably take a few years to see the results, but I believe that good schools have nothing to fear from the changes. It will finally show parents what the “league tables” don’t. Schools have been telling us for years that a fairer way to judge the education provided by individual schools would be to consider all activities, sports, co-curricular, learning support measures and exemplary school leadership in addition to academics. This is an opportunity to show us exactly that. It will tell us which schools have strong effective leadership. It will separate good teachers from poor ones. It will show us how good school management produces real results. It will showcase innovative, inclusive and imaginative schools. It will identify those schools which genuinely support all types of learners, including those with difficulties and those who are boxed in by the current exam system.

There was a recent article in The Irish Times about a school in County Limerick which in the space of a few years turned itself around from being on the brink of closure to being one of the most desired schools in the locality. It did this through innovative leadership and a strong vision of what they wanted to achieve. This school should be the inspiration for all schools and teachers who look on this new Junior Cert as a negative development. Coláiste Chiaráin was at rock-bottom and used the same resources available to every other school to create a learning environment second to none. They didn’t see the glass as half-empty, they looked to fill it to the brim. I’m guessing they won’t see the new Junior Cert as anything other than an opportunity. I hope other schools can do likewise.

The responses so far have been mixed, but a central theme has been funding. Some teachers of my acquaintance want to know where the money for their training will come from. They say that without huge investment this will never work. I am starting to wonder if that's a prediction or a threat. We have had enough negativity in Ireland in the last few years. It is time to change the way we view the challenges ahead. Instead of feeling sorry for ourselves, looking for flaws in every new development with our typical Irish Peig Sayers-like keening why don’t we seek out the positives and make them work? The can-do approach which is the hallmark of the most admired entrepreneurs and innovators in Ireland and throughout the world should be to the forefront of our minds as we head into this new Junior Cycle. Enough complaining, let's get on with ensuring that our children have a first-class learning experience. My glass is half-full, how is yours looking?

Junior Cycle Reform, Here We Come!

Following a lengthy period of consultation with teachers, students, parents and anyone who wished to have a say, the NCCA has put forward a new Framework for Junior Cycle. This has been approved by the Minister for Education, Ruairi Quinn, and is due to be implemented from 2014, meaning that children now in 5th class in primary school will be the last to go through the Junior Certificate as we know it now.

This new model has drawn mixed responses. Given that it incorporates many of the elements which our support group wished for in the Junior Cycle Portfolio which we submitted to the NCCA, we cannot be anything but pleased!

The new framework will, in my opinion,  allow schools and teachers to really get stuck in and do something innovative. No longer will the Junior Certificate be all about rote learning and regurgitation in which success depends on learning how to play the game and know how to score points on the test rather than display knowledge and understanding of a subject. Now, there will be the potential for students to explore areas which interest them to a level which matches their ability. It should be all about learning to learn and being excited by the process, rather than turned off by the whole idea. However, the success of the new model will be very much dependent on the attitude and skill of individual schools and teachers. Schools with enthusiastic innovative leadership and passionate teachers will take it and make it their own. I  imagine that teaching in such an environment will be far more enjoyable too and there are teachers who are already champing at the bit to get going. Success will depend on the ability of each school and teacher to engage students and create an environment in which they want to participate. Enthusiasm is infectious.

There are, admittedly, many challenges ahead. A high level of innovation will be required when it comes to subject choices and time-tabling. If some students are preparing for the end-of-junior-cycle exam in a subject, will all others taking that subject take the same classes with them? Will this stunt creativity in that class? Much will depend on the type of assessment/examination at the end. Let’s hope it doesn’t perpetuate teaching-to-the-test. Cross-curricular modules or classes would be very worthwhile, but how can these be facilitated while also preparing students for the Junior Certificate exams in discrete subjects and at different levels? The ASTI has raised concerns about teachers assessing their own students' work. That will require integrity and professionalism on the part of teachers and trust on the part of parents, but it has been achieved in other countries, so there must be a way.

While it is important that we strive to ensure that as many as possible reach certain minimum standards, recognition for talent in other areas is to be welcomed. There are many valuable life-lessons to be learned from participation in areas beyond the scope of the current education system, such as the arts, technology and sport. No fifteen year old should be made to feel a failure simply because they score poorly in an academic setting. I suppose the question we must ask ourselves, is “what is the goal of second level education?” Personally, I believe that it should be to produce young adults who are equipped to go out into the world and to participate in society as fully, positively and productively as possible, given their own unique skill-set. 

