The NF1 Learning Clinic Team, Westmead Children’s Hospital has kindly put together their expert strategies for managing the remote/home learning experience. below you will find ideas for both primary and high school aged children.
(Note: Scroll down page for High School Strategies)
Remote Learning Strategies – Primary School
Structure, Structure, Structure!!!
Our kids are used to a high level of structure in their lives. They start school at the same time everydayevery day, with the same teachers, at the same location with the same peers. They usually follow a schedule throughout the week that is reliable, consistent and predictable. However, learning at home comes with lots of changes and unpredictability. Incorporate as much structure and consistency as you can in their daily routine, to help their minds focus on the day ahead.
Continue to wake up at the same time every day
Get dressed for the day – try to avoid doing school in Pyjamas. Copy the schedule of school – take recess and lunch at the same time each day. Try to change locations during these times.
Spend some time creating a ‘weekly’ schedule with your child that they can follow. Encourage them to decorate it and be involved in the process.
Post this schedule in the same place every day and try not to vary from that routine.
Keep on task with clear and concrete reminders
Lots of children and adolescents with NF1 can have difficulty with attention and concentration, which can make it challenging to stay on task and complete work. However, we can support our children by making it really clear what they are working towards, and how long is left before a break.
Provide clear explanations of what is expected and keep it simple. For example, “First we will do your maths questions, then we can play”
Use a sticker chart (or to-do list for adolescents) to track progress. Make it clear how many tasks are needed before a break.
If they go off track, remind them what they are working towards. For example, ‘You have 5 more questions then you can listen to a story’.
Try using countdowns or visual timers such as a kitchen timer or digital clock so that they can visually SEE how long is left forof a task.
Sometimes it can be hard to transition from a ‘break’ and back to ‘work’ – provide warnings that a break is coming to an end, for example 5-minute, 1-minute or 30-second warnings that an activity is coming to an end. Remind them that they can go back to a break once they finish their next task/s.
Try and create a distraction free environment (where possible). This might mean reducing access to online distractions like YouTube. You might decide to use a tech solution to reduce access or block certain websites when your child needs to focus most. Noise cancelling ear phones may also be appropriate in some environments.
Take breaks!!
Learning at home can be extremely tiring. Your child might need more breaks than usual. It is important to be aware of how long your child can typically work before showing signs of attention difficulties or fatigue. It is best to take a break JUST BEFORE these signs start to show.
Here are a few break ideas
Get moving! Try doing 5 jumping jacks or doing a lap of the house
List 5 things you are grateful for
Play their favourite song
Read some jokes from a joke book
Shake out your arms, legs, fingers and toes
Run an errand such as watering the plants or getting all the ingredients needed for a grown-up to make lunch
Remind them of what is going well
Verbally remind your child what they are doing well and be specific. For example:
“I like how you are being really careful with your handwriting”
“I like how you are using space to ‘work it out’ instead of just guessing”
“I can see you’re sitting ready to focus, that is great!”
By doing this, we are teaching our children what good learning behaviours look like. That way they can start to monitor for themselves what makes a good learner and start to monitor these skills on their own. You might even want to set up certificates or star-charts like they might have at school.
Provide choice
Our children, like all of us, have gone through a lot of changes. It can be overwhelming when a lot of things are out of our control or unknown. It can be hard to stay motivated and get work done in these times. Provide lots of choices to your child to help increase their sense of control. For example:
Let them choose between 2 activities, such as spelling words or maths questions
Have a ‘lunch order day’ where they can choose their favourite snack from a menu
You might like to set up your own home canteen as a reward.
Chunk it up!
Executive functioning difficulties are common in NF1. They can make it difficult to plan and organise our thoughts and ideas, problem-solve, monitor our performance for mistakes and achieve our goals. These skills are put to the test during this unique online learning situation.
If you child is getting stuck getting started on a task, ask them questions such as “Do you know how to get started (what is the first step)? and “Do you have the right materials/details to get started”? and “Have you learned what is needed for this task”? If they say no to these questions you may need to provide additional support helping them with those questions to get started.
Spend time connecting individual elements to the BIG picture
Chunk large tasks into smaller components. This can reduce some of the stress involved with completing a large task. For example, break up large text into small chunks. Check understanding after each chunk. You could encourage them to create a #hashtag to summarise each paragraph. For example, #JacksonLovesTheColourPurple
Be kind to yourself
Remember, being a parent and educator at once is extremely challenging. Take your time to work through these strategies one at a time. See what works and what doesn’t for your child. Don’t feel pressured to get it ‘all right, all at once’. Reach out if you need support. Don’t be afraid to speak to your child’s teacher, the Head Teacher, Wellbeing or School Learning Support Officer (SLSO).
With all this scheduling, set aside time for FUN! Not only for your child, but for yourself.
