According to a 2004 national survey of 2,900 American children conducted by the University of Michigan, the amount of time spent on homework is up 51% since 1981.                                         --Time Magazine

Does your ADHD/LD child struggle with homework?  Does he spend most of his evening completing his assignments for the next day?  Is homework even necessary?  And, if it is, how long is too long to spend on it?

My eleven year old ADHD/LD son is in the fifth grade this year.  According to numerous articles I have read in the past, that means he should be spending a maximum of 50 minutes a night on homework.  The general "rule" is ten minutes for each grade the child is in.  So, a first grader should have ten minutes of homework a night,  a ninth grader should have 90 minutes a night, etc.

The amount of homework my son brings home has differed greatly during his elementary school years.  At one point we were spending almost two hours a night on homework assignments.  This is when he was struggling to comprehend and retain new information.  This was before his IEP stipulated shorter assignments.  It was grueling.  The homework all but consumed his time at home.  He had virtually no time to unwind, relax and just be a kid.

Of course there is the question of whether homework is even necessary or productive.  Educators will most certainly tell you yes, it is a definite necessity.  It continues the student's learning and reinforces what they are being taught at school.  Parents, on the other hand, often view it differently.  They argue that their child has spend 6+ hours learning at school and should not be required to devote countless hours doing the same at home.

I'm an advocate of a happy medium.  I think homework is an excellent way to reinforce learning.  It is a time to help my son with anything he is struggling with in school.  It's a time I can give him the one-on-one attention he needs to learn some things, especially new math concepts.  However, I do not think it should take up the majority of a child's evening.

It does not benefit the child to be required to complete thirty math problems.  If he can complete 10 - 15 and show his understanding, then that should suffice.  Completing more takes twice as long and usually results in frustration and aggravation {for my son anyway}.  That, of course, is not a positive environment for learning.

Having an IEP in place is the most effective way to control and eliminate homework hassles.  You have every right to ask for homework accommodations such as:

• Reduced homework assignments
• Reduced spelling words list
• Use of assistive technology {calculator, spell checker, etc.}
• Determine homework by time not quantity {work for 40 minutes versus completing 3 pages of math}.