Starting the job:
To do this, think about the job, imagine how you will feel when you start and finish the job, give a motivational speech to yourself to finish the job, think about what will happen if you don't do the job, plan the stages of the job. , it is necessary to choose the most appropriate time to do the job, stop what you are doing at that time, collect the necessary materials and start the job.
Some children depend on external cues (e.g. parents or teachers verbally reminding them of the steps of the job or They need more to demonstrate by doing. Some children cannot think about the positive consequences of doing the job or the negative consequences of not doing it.
Children aged 1-4:
They must first stop what they are doing. This requires verbal reminders shortly in advance: "You put away your toys and go to the bathroom in two minutes." Just before the action, the signal is given again: “Okay, two minutes are up. Bath time." “I know, it's hard to stop playing when you're having fun, but you can continue playing in the bathroom.”
Visual reminders should also be used: A kitchen timer or phone alarm can be used.
One of the best ways is to use a song about finishing and tidying up the work. The same song should be used each time.
Children can understand and remember transitions before they learn to speak. This is called “non-verbal function memory”. They have an image in their mind of what was done before and after a transition, and they can remember the order of events.
Children of this age can learn the concept of "before - after": "First the shirt, then the trousers". "As children grow, the number of steps may increase: First we collect their toys, then we prepare our bathroom equipment, then we go to the bathroom." “We will paint before lunch”, “You will play games after dinner.” It is important to reinforce: “Daddy will come home after sleep”; "Have you seen? Your father came home after sleep.”
Children with executive dysfunctions cannot imagine starting a job. This is like trying to put together the pieces of a puzzle without looking at the picture on the cover. That's why visual supports are important: To-do You can show the job by pointing with your hand, you can show a representative picture of the job, or you can take a photo of the child doing the job and hang it in a place where he can easily see it.
It is very important to reinforce it with praise: “Well done!” “You did a good job.” “I loved how you did it.” “I was proud of you for trying without giving up.” “You collect very well. Let me help you by removing the Legos.” Some tasks may require rewards or celebrations: “We can go to the park after dinner.” Once the job is completed, the reward should be given as soon as possible. Unless they prevent a job that needs to be done, previously given rewards should not be withdrawn. In order to taste success in the beginning, the bar that must be exceeded for reward should not be set too high.
Children aged 5-12:
Close guidance is needed to complete homework between kindergarten and second grade. Starting from the third grade, teachers gradually withdraw their support in order to develop independent learning skills. During this period, children need to learn to know, plan and start the next job without being told.
Children can learn to do a less enjoyable job first in order to do a job they love. Like finishing homework before playing games. Children with executive function issues resist this rule because they focus on how bored they will be doing it, rather than the joy of finishing it. In such a case, it is necessary to direct them to think about how pleased they will be to finish the job, how comfortable they will be while playing, and how friendly their parents will be.
Before starting a job, it is necessary to make sure that the child knows how to do that job. If he does not know, the job should be divided into small stages and taught step by step.
If there is more than one job to be done, the child should also be taught to determine priorities and choose which job to start with. The tasks may also be arranged in order of difficulty and asked to choose which one to start with.
Goal planning: It is one of the basic executive functions. Primary school children can learn to make a to-do list to learn how to plan for the future. Calculate the time required for each job They can learn. For this purpose, pictures showing the work to be done can be pasted on the calendars. A mark can be placed on the calendar each time a task is completed. In this way, the child archives the work he has accomplished instead of procrastinating.
Creating a homework routine: 1. Determining a place to do homework. There should be no screens in this space. The place should be large enough and well lit. 2. Determining homework time. It varies depending on each child, but it is usually best to start after a short feeding and rest break when you get home. One should be consistent and determined in the routine.
Ages 13 and Above:
Adolescents generally have more out-of-school activities. Despite this, it is useful to try to establish an evening routine. Some teenagers don't feel the pressure of homework if they don't procrastinate until later in the night. This results in staying up late at night trying to finish homework. Adolescents need an average of 9.5 hours of sleep. On the other hand, with adolescence, the time to fall asleep shifts to later hours. Therefore, it is important for adolescents to learn an evening routine and sleep hygiene.
