Posted by M.E. on August 17, 1999 at 12:03:56:
In Reply to: Re: What is time, REALLY? Room Clean ???? posted by Dave on August 13, 1999 at 07:21:30:
I can share with you what works for our family – we have a clock/timer on our stove that has worked wonders. If I want my child to finish doing something in, say, five minutes, I tell him he has five minutes before he has to stop what he’s doing and I say “I’ll set the timer for you.” That almost always is just fine with him and when five minutes (or whatever) is up and the timer goes off, he stops what he is doing and goes on to the next thing, usually quite cheerfully. I also have a small kitchen timer that I keep in the glove compartment of my car, to use on trips or at doctor’s offices or anywhere that the “How long will this take?” questions start. Setting the timer gives him a feeling of having some control over (or at least an idea about) what’s going to happen when. Since he’s only 8, I can get away with telling people (if they ask) that we’re just working on learning about time, and that works really well as far as having to explain the kitchen timer.
About the clean room, I read a good article that said to take a picture of the child’s room when it is tidy and neat, to show him/her what the room should look like when you’re through cleaning. Then you make a list of what chores to do during the clean up (mind you, I haven’t tried this, I just find it easier at this point to help my child clean his room. It goes faster when the two of us work on it together and I don’t end up nagging him as he struggles alone. But I will begin doing this in the next year, though.) Another article I read said to get bins and label them with the names of what goes in them and that makes it easier for the child to just scoop things up and put them into the bin without having to worry about what’s in the bin needing to be tidy, too! Hope some of these ideas might prove useful!
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: : : : My 9.5 year old son has a terrible time with organization. I have discovered this summer that this includes not have an internal clock that tells him one minute or one hour has gone by. Anyway, saying “you’ve got 5 more minutes” means zero to him. Any ideas on how to explain what time “feels” like?
: : : : Also, how can I help him figure out how to be more organized with his things? He constantly leaves the drawers open with clothes hanging out; he stuffs books in the toy box; any container is suitable to cram stuff in…and yet he doesn’t like having the mess…especially if a friend is coming over, this seems to motivate him to “clean this place up!!!”
: : : : Any ideas?
: : I know this is not funny but I can’t help but chuckle at finding this web site. Boy, it is nice to “mix” with people who know exactly what I’m experiencing and vise versa!!! It took us a few years prior to having our daughter tested and diagnosed with NLD to understand that she did not have the foggiest idea how to clean her room. At 11 it is still a difficult task. Several times a year I go in and do a complete ‘renovation’ – again organizing drawers and closet space, label drawers, make a list of jobs, etc. She does better but still crams things in any space and closes drawers and doors, OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND. now I try (I really do) not to get bent out of shape and accept the fact that no piece of clothing will ever come out of a drawer ready to put on (keep the iron fired up).