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We've had ongoing issues in regard to disorganization with dd#1. I've sought advice IRL from her school and teachers as well as online over the past few years. Nothing seems to have helped.

Quick background:

Dd will be 11 in a few weeks and just started 7th grade having skipped 5th last year.

We had hoped that, with more challenging work, she'd have to step up to the plate and get more organized or suffer the consequences of lower grades. That didn't happen. She still lost books, homework, forgot to bring things home... None the less, she is still testing in the 99th percentile on nationally normed achievement tests for her current grade and she maintained a straight A avg in accelerated classes last year.

On day one of school, she has already lost her math homework. Given her very good memory, she remembered all of the problems and rewrote them on a new piece of paper and completed the work anyway. She was in tears over this, though, and felt really badly that she was sure that she put the paper in her binder and couldn't figure out why it wasn't there.

We've tried pocket notebooks, an accordian file (worked kind-of okay), three-ring binder, and virtually every other type of organization device we can come up with to get her to keep her papers together and not lose them.

She uses a planner at school (sort-of). She often forgets to write in it or doesn't have time, but she always remembers what the assignments were at the end of the day and just fills it in then when I bug her to do so. I refused to sign her planner last year if she didn't fill it in at school (she gets points for parents signature and complete planner), but it didn't seem to make her any better at getting it done during class when the teachers posted the assignments.

Solution ideas anyone?

I tossed out the idea of having her repeat 6th grade today at another school so as to reduce the embarrassment factor just to give her a year where the work is easy and where she can focus on little but organization, but I honestly don't know that this would solve the problem. She was no more organized in elementary when the work was very easy.

Can anyone come up with anything else we can do to get her to pay attention and make sure that she has everything at the end of the day and hasn't lost any of her papers?

Cricket for a completely off the wall answer, we have resorted to a 'rememberall' (Harry potter anyone?).

My DS takes a large oversized marble in his pocket everyday - it is heavy and clunks when he sits down. He is often reminded it is there.

For reasons unknown to me he is remembering everything so far; and is chuffed that he can. (We resorted to this at the loss of the maths book - again!)

Not sure how long it will last; hopefully long enough for the habit to set.

Also not sure it will work for a girl!? And he is 7, so much younger.

I'm impressed that even though your daughter forgets the paper she remembers what was on it. Wow.

Does it really matter if she doesn't fill in the diary at school but does it when she gets home? I could understand if she was forgetting stuff but while she isn't maybe its one less thing to worry about.

Hope you find an answer

I know my DS6 is much younger but with his start in First Grade he was having issues remembering the packing up process at the end of the day(pack his daily folder, his planner, any work in his desk, and his water bottle)...for the first few days one or none would come home because he said he just couldn't remember what went where or to even remember he had to bring something home....so since he is a visual kid - we took digital photos of his daily folder, planner, a worksheet and his water bottle and I made a small checklist with those 4 pics on it, laminated it and attached it to his backpack in a non-noticeable area (so other kids wouldn't say anything)..we have had no issues since....he says he just looks at his check list at pack up time and goes down the list.....I have no idea if helping her make a small picture list and sticking it somewhere indiscreet like in her planner so she just has to look at it as a visual reminder?

Checklists really work for me too. I would try it if you haven't already!

My oldest son was so disorganized he even came home with one shoe one time! Don't ask. Anyway, he did not have an IEP or 504 but each year we met with the teachers and respectfully requested that they give a discreet reminder at the end of class and/or required him to show them that he had written down assignments. Most teachers were willing to help and then we checked after school. This cut down greatly on missed assignments but did not entirely eliminate them. Often the papers were "lost" between school and home. FWIW he is now a successful junior in a large university and somehow, now that no one else is responsible or there to blame except him, he manages to get it all done. Sometimes natural consequences work best it seems. I have another disorganized son entering 4th grade. So far there is minimal homework so no big issue but I am sure I will be struggling again. Good luck!

Thanks for the input. Dd did have a 504 prior to last year for sensory integration disorder, but the dx was questionable (is it really a disorder or just part of being HG?). What the school wound up doing was writing her accommodations into her ALP (accelerated learning plan) instead b/c they were mostly things like quiet testing environment, etc.

Unfortunately, the end of the day doesn't have any time built into it to allow for a binder or backpack check. The buses pull out of the school parking lot 7 minutes after the bell rings to release them from their last class. The speed at which things move in middle school in terms of 5 minute passing periods in a school with two stories, 900 students, and modular buildings outside alone makes for a lot of rushing to get from one class to your locker to the next class. Dd just doesn't feel like she has enough time.

She wasn't any better organized in elementary, though, even though the same time constraints didn't apply.

We moved to a 3-ring binder with separate pocket folders in each section for the separate classes for today and will see if that works better than the accordian file and separate pocket folders that she tried yesterday.

I do intend to talk with her about checklists even if they can be mental checklists at some point as well. I thought about that last night after posting too.

You may find some helpful tips in Late, Lost & Unprepared, a book about executive functioning. For the most part it is intended for ADHD kids, but there are a few acknowledgments that gifted kids also struggle with executive functions - and, regardless of the cause, the struggles seem the same.

I haven't read this book yet but you might see if your library has it. Smart But Scattered by Dawson and Guare. It's all about executive functioning, determining problem areas and then making a plan to help DC in that area.