Procrastination Monster: It feeds on the adolescent's time. Especially after procrastination, an adolescent who succeeds in an exam despite studying for a short time says to himself, "I studied very little, but I succeeded." If he fails, he says, "This happened because I didn't work until the last minute." Some young people postpone their work because they are afraid of failure and they want to keep the excuse of not working. In this case, it may be said that it is necessary to take risks.
Adolescents who overestimate the work they will do can be taught to divide the work into small parts. Such as writing an introductory sentence first, outlining the work to be done, working for a short time and taking a break.
Procrastination is also triggered by distracting stimuli (internet, phone, computer games, etc.). However, research shows that such distractors disrupt learning and memory. It should be determined when the adolescent tends to procrastinate: when he gets bored or when he is forced at some stage? It is important to identify procrastination triggers and learn to counter them.
Failure avoidance traps: Fear of failure reinforces procrastination by using it as an excuse. In this case b It is necessary to normalize the failure. It is very important for parents to teach by example that the road to success is through failure and to explain the importance of effort, determination, acting effectively, asking for support and developing tolerance to failure.
Motivation (desire, "ambition") is not a character trait of the child, but a situational one. is a feature. Everyone is more willing to do certain things. It is important what the adolescent tells himself to ensure that he does not see himself as a reluctant and lazy person: “I like solving problems because I am good at mathematics. On the other hand, writing essays is not my favorite job, so I need support." "When I finish my homework, I will talk to my friends with peace of mind." "When I submit my homework on time, I will get the appreciation of my teacher."
A complete ban on the internet and media does not usually provide a solution. . Instead, it may be useful to agree with the adolescent to set a time limit, ensure that the computer providing internet access remains in the room where the parents live, and install programs that block only social media. Rather than starting with very strict rules from the beginning, it is more appropriate to make an agreement with the adolescent and tighten the rules if the terms of the agreement are broken. There are programs where adolescents can block themselves from social media for certain periods of time.
Reaction Prevention:
It is impulse control. Because children's time horizons are so close, they can only think about the here and now. But as they mature, they may give up the things they want to do now in favor of a more important goal. For example, they may turn off their phones to study for the exam. However, the development of response inhibition skills in children and adolescents with executive dysfunction is delayed. Reaction prevention is necessary to protect oneself from dangers, to maintain friendships, to avoid emotional and sometimes aggressive reactions to various situations, to solve problems calmly and effectively, and to comply with classroom rules during class. Children who have difficulty with response inhibition also communicate by being excessively tactile, guess the endings of words or sentences while reading (rough reading), and therefore have difficulty understanding what they read.
Like “fox fox what time is it”, musical chairs, “freeze”, hide and seek Active games and board games increase reaction prevention skills.
Prediction: Children who act impulsively give some warning signs before they act. For example, they get angry or overly excited. With these emotions, their looks, facial expressions may change or they may clench their fists. When you see a warning sign, you can try to get the child out of the situation with a command or encourage him to apply the calming methods he has previously learned. You can ask him to express what he feels verbally. Your goal is for him to learn to recognize his own signs and rein in his behavior. To ensure this, you must make a statement when intervening. For example, “I notice that you are bored. What's on your mind right now?" you may ask. At such moments, it is necessary to make verbal intervention with short sentences.
Teaching what to do instead of acting impulsively: For example, “Let's try it again now. Can you ask my permission before taking my belongings?” If he asks for permission, it is necessary to give him the object he requests. If you can't give it, you should offer an option. For example, “My scissors are sharp and dangerous. "Let's find some paper scissors together." “If you wait for me to finish speaking, I will listen to you. I want you to wait by raising your finger or saying "excuse me, mom" once before interrupting me." .”
For children who make careless mistakes: First, it is necessary to look for a pattern, that is, to discover what kind of mistakes they make more often. Later, he can be taught how to systematically review the work in which he made a mistake, recognize his mistake and correct it. For example, while solving a math problem, a child who reads the question carelessly can be taught the steps of reading it out loud, marking the key words in the question, determining the steps of solving the problem, solving it, and finally checking or verifying the result.
It is important for the child to know the situation that awaits him and the steps he will take and to prepare himself. You can explain the situations he will encounter at the beginning and what he needs to do, but the main goal is to predict and help him.
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