Summer brings a welcome respite from the routine and pressures of the school year. But for kids with ADHD, the lack of structure is stressful. Worse, children with learning challenges can lose the educational ground that they gained during the previous 10. “The challenge during the summer months is to maintain the progress the child made in the school year while exploring new experiences and having fun,” says MacLean Gander, professor at Landmark College, in Vermont.
ADDitude asked summer program experts for their best strategies to help parents maintain their children’s skills in a range of areas — leadership, social skills, academics — during the summer months. Here is what they had to say.#1. Highlight the leadership roles you partake in daily, whether it be at work, at home, or in the community.
“Children can use their downtime in the summer to shadow you to see how your leadership skills are put into play in real life. Encourage older children to partake in their own leadership opportunities through volunteer work, organized team sports, and so on.”“Younger children can order their own food at a restaurant, while older children can schedule their own doctor’s appointments and answer questions the doctor may ask about their health during the appointment.
“Set a target of 30 minutes to an hour of reading each day. Keeping a reading log is a low-effort way to encourage this. Build in a reward system, if necessary, to motivate her. Let your child choose her own reading material, including graphic novels, if that is what she’s interested in. Likewise with writing, having your childis a great idea, committing to 10 to 15 minutes of writing a day. Writing stories can also be fun, and something you can collaborate on with your child.”.