Finding The Homework Chain Breakdown

How do finished assignments never get handed in?

Where does homework vanish to between school and home? How do they have less homework (so they say), yet more missing assignments? Oh, the mystery and wonder that come with executive function disorders.

Why is it that no matter how many times I tell my student how important it is to keep track, finish, and hand in their assignments, the missing and late work keeps happening? It boils down to executive functions, my friend.

Every step your struggling student takes in school involves an executive function. We all have our own unique combination of executive function strengths and weaknesses. So, how do we figure out which one needs some attention?

The homework chain...that's how.

If your student struggles with executive functions, then you are bound to have some weak links in the homework chain. Where and when is your struggling student in need of a fresh idea?

What is the homework chain?

Struggling students move through NINE steps to successfully complete and submit a single assignment. Each step requires an executive function.

(1) Gather

Gathering all of the information from the teacher including when, where, and how to do the assignment to satisfaction. Weakness with this link shows as a not knowing of instructions and assignments.

(2) Transport

Placing the assignment in a particular place (or writing it down) to be remembered later. Weakness with this link shows as lost and forgotten assignments and supplies needed for assignments.

(3) Recall

When the time comes (ex. after school) our students must recall that there is a task to be done, where to find it, and how to do it. Weakness with this link shows as not remembering that there is an assignment, or they do remember that there is an assignment, but they don't remember what it was.

(4) Plan and Prioritize

Predicting how long it will take to do a task, is essential in the process of planning time to do it, and self-motivating task initiation. Getting started is often the hardest part, right? Weakness with this link looks like last minute rushes to get things done, and a pile up of late and missing work.

(5) Start (a.k.a. Task Initiation)

Gathering the needed materials and turning on the motivation center in order to focus the brain enough to begin. Weakness with this link includes taking a long time to get started and being unprepared once they get going.

(6) Focus

Sustained attention is a focus factor that functions less as a constant focusing mechanism, and more as a redirector of attention. We all lose track of our tasks, but our sustained attention function brings us back to the task at hand. Weakness with this link looks like long breaks during homework sessions, and the need to have someone there to redirect back on task.

(7) Finish.

Students must be able to identify when a task is complete, which can be difficult when working on one piece of a bigger project. This step also involve tracking the time that has transpired and time left to do other needed tasks. Weakness in this link looks like taking way too long on projects, once focused.

(8) Transport 

Clearly, students must bring the assignment back to school, but placing it in a way that they will remember to turn it in, and be able to find it. Weakness in this link looks like completed assignments that are forgotten to hand in, and lost assignments that are found in strange places like the bottom of a backpack or behind a bed.

(9) Check

Anyone with executive function deficits, must constantly check back on their work to find the inevitable mistakes. Students must check back in the grade report to double check that an assignment was indeed received. Weakness in this link looks like the not knowing that an assignment was missing, or what the assignment, listed on the grade report, actually is.

Pro Tips:

• Focus on the earliest weak link first.

• The purpose is less about identifying what has gone wrong, and more about finding where a different strategy is needed.

• Focus on strategies and systems. For example, you might use a sticky note coming out of a notebook as a visual reminder, as opposed to a talk about how important responsibility is.

• Praise and incentivize all efforts towards trying strategies, even if they didn't work. They must try before they can do.

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