One element about which I have some reservations in the standardised testing proposed for the end of second year. There is value to this insofar as it allows schools to ensure that all students reach a certain minimum standard. However, there is the risk that, once this standard has been reached, the box is considered ticked and all is well. For students of exceptional ability, all is not well at all. What is not often appreciated is that these students  may be able to perform at a level several years above their grade level. Standardised testing allows no room for their ability or progress to be monitored. With a ceiling in place, how do we know they aren’t, in fact, disimproving over time relative to their own ability?

Then there are those exceptionally able students who, for whatever reason, just don’t do well in standardised tests. Some look at multiple-choice questions and, because of their ability to think deeply and around corners, may see several possible correct answers and not know which box to tick. Some may have a learning disability which brings their score down. As long as it falls within acceptable limits, they tick the box and their ability and disability, having masked each other, both go unnoticed.

Having said that, I believe that with a combination of the new Junior Cycle Framework and some basic instruction on the characteristics and needs of gifted students during pre-service teacher training, then such children could be far more easily identified than at present. Indeed, the new model, implemented well, is just the sort of environment in which these children could be allowed to stretch their wings and learn how to use their ability with pride. It’s just a shame that none of these changes will come in time for my own children to benefit.

To Label Or Not To Label?

In the US, it is estimated that up to 20% of gifted children may also have a learning disability of some sort, i.e. are twice exceptional. We don’t have figures for Ireland, but I assume they would be roughly similar. Is this accurate? Do these children really warrant a diagnosis or label or are they just plain gifted and displaying behaviour typical of giftedness?

Physical disabilities and some learning disabilities may be easy enough to identify. Others are not so clear-cut, particularly in gifted individuals. What is the difference between ADHD and overexcitability? Does the daydreaming, unfocused child or the one who keeps blurting out the answers in class have a brain which is working at a hundred miles an hour or do they have ADHD? Is a child who does not mix well with their classmates displaying asynchrony or do they have Asperger Syndrome?  Is a child who can be elated one minute and distraught the next, suffering from bipolar disorder or just emotional intensity? Do you see the problem?

In Ireland, very few psychologists, psychiatrists and occupational therapists have expertise in giftedness. So, when faced with these issues, they may be too quick to label. On the other hand, for the very same reason, they may miss the diagnosis of a learning disability if giftedness is masking the problem. It is important to be able to see the big picture because, as Dr Linda Silverman says when describing how the gifted cope with learning disabilities, compensation is a two-edged sword.

Most behaviours or traits have a spectrum and we each display them at different intensities. Much like a graphic equaliser gives a piece of music its overall character, it is the combination of all these behaviours at different levels which gives us each our unique personality. Some of us lie near the centre of the range for all the traits; others fall well to one end or the other of some. Does that indicate a diagnosable condition or are we just a little eccentric?

Let me use ADHD to illustrate my point. I am very disorganised, I procrastinate, I flit from idea to idea without seeing things through, and my house usually looks like a tornado just passed through. Do I have ADHD? Well, I am certainly well up along that particular spectrum! Whether I warrant the label or not, I am not sure. 

Excuse the sexist stereotyping but, consider a married man with ADHD and a personal assistant. His assistant keeps him organised at work and, more than likely, his wife keeps him organised at home. So, it's quite possible that he does fine and may never even know he has ADHD. In contrast, a married woman with ADHD who chooses the traditional role of stay-at-home-mother may be expected to manage the household and organise everyone; herself, her children and her husband. Throw in a child or two with traits of ADHD (it tends to run in families) and a couple of pets and the chances are, she may struggle somewhat. She may, like me, be frazzled! 

So you see, the impact of the “problem” very much depends on life circumstances at any given time. If we choose the “right” job and the “right” partner, we may sail through just fine. Alternatively, we may end up in trouble at various times. My view is that we must be aware of our traits and how they affect us. Firstly, it makes us better able to make good choices and not to be too hard on ourselves when we mess up. Secondly, we can learn strategies that may help us to cope. What works for people with the full-blown disability, may help those with milder traits. It is our job as parents, to help our children to understand themselves in this way and to take responsibility for their behaviour. 

