My teenager has ADHD/ OCD/ and some Aspergerers syndrome---?

Question

He is extremely smart and always on the Honor Roll---- He is stumped with doing essays. He stares at the paper for hours ---he is working on a Controlling Essay--I don't even know how to help him---he can't concentrate and gets mad at himself---He says he doesnt know how to put it into sentences. HELP--any clues to me to help him out?

Answer 1

Kids with Asperger syndrome really struggle with essays. My daughter has Asperger syndrome and is a maths genius, but, if she is asked to write an essay she doesn't know where to start. This is because these kids like a predicable out come but very often lack the imagination to write an essay. Could you help him with ideas or maybe jot some points down for him to try to put into his own words. I do think you should go into the school and have a word with them about the difficulties he is having and why he is having them. Surely the school should be focusing on his strengths. Good luck.

Answer 2

Is he eligible for scribing (he dictates the answers and someone else writes them)?  If not you might want to bring it up at his next IEP meeting (assuming you're in the U.S.).  If he can form the ideas but not get them on the paper then it's really just an issue of testing/assessment accomodations.  For essays at home, you, a tutor, or a sibling could be scribing for him.

Answer 3

You might ask his teacher to provide guiding questions which he can answer one by one, then organize into an essay.  He may need a skeletal outline to identify the elements she expects him to include in the essay.  Also, have her provide the rubric she uses for grading, which identifies the items she looks for in each section of the essay.  I have found that questions really help my ADHD and MR students organize their thoughts.

Answer 4

When you say he has "some Asperger's Syndrome," what are you referring to? That doesn't make too much sense.

If he does have aspergers, you can always get him extra help. He probably really can't put his thoughts into sentences, I know I can't. I don't know how to help him. I would suggest talking to his school.

Answer 5

Essays give a lot of people a hard time... when the page is blank, it can be very difficult to figure out how to get started.  See if he can think of questions that he can ask himself... when he writes the answers to the questions, then he'll be writing his essay:

Answer 6

He could do graphic organizers to help organize the paper.

He could also record his thoughts into a tape recorder as a way to get started.

Answer 7

Try to get him on a diet, and maybe medication. Adderall works for me and I'm going to try to get on a routine of taking zinc, flax/fish oil, iron, b-6, and a few others. Those should help with the ADHD aspect. As far as the OCD, you should slowly condition him to be less OCD. Easy way is to go to a psychologist/psychiatrist, and they will direct you or help him themselves. They might also have some ideas on how to cope witht he Asperger syndrome.

Answer 8

How about using graphic organizers.

This gives him a structured way to brainstorm ideas.

A blank paper can be overwhelming and trying to organize your ideas out of nothing can also seem to be too difficult.

A graphic organizers helps identify the main parts of the essay and you just start filling in minor details, introduction, conclusion, supporting comments in short sentences and then go back and flesh out the ideas based on this outline you have created. I am not really sure what a controlling essay is so I don't have one to recommend but here are some samples of graphic organizers

http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer...