She is our bundle of joy and has the most pleasant of demeanor regardless of the situation. However, she is truly the definition of Attention Deficit Disorder. It’s rough for a parent to watch as their child simply doesn’t pay enough attention to detail and struggles to do the most simplistic of chores. She has to spend time in a special room at school in order to learn some of the most basic of tasks because she can’t keep focused in a regular classroom. After explaining the letter “W” to her five consecutive times, she will still assume it’s various letters other that “W.” It can be frustrating to say the least. However, we’ve been able to make strides in her development by creating a strict routine to help her stay focused. How does this help our little girl?

1. Repetitive Learning – Although she has a “varying level of ADD,” according to the school counselors, she is still capable of learning. It just takes her a little longer than the average child. In order to facilitate greater understanding of what needs to be done, we adhere to a strict daily routine that is followed to the letter. By repeating the same task over and over, she grasps the concept of what needs to be done and has made a great improvement overall in school and at home.

2. Uninterrupted – As we know that she is easily distracted by some of the smallest of objects, her schedule for the day keeps her away from other diversions. For instance, the small desk she uses for reading and homework is in her room and away from the diversions of television and other people. While I thought that her toys would have been an equal distraction, I found that she stays on task much better when she is alone as I periodically check on her.

3. Planning the Day – As we develop her schedule with her own input, we are teaching her the value of organizing time. She knows that in order to watch television at five o’clock, she needs her homework done by then. We’ve actually began to notice that she keeps track of her time quite well lately. This has been greatly beneficial to helping her retain knowledge of how to tell time. Since fun time is something she anticipates, the five on the clock has been made important.

4. Putting Things Away – One of our regular routines is placing objects back where they need to be. Every time an item is used regardless of its purpose, it needs to be put back. Although this aspect of the routine did take a great deal of time for her to accept, she now is in the habit of putting everything away. This has made additional impacts in how she interacts in the classroom according to her teacher. She is considerate and knows that stuff needs to be put away in order to find them later.

A stable and regular routine over the course of the past year has made a vast improvement in a great deal of her interactions. Although it can be difficult to keep her mind focused on random communications or instances she’s never experienced before, the projects and tasks that are important to her development are manageable and improving. While I am sure we’ll have to adapt as the years go on, the vast strides she has made this past year make the time worth the investment.

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1. Keep the Rhythm


2. A Musical Field Trip


3. Make Your Own Instruments


4. Check Out the Public Library


5. Share Your Own Music