Having said that, there are times when we may need to accept the label and seek help. This is particularly important for our children. It is all very well to say we don’t want them to be stigmatised, but if they are struggling to cope at school, getting a diagnosis or label can be the only way to get support for them. This may make all the difference, not only to their level of achievement, but also to their self-confidence and general well being during their formative years.

References: 

Gifted Children with Learning Disabilities : Lost Treasures by Linda Kreger Silverman 

Overexcitability and the Gifted by Sharon Lind

Asynchronous Development by Jean Goerss

Emotional Intensity in Gifted Children by Lesley Kay Sword

The Two-Edged Sword of Compensation: How the Gifted Cope With Learning Disabilities by Linda Kreger Silverman

Understanding How Gifted and Twice Exceptional Children Can Benefit From OT  by Debra Johnson

Happy World Teachers' Day!

It’s World Teachers' Day today, so a big THANK YOU to all teachers in Ireland and across the globe! I hope you continue to inspire and be inspired by your students every day.

As a parent I am grateful for the many inspiring teachers in whose classrooms my children have spent time. I am amazed at their patience, commitment and dedication to the children they teach. Many of them go way beyond the call of duty in providing support, extra-curricular activities, supervision hours and a determination to help students succeed. My son’s History teacher is a fine example. His enthusiasm for his subject is infectious, his story-telling legendary, his commitment to helping a classroom full of teenage boys see the value of history in their modern high-tech world is fantastic. One of those brave souls who volunteers to travel on school trips (and even appears to enjoy them!), his influence is such that my 2nd Year son has already decided to take History as a Leaving Cert subject as long as his teacher is Mr. Carey. This is one great teacher! And I am lucky that my children’s schools are full of teachers like this; able to reach their students in a myriad of different ways.

My children are also Exceptionally Able which can make for a different experience of our school system. There is, I think, a growing awareness that gifted children have quite distinct and different needs. Supporting those children in a meaningful way without compromising the needs of others and balancing scarce resources is the hard part. Being able to identify which children are gifted is the first step. As a parent of Exceptionally Able children there are a few things of which I wish more of our teachers were aware. Here are five things which might ease the way for these students for whom our educational system is not best suited;

• The Exceptionally Able are not always the high-achievers in the classroom, and the high-achievers are not always Exceptionally Able. Spotting EA students is not an easy task. It would be a great leap forward if schools and teachers could make it their mission to be able to recognize gifted pupils.
• We (their parents) often know a lot about our particular children and giftedness in general. We have often spent many hours researching giftedness from classroom strategies to friendship or social issues to help us raise these different children. Use us, we’d love to help.
• Work is not supposed to be too easy. If our children always get 100% please make it more difficult for them, otherwise they will fall apart when they finally face a challenge that doesn’t come easy. See our post on Vygotsky’s ZPD for more.
• Playing to my child’s strengths gives him or her confidence to tackle any weaknesses,  the other way around does not. You’ve probably all already seen this clip about how unique all our children are, but it really says it all.
• These students could often go far far beyond what the curriculum, the classroom or the teacher can offer. I understand the limits within which you have to operate, so do these students. By the simple act of letting them know you recognize their ability you can give a powerful message that they are understood and valued.

But most of all; Thank You, for giving my children and hundreds of others the gift of life-long learning. That is priceless.

Gifted Students and Ability Grouping

It is interesting that, within a week of #edchatie and #gtie both discussing mixed ability/streaming/setting on twitter, this article by Dr Emer Smyth of the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) appears in the Independent. 

"Some second-level schools use streaming, placing pupils in particular classes on the basis of entry tests. Thus some pupils are taught in lower ability classes, not only for English and maths but also for metalwork, physical education and religious education." 

In my experience, most Irish schools engage in setting, not streaming. Streaming, whereby a student is placed into a high or low ability stream for all subjects does not make sense to me. It does not allow for the very many students who are much better at some subjects than others. Setting for individual subjects such as maths and Irish/English makes perfect sense as I cannot imagine how a teacher could adequately teach both higher and lower level in the one class when the course work is different, never mind having to deal with the wide range of student abilities. 

