I have a smart nephew who is doing poor in school, what do I do?

Question

Straight A student in elementary school and all of the sudden hes doing poor in middle school. No father figure is in the house so I serve as the male role model. He is extremely smart and reads at a 8th grade level (hes in 6th) but just lacks something thats keeping him from reaching his potential. He misses assignments and forgets things and in turn turns in things incomplete. My sister is not very big on discipline so maybe thats the problem? Shes at the point to let me take over so I am. The only thing that I really have no control over is his meds, he takes meds for ADHD. Any ideas, websites, or thoughts that could help? I really appreciate it.

Answer 1

My oldest son has ADHD and has never been medicated. Not going to go into all that but some of the things I've discovered that help him to concentrate are:

      Tapping-When he's doing an assignment he taps his desk, the sound helps keep his attention focused in front of him.  You may need to have mom talk to the teacher about this so that the teacher understands why he's doing it.

      A digital battery operated clock with timer-set it up for him and let him time himself on his homework for 2 or 3 weeks. After that if he can beat the time while still doing the homework properly, offer a reward. Start with something small such as a book. If after a few weeks he's still beating his old time plan an outing of his choice.

    Get mom to talk to the teacher about an Individual Learning Plan (ILP). Also have mom talk to the teacher about structuring his homework differently, my son is in 5th grade and brings home all his homework on Mon.,  this way I know when to expect it.

Make a weekly schedule, post it somewhere visible such as the fridge and give him the stickers or pen, let him mark off each day that he met his goals. I found that with my son that the sense of accomplishment was reward enough here. He was really proud of himself when he met his goals for the week.

    Another thing to keep in mind is that middle school means a lot of changes, the poor grades may just be temporary. That doesn't mean that its not frustrating of course LOL but they may pop back up there.   Depending on how long dad has been gone---that's another thing that could be giving him a temp. set back. Don't give up though!

Answer 2

YOU SHOULD TRY TAKING AWAY A FEW OF HIS PRIVILEDGES SO THAT HE TRIES TO EARN THEM BACK. HE SHOULD ALSO CARRY A PLANNER SO THAT HE CAN KEEP TRACK OF WHAT HE HAS TO TURN IN. THIS IS A PRETTY TOUGH AGE AND TIME FOR HIM. LIFE IS ALOT HARDER WITH ADHD, MY TWO COUSINS HAVE IT.

Answer 3

talk to him

see him through his shoes

she what he is going through it could be family, friends or even teachers

talk to him

Answer 4

You should turn learning into something fun to do and reward him when he does well. M child did the same thing and this worked.

Answer 5

HOMESCHOOLING

Answer 6

What do the teachers say?  What does he say?  Is there a underlying reason why he is acting out this way (by not doing well in school)?  Maybe other kids are picking on him?  Maybe he might do better in homeschool?  Psychologist/therapist may also be required to dig for the truth.  Good luck.

Answer 7

Try www.allkindsofminds.org.

They have some great tools to help you to understand how it feels for your nephew to suffer from ADHD, tips on how to help him with homework and help to guide you through the education of children with no ADHD but simple weak spots in their ability at certain subjects. I found it really helpful.  Also a great book to read called the myth of laziness by Mel Lavine is another great tool to help you to identify what is working and not and how to give him tools to help and encourage him. good luck, in my experience boys seem to be more into listening than reading so if you can get fun books with CD's attached it is also a help.