Work Schedules &
Setting Expectations
Creating a work-break schedule allows your child to take frequent breaks when something is demanding or challenging for him/her. Allow your child to earn a short break after completing a work demand. For younger children, you can have them complete an academic task, then take a short 3-5 minute break. For older children, you can allow them to have access to preferred items after work completion. A visual can come in handy with this!
Be sure to check out the "printable resources" section of this website to see printable versions of work visuals.
Here are some tips:
A break can include drawing, coloring, puzzles, playdoh, putty, reading a favorite short story with an adult, or anything else that families can think of that he/she would like to do after completing an assignment.
A break can also be electronics IF the student is able to easily come off of the electronic and get back to academic demands. If not, electronics could be used as a reward for the completion of a whole assignment, or the end of the assignments for that day.
If your child is struggling to complete an entire assignment in one sitting, break up the work into smaller achievable tasks, such as breaking up a 10 question assignment into two 5 question assignments, with either a break in between or a different assignment/topic in between.
Some notes on setting clear and consistent expectations:
Make directions clear, short, and concrete, especially in response to challenging behavior. For example, if your child is throwing food at the table say, “eat your food” rather than “Be good at the table,” “Don’t throw your food” or “Would you stop with that!” It’s usually more effective to tell your child what he/she SHOULD be doing, instead of commenting on what he/she should NOT be doing.
Allow your child time to process the direction. For children with difficulty understanding language, showing them a picture or a visual demonstration of the behavior you want to see, can be helpful.
Make attempts to have your child aware of what your expectations of them are daily. This can tie into the schedule that you create.
Using “first/then” or “when/then” statements to redirect challenging behavior. Example: “first clean up your blocks, then you can color” or “when you clean up your blocks, then you can color.” Allow less preferred activities to come before more preferred activities.
Reward your child for good behavior and meeting those expectations that you have outlined.
When giving your child chores, tasks, or academic activities to complete, give it to them in a manner that has a clear ending (i.e. emptying the dishwasher, folding a basket of towels, completing a puzzle, or completing a timed activity, 2 worksheets. This will let your child know when an activity will end. Frequent reminders during the task, of what is remaining, can help motivate to finish, as well.