It doesn't seem like a compliance/defiance issue but a disconnect.
eco, we've had very similar issues with our ds not turning in completed homework in some classes but not others. With our ds, it truly was a *disconnect*. There's something simply missing in the EF process. The key that helped us most was to pay attention to what worked - i.e., what was going on in the classes where ds was able to remember to turn in his work etc - and then look at what was different about the class where it wasn't getting turned in.
Repetition was also key for our ds (still is). It might not be for your ds - with our ds it is related to his disability - there are things that don't come to him automatically without a *lot* of repetition. If this were our ds, I'd guess that there must be something going on in the class he's having trouble with that isn't consistent - i.e., different types of homework assignments or homework not assigned consistently everyday, perhaps the teacher doesn't leave a list of the day's homework assignment on the board etc.
It was also always easier for our ds to turn in homework if there was an obvious place that was always the same to turn it in, and if other kids were also turning in homework, or if the teacher asked everyone to turn it in when they were all at their desks.
I see a couple of other red flags (short responses to questions that don't explain enough), but when I walk him through "what the teacher expects," he is willing to go back and elaborate.
I wonder if this isn't a component of his disability - do you have any indications he has issues with expressive language? My ds has an expressive language disorder, and sometimes it's really subtle in how it shows. Your description of your ds giving the short responses that don't explain enough but elaborating when you question in detail sounds very much like my ds. The gotcha for my ds is he doesn't really understand what is expected in the response to open-ended questions. You can see it in his writing, too. However, when you give him a structure, lead him through the specifics of what you are expecting in a reply, he's fine. And there *is* a lot of information in his head that is worth taking the time to pull out!
[quote=eco21268]
Okay. It sounds like buy in is a big component. I can't think of what would motivate DS, other than screens. So maybe I could tell him he will earn screen time by filling in his planner effectively and turning in assignments?
I would be very, very careful if this is his main form of entertainment/unwinding. You don't want to end up in a situation where he doesn't earn, gets angry at himself, and spirals downward instead of upward. (Ask me how I know this.... )
[/quote=DeeDee]
I'd also not give a punitive consequence. I suspect that what's happening is related to his disability. Taking away something that he loves and that is relaxing due to an issue that he doesn't know how to deal with and is most likely frustrated over isn't going to accomplish anything other than, as DeeDee mentioned, get angry at himself.
Things to try:
--Homework to turn in goes in a clear folder so he can see it in there.
We tried many different things over the years (and had to try different things in different years, different classes too). It's frustrating and it takes time. For us, the clear folder idea is working for getting assignments turned in. DS has notebooks for each class, and he has a clear folder in the front of each notebook, and after he completes his homework it goes into the correct subject folder. When he's in class the next day, he checks the clear folder for work to be turned in.
Another thing that helps with our ds is that he keyboards everything, so his homework and classwork can be put into class folders on his computer, and he does turn homework in by email in some classes. If there's ever a question from a teacher about missing work, he can pull it up from his computer folder, and can always re-forward an email that he's used to mail his work in the first time (with the original date on the forwarded email). DS has the keyboarding accommodations due to dysgraphia, but I wonder if keyboarding might not also be helpful for a student with EF challenges.
You mentioned you are scanning in his homework and emailing it. I'd have *him* do the scanning and emailing. It's a good skill set to have in his toolbox, plus it's something he should be able to do. Having him do it will reinforce that it's his responsibility.
One last note - the thing that has worked best for our ds other than repetition (repeated repeated repeated repetition) - is success. And time. I think it was geofizz who mentioned that her ds didn't see the connection between homework being turned in and grades. My ds didn't see the connection between homework not being turned in and the teacher not seeing it. He just made that connection last spring - in *9th* grade. And he's a smart smart smart kid who makes amazing connections in other areas... he just simply thought (mostly subconsciously) that his teachers were seeing his homework even though he didn't physically return it to them. I never realized he wasn't making that connection, and there was no teachable moment type of realization tip that I can pass on to you - it just happened one day, the light bulb went off on a concept that most kids figure out in early elementary school. And it didn't necessarily solve all of the organizational issues overnight, but it did help when he made that connection
Best wishes,
polarbear
