Homework with a Learning Disabled Child

Raise your hand if you like to do homework.  Hmmm, I wonder how many people raised their hands.  And that's probably for the "average" person.  Now imagine that you have a learning disability and the homework that takes your friends 30-45 minutes to do takes you 2-4 hours to do.  This is what it is like for many children with learning disabilities, including my Madison.  Then add 45 minutes of reading on top of that.  Sound like much time to be a kid?


On an average day, Madison gets home around 2:15.   She comes in the door, puts down her bookbag, takes out her binder, gets a snack and sits down to begin her homework.  She has a reading and math pack for the week, as well as spelling, vocabulary and usually either a story from her reading book to study for a test on Friday, or a novel to study.  The reading pack consists of worksheets that include passages that she has to read and then answer questions, vocabulary, grammar, etc.   Reading the passages and worksheets takes her twice as long as most children.  When she needs to write answers down, we have to go through her answers together,( not for the content, but for the spelling) edit, and then she has to correct it.  Although she loves math, it can be time consuming and difficult for her as well for the same reasons.  For these reasons I have to be by Madison's side for the duration of her homework.  By the time we finish her homework it is dinnertime...anywhere between 5:00 and 6:30.  And let me assure you that she is not the child that keeps getting up, doesn't focus and fidgets.  She is determined to get it done because she wants to be finished.  That's not to say that some afternoons are not interrupted with tears because she is frustrated that it takes her so long and she has so much to do.

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