But now to the bee in my bonnet:

"Contrary to popular perceptions, there is no benefit to those placed in higher ability classes; their results are similar to their peers in mixed classes."

Everything I have read suggests that high ability students do better in high ability groups than mixed ability groups. I fully accept the drawbacks for lower ability students, but I am not convinced that the negative impact is entirely due to the grouping itself. It seems to be at least partly related to the expectations, the behaviours and the teaching. However, that's another issue.  In this article, Dr Emer Smyth refers to a "ceiling on potential achievement" being set in lower ability classes. Could a similar ceiling effect not also be part of the reason  that high ability students in high ability streams do no better than their peers in mixed ability classes? 

International expert, Dr Deborah Ruf has just written published School is Not Real Life, Part 3 in which she says:

"Most people think that teachers teach to the average. Well, no, they don't. They can't! If they taught to the average, too many of the slower learners simply wouldn't catch on to most of what was happening in the classroom. Teachers teach to the top of the bottom third once they know their class. This way, they reach the slower learners fairly well and the majority of the kids in the middle get lots of encouragement and opportunity to manage their time, learn study skills, and how to handle a certain amount of intellectual struggle and feel success when they finally "get it." The sad truth, though, is that the brightest students end up spending a lot of time waiting for something new to happen. Depending on a number of other factors, like whether they are male or female and their personality profiles, they learn a lot that ends up not being helpful to real life. They learn that if you are smart, you don't need to study or work hard. They learn that their parents and teachers don't know what they are talking about if they think this assignment matters. They learn that they are smarter than everyone else in the class and are in for a shock when they actually do get out into the real world."

Why is equality of achievement the holy grail of education? What about equality of challenge? Are we closing the achievement gap by holding the most able back? In what other area are we so focused on equality of achievement? We are happy to promote and celebrate the pursuit of excellence in sport and music, for example. Why not also in learning? Why is the education system in Ireland now heading down the same standardised testing route as the US with its No Child Left Behind policy? It has now become known as the No Child Gets Ahead Act and, to my mind this is not fair or equitable either.


Here is the transcript for #gtie chat on setting/streaming and mixed ability.
Here is the transcript for #edchatie on setting/streaming and mixed ability.


Glad to have that off my chest. Off to make dinner now!

Homework Tips For The Easily Distracted

Getting through homework can be a major battle for some students and gifted students are no exception. The reasons are varied: some have ADD/ADHD; some have already been bored by the material in class and just can’t face doing yet more of the same at home; some find it difficult to resist the pull of other more interesting projects. Young people today are digital natives in a vibrant and fast-moving world of technology and information. It must be incredibly difficult for them to switch their minds away from all of that and to focus on the rather more mundane task of homework, particularly when they have been told to use the internet as a resource. Whatever the reason, there is a problem as most teachers expect students to do the homework. It doesn’t matter whether or not they clearly understand the material, it matters that the homework has been assigned and everyone must do it. Over recent years, I have been given some advice which my own easily distracted student has found helpful and I thought it would be useful to share it.

There are two parts to maximising your chances of success:

1. You must establish a routine and a system. Everyone is different in this respect, so you may need to try a few alternatives before you find the one that works best for you. Then you must be tough on yourself and stick to it.

2. You must set yourself up to succeed. The psychology of this is important as constant failure will drag you down whereas constant little successes will make you feel more confident and more likely to succeed further. It doesn’t matter how small the success or how trivial it seems to others. This is about removing fear and dread and replacing it with confidence. As the saying goes, success breeds success.

Before You Go Home

At the end of each class, make sure you have made a note of the homework assigned. If you have any doubts, now is the time to ask.

At the end of the school day, to go through the list of homework and pack your bag carefully before leaving school. A few minutes spent at this point making sure that you bring home all the necessary books and materials may save a lot of time later.

  

Getting Ready

Have a specific starting time so that you can’t keep putting it off.

Some people need a break after school before they begin, others find it better to just keep going. If they take a break, they find it hard to get back into the right frame of mind again. Be very careful about watching TV or going on that games console, as they switch your mind into a totally different mode and it can be very difficult to escape from them and switch back to study mode!