Written for the Children’s Tumour Foundation of Australia by the NF1 Learning Clinic, Westmead Children’s Hospital … September 2021.
Remote Learning Strategies – High School
Structure, Structure, Structure!!!
Normally, there is a lot of structure in your teen’s life. They start school at the same time each day, with the same teachers, at the same location, with the same peers. They usually have a schedule throughout the week that is reliable, consistent, and predictable. However, learning at home comes with a lot of change and unpredictability. Incorporate as much structure and consistency as you can in their daily routine, to help their minds focus on the day ahead.
Encourage them to continue to wake up at the same time everyday
Get dressed for the day – try to avoid doing school in Pyjamas.
Copy the schedule of school – schedule in ‘periods’ and take recess and lunch at the same time each day. Make sure they take a break between each period, the same time it would normally take for you to walk to your next class.
Print out the weekly schedule and put it on the wall. Encourage your teen to get used to checking it every day.
Encourage your teen to take responsibility for organisation of their learning, but let them know that you are here to help.
Keep on task with clear and concrete reminders
Lots of teens with NF1 can have difficulty with attention and concentration, which can make it challenging to stay on task and complete work. However, we can help our teens by setting up clear and concrete reminders to stay on task.
Encourage them to make a ‘to-do’ list each day, so that they can tick off each task as they complete it so that they can track their progress.
Use a visual timer/countdown for each period so that they can keep track of when the next break is coming.
Try organisation apps such as Tide, My Study Life or Flora.
Encourage them to make use of calendars, alarms and reminders to keep organised and focused. Spend time with them to set it up and help them think about which approach might be best for them and why.
Try and create a distraction free environment (where possible). This might mean reducing access to online distractions like YouTube. You might decide to use a tech solution to reduce access or block certain websites when your child needs to focus most.
Your child may benefit from using noise cancelling earphones or earplugs to block out distracting noises in the environment.
Take breaks!!
Learning at home can be extremely tiring. Your teen might need more breaks than usual. It is important to be aware of how long your teen can typically work before showing signs of attention difficulties or fatigue. A good guide is to ask them how long the usually go in class before a break. This might be halfway in, or it might be between each period. It is best to take a break JUST BEFORE these signs start to show.
Here are a few break ideas
Get moving! Try doing 5 jumping jacks or doing a lap of the house
List 5 things you are grateful for
Play their favourite song
Watch a funny video (or 5 tik-toks)
Stretch their body
Run an errand such as watering the plants or helping prepare part of lunch/dinner
Remind them of what is going well
Encourage them to reflect on what they are doing well. Let them know that you are impressed when they are making an effort to keep focused and organised. Is there anything they are doing well that they can teach YOU? For example:
“You are doing a great job of keeping to a schedule”
“Planning out your assignment in steps was a smart idea”
“I noticed that you did a great job of taking regular breaks. They seemed to really help you stay on task”
Encourage choice
Our kids, like all of us, have gone through a lot of changes. It can be overwhelming when a lot of things are out of our control or unknown. It can be hard to keep motivated and get work done in these times. Be conscious of providing your teen with things that they can control – big or small. Such as choosing what is for dinner, designing their workspace or choosing a family ‘chill out’ activity.
Getting started and Chunking it up!
Executive functioning difficulties are common in NF1. They can make it difficult to plan and organise our thoughts and ideas, problem-solve, initiate a task, monitor our performance for mistakes and achieve our goals. These skills are put to the test during this unique online learning situation.
If your child is getting stuck with getting started on a task ask them questions such as “Do you know how to get started (what is the first step)? and “Do you have the right materials/details to get started”? and “Have you learned what is needed for this task”? If they say no to these questions you may need to provide additional support to help them with those questions to get started.
A visual planning system such as a large whiteboard will help with planning out the work needed. You could also implement goals and rewards as part of this visual planner.
Spend time connecting individual elements to the BIG picture
Chunk large tasks into smaller components. This can reduce some of the stress involved with completing a large task. For example, you could break up large text into small chunks. Check understanding after each chunk. You could encourage them to create a #hashtag to summarise each paragraph. For example, #JacksonLovesTheColourPurple or #
Be kind to yourself
Remember, being a parent and educator at once is extremely challenging. Take your time to work through these strategies one at a time. See what works and what doesn’t for your teen. Don’t feel pressured to get it ‘all right, all at once’. Reach out if you need support. Don’t be afraid to speak to your child’s teacher, year advisor, Head Teacher, Wellbeing or School Learning Support Officer (SLSO).
With all this scheduling, set aside time for FUN! Not only for your child, but for yourself.
Written for the Children’s Tumour Foundation of Australia by the NF1 Learning Clinic, Westmead Children’s Hospital … September 2021.