Helping Your Adolescent with ADHD
Get Homework Done
By Arthur L. Robin, PhD
Most adolescents with ADHD have difficulties with homework because
of their short attention spans, natural restlessness, and impulsivity.
Parents need to collaborate with their teenagers to develop an
effective homework structure. Such a structure needs to remain in
place through most of middle and high school, adjusted to the degree
of independence which your teenager can handle. If you follow the
steps described here for creating this structure, you stand a
reasonable chance of helping your adolescent improve the homework
process. Remember, “improvement,” not “perfection,” is the operative
word here. In those cases where you and your adolescent have been
engaging in “homework wars” for some time, you are likely to need
the assistance of a mental health professional as a neutral mediator to
implement these steps. You are especially likely to need such
assistance if your adolescent has been diagnosed as having disorders
such as “Oppositional Defiant Disorder,” “Conduct Disorder,” or
“Bipolar Disorder” in addition to ADHD.
1. Analyze with your adolescent the points at which there is a
breakdown in homework skills.






Does your adolescent record the assignments in an assignment
book, sheet, planner, or in some other organized manner?
Does your adolescent bring home from school the assignment
books, textbooks, notebooks, and other materials needed to
complete homework?
Do you review the assignment book and also have an
independent means of ensuring that your adolescent is
accurately recording the assignments?
Does your adolescent select a quiet, non-distracting, well-lit, and
comfortable place in which to do the homework?
Do you help your teenager develop an organized plan of attack
to sequence multiple homework assignments and study in one
evening?
Have you and your adolescent agreed upon a starting time for
doing homework, and does your adolescent adhere to this
agreement?







Are you or another responsible adult present in the house to
“keep your teenager honest” when you expect him/her to be
completing homework?
Is your adolescent able to sustain his/her attention long enough
to complete the homework? Have breaks been built into the
plan?
Do you review completed written assignments and quiz your
adolescent on material studied for examinations?
If your adolescent takes stimulant medication, is there an
adequate homework dose “on board” during the designated
time?
Do you coach your adolescent to use a calendar to track longterm assignments and periodically work on them instead of
leaving them for the last minute?
Does your adolescent have a plan to make sure that the
completed assignments actually get to school and are handed in
on time?
Are there incentives to motivate your adolescent to do
homework?
Develop a comprehensive homework plan which addresses those skill
weaknesses which you have identified. Write this plan down as a
behavioral contract to be signed by you and your adolescent. Below is
an example of such a plan. This plan addresses all the components of
the homework process identified above. Your plan may only need to
address those components which apply to your adolescent.
Robert’s Homework Plan
I, Robert Jones, together with my parents, agree to carry out to the
best of our ability the following homework plan:
I. Keeping Track of Assignments
A. I will write down the assignment from the board every day before I
leave each class. I will write the assignments in the section of my
school planner for that day and subject. I will read over what I have
written down to make sure I understand it.
B. I will ask the teachers to explain any assignment which I do not
understand. I will get the phone number of a friend in each class, in
case I need to call them to check on the assignment. I will write their
names and phone numbers in the front of my student planner.
II. Bringing Home Materials
A. During lunch time or a free period, I will review my assignment
sheet and gather all the materials which I need to bring home to
complete my homework. I will put all these materials in my backpack.
B. As I leave my last period class, I will think to myself, “Do I have
everything I need to do my homework?” I will remind myself to check
for materials by setting the alarm on my watch to go off at the end of
the school day.
III. Reviewing Assignments
A. I agree to show my mother my planner every day without a hassle
so she can review the assignments. My mother agrees not to nag me
about seeing my assignment book, only to ask one time. Over time as
I demonstrate responsibility in accurately recording my assignments,
my mother agrees to ask to review my assignment book less often.
B. My mother agrees to talk to my teachers and arrange to obtain a
list of the week’s assignments in advance as a way of checking the
accuracy of my planner.
IV. Establishing an Appropriate Setting and Schedule for
Homework
A. From Sunday through Thursday, I agree to work on homework from
6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. If I finish early, I will show my completed work
to a parent, and if they agree that it is completed, I can do whatever I
want. Each Friday, I will discuss with my parents a specific time to do
homework over the weekend.
B. I will do my homework at the big desk in the den. I can listen to
soft music with headphones, but no loud rock, television, or computer
games.
C. My mother will remind me once without nagging to start on my
homework at 6:00 p.m. I will start without an “attitude.”
My mother agrees that she will be present in the house during
homework time, and that she will occasionally cruise by the den to see
that I am doing my homework. She agrees not to “hover” over me.
V. Medication
I agree to take a dose of my prescribed stimulant medication at 4:00
p.m. on Sunday through Thursday, to help me concentrate on
homework. On the weekend, I agree to take my medication one hour
before I start my homework.
VI. Daily Plan For Organizing Homework Completion
A. I will make an organized plan for attacking each night’s homework.
This plan will guide me in what I subject I will do first, second, etc. It
will also divide up homework time between assignments due tomorrow
and long-term assignments. I will tell my mother the plan without an
“attitude.”
B. My plan will estimate the time needed to complete each
assignment, as well as how I will check each assignment over for
accuracy, completeness, and legibility.
C. The plan will include time for studying for examinations, and
whether I am going to work a little bit on one of my long-term
assignments.
D. The plan will specify how often I will take breaks during homework
time, how long the breaks will be, and how large assignments will be
divided into smaller units.
VI. Reviewing and Correcting Assignments
1. I agree to show my completed written work to my mother.
2. My mother agrees to check over my work for completeness and
accuracy.
3. I agree to make the corrections which my mother suggests.
VII. Turning In Assignments
1. As soon as I finish an assignment, I will put it in the section of
my binder for that class. At the end of homework time, I will put
my binders and books in my backpack.
2. I will do my best to remember to hand in each assignment.
3. My mother agrees to talk to my teachers to make sure the
teachers are clearly prompting me to turn in my homework.
VIII. Incentives
My parents agree to let me choose one of the following privileges each
night that go along with everything in this homework contract:
1. 20 minutes of long distance phone calls.
2. One credit toward renting a video. If I get four credits by the
weekend, I can rent a video.
3. 30 minutes of Internet time.
4. Credit toward a 30-minute extension on my weekend curfew. If I
get five credits by the weekend, I will have an extension of 30
minutes on my Friday and Saturday curfews.
Implement the Contract for Several Weeks and Then Revise It
as Necessary. If you are running into power struggles, a great deal of
defiance, or resistance from your adolescent, consult a psychologist or
other mental health professional for assistance.
Below are several books with excellent suggestions for helping
adolescents with ADHD complete homework more effectively:
1. Markel, G. & Greenbaum, H. (1996). Performance breakthroughs for
adolescents with learning disabilities or ADD. Champaign , Illinois :
Research Press.
2. Robin, A. L. (1998). ADHD in adolescents: Diagnosis and Treatment.
New York : Guilford Press.
3. Zentall, S. S. & Goldstein, S. (1999). Seven steps to homework
success. Plantation , Florida : Specialty Press.