Exercise raises the body's levels of neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine and noradrenaline which aid concentration. You may find that things go better after a rugby game, dancing, a run or even walking the dog.

Make sure you eat something before you start. It’s hard to concentrate on an empty stomach.

Don’t kid yourself. You cannot do homework in front of the TV or while facebooking and texting. Find a place with as few distractions as possible and get your head “in the zone”.

  

Getting Started (the hardest part!)

Have a list of the homework to be done so that you can tick each item off as you finish it.

Decide how much time you think each item should reasonably take.

Then do something quick to begin with, or something you quite like. This way, you will find it easier to get stuck in and get one item ticked off on your list.

Next, do the item that you least want to do so that it isn’t hanging over you all evening. It will give you a boost once it’s done and it’s best to do the most difficult item before you get too tired.

Make a note of the time you start each item and the time you finish it. This helps to show you how much time you are spending and will, eventually, show you how you are improving. It will also be useful to show to any teachers who might doubt your effort!

  

Keeping Going

Some people find doing something active helps concentration. Try chewing gum, using a stressball or a piece of modelling clay/bluetack (this can be used in school too). Try sitting on a move-and-sit cushion or an excercise ball.

Contrary to the usual advice, there are a few people who work better with music in the background...Try it, but be honest about the results! Others find that white noise helps.

If you find yourself drifting off too frequently, set a timer to ring at intervals to bring you back. You might need to begin with just five minutes, or less. Set the timer and know that once you have done five minutes, you have succeeded. Enjoy the success and then go for another five, and so on. It is far better to set the bar low and succeed rather than constantly fail and feel frustrated and panicky. Over time, you should aim to increase the amount of time you go for. Often, when the stress of facing an enormous task is removed, your brain works better and you will actually get much more done.

As you complete each item of homework, tick it off on the list and get up and move around. Get some fresh air or a drink/snack. Just don’t get sucked in by the TV or a video game, though...we all know that vast amounts of time can whizz by when doing those things and before you know it, you will have left yourself with no chance of getting all your work done. 

If All Else Fails

If you find that, despite your best efforts, you are spending hours and hours getting through your work and really struggling to get it all done, speak to your teachers about the problem, or get your parents to do so on your behalf. Once they appreciate that you are trying, they may very well be happy to support you. Maybe they can help you decide how much time each piece of homework should take and maybe they will be happy to accept an incomplete assignment once they know that you have spent a reasonable amount of time on it. Maybe they will suggest that you don’t need to do all the homework at all and that a shorter assignment will do. After all, homework is supposed to reinforce what you learned in class and show the teacher that you have understood it. There is often more than one way to achieve this.

For Parents

For students who have difficulties, it is important that their parents accept the problem as genuine and that they support them. They will be feeling bad enough about themselves as it is, without you adding to the sense of hopelessness and inadequacy. This will include speaking to their teachers to make them aware of the problems so that they can help. It may even mean seeking the advice of a psychologist. Don’t let the fear of labelling get in the way of seeking help. Teachers will have come across similar problems many times before and may well have some useful suggestions to make. Psychologists are trained to offer advice for problems such as these and a little input from one of them can make all the difference.

As with the organisational difficulties discussed in the previous post, it is important that, as your child gets older, they take ownership of these difficulties for themselves. Finding a teacher/mentor who is willing and able to help is very important in this regard as it means your child doesn’t have to continue depending on you, but learns to recognise when they need help and to seek it for themselves as they will have to do once they head out into the world on their own.

Further Reading:

Rewired: The Psychology of Technology. Multitasking Madness by Larry Rosen, PhD

15 Minutes of Excercise "Boosts Children's Concentration" by Jennifer Trueland

How To Improve ADHD Symptoms With Excercise interview with  John J Ratey, MD

Does Your Gifted Child Have ADHD? by Kathleen Nadeau, PhD

Organising A Homework Space For Special Needs Children

How To Do Homework Without Throwing Up by Trevor Romain

My Thoughts On Homework by Justin Tarte, Assistant School Principal

Organising the Gifted but Scatty

Do you have one of those kids who lives in a world of their own much of the time, completely oblivious to the passage of time; who needs constant reminding to "put the other sock on and finish getting dressed"; to "never mind that the dog's water bowl is empty, you have five minutes to eat your breakfast and get out to school"?

Does the start of the day go something like the version on the right below?

llustration by Buck Jones, used with the kind permission of Allie Golon of Visual-Spatial Learners

You finally get them out the door and are just recovering when you spot the Irish homework that was slaved over for hours the night before, sitting on the table. Or the text arrives to say "I've forgotten my maths book", "forgotten my lunch", "forgot there was P.E. today"...and so begins that inner battle: if you constantly bail them out they'll never learn, so you should let them suffer the consequences of not planning ahead and paying attention, versus the gut feeling that they really can't help it and will be devastated to turn up in class without all the right things.

In my experience there are some kids who, by suffering the consequences of their actions or lack of them, will quickly learn to be better organised. However, there are some who really do have genuine organisational difficulties related to what are known as executive skills deficits. No matter how hard they try, they always struggle to be organised. They know this and it frustrates them, causes them distress and makes them feel useless.

Sometimes the issue is just delayed development of executive skills, sometimes it’s ADHD, sometimes it’s that your kid is a visual-spatial learner. Whatever the reason, recognising for themselves the tasks with which they struggle and learning how to best to work around the problem is something that will stand to them forever. Plenty of scatty, disorganised people go on to lead productive, creative and fulfilled lives. For them to be left to constantly mess up or to have you forever picking up the pieces for them is hugely damaging to their self esteem and will delay their independence. The trick is to get the balance right between being supportive and allowing to learn by failure.

As a parent, I have found it helpful to avoid comparison of my children's progress in this area with that of other children of the same age. My goal is to ensure that, by the time they reach adulthood, they have learned to be as independent and self-sufficient as possible and are ready to leave the nest. In the meantime, they may need a little more support than their peers, but it's not a competition. It can also be helpful to discuss the problem with your child's teachers so that they understand and can work with you. It is absolutely vital that your child is included in the process so that they take responsibility for their own progress and learn to advocate for themselves as they get older.

Here are some tricks which help them to cope better.

Getting out in the morning:

1. Mornings are usually hectic and full of distractions, so pack your schoolbag and look out all your clothes before going to bed the night before. Use the school timetable to check off what is needed.

2. Set a timer in your bedroom to go off when it really is time to be dressed and ready to go for breakfast. (To begin with, mum may need to pop her head around the door at intervals to make sure progress is being made. Don’t bite it off!)

3. Follow a routine and do everything in the same order so you don’t leave anything out.

4. No TV or other distractions!

5. Have a mental checklist of the essentials and go through it before you leave. Schoolbag, lunch, money, bus ticket...whatever you need, but keep it short or you’ll forget items. My own list, which I automatically recite on my way out the door, is “keys, money, phone”.

In school:

6. If you have a homework journal, USE IT. If you don’t have one, get one. Write in, not just the homework given, but when it is due and any other special announcements. eg If the teacher tells you there is a test or you must bring in a particular item next Wednesday, write a note in next Tuesday’s slot to remind you

7. Colour code your books. You can buy sheets of coloured stickers in various shapes and allocate one to each subject eg red circles to maths, blue squares to English etc. Stick these to the spine of all your books, copybooks included. Then, when you look into you locker, you will see quickly which books you need for each class...provided you take the time to keep your locker tidy.

8. Colour code your timetable to match the book system.

9. Make lots of timetables. Stick one where you do your homework, one in the kitchen, one inside your locker. Make a small one, laminate it and keep it in your pocket.

Most importantly:

10. Accept that this is not your fault and, once you are doing your best, don't be too hard on yourself. If you keep working at it, after a while, these habits become automatic and you will find life much easier. Some of us spend our whole lives using to-do lists and little tricks to keep us on track.

Further reading for the frazzled:

Getting Your Kids Out The Door - With Their Shoes! by Allie Golon

Smart But Scattered Peg Dawson and Richard Guare

Visual Spatial Learners Gifted Development Centre

Visual Spatial Resource

Executive Function, What Is This Anyway? Chris A. Zeigler Dendy

Executive Function Issues

Parenting Your Gifted Child With ADHD Davidson Institute for Talent Development

For my next trick, I will be bringing you some homework tips for the easily distracted.