Comprehension

General Tips

• Re-read stories to improve your understanding.
• Use your own words to summarize what you are reading to make sure you understand.
• Ask yourself questions about things you have read or seen on TV. Example questions are: Why did that happen? What happened first?  Where could I find out more about that?
• Ask questions when you are talking with someone.
• Make predictions about the story in a TV show or movie and then see if they are correct.
• Talk with someone else about things you have both read or seen.
• Study in a group.
• Write down instructions when they are given to you.

Executive Functions

General Tips

• Organize your backpack the night before you need it. Look at your schedule or ask an adult to help you remember your schedule. What do you need for tomorrow?
• Use different colored folders for each subject in school e.g. math goes in the blue folder, English in the red folder.
• Make lists of things you need to remember, such as: sports activities, homework assignments, etc. For example, your sports list could include the time and place of the activity and a list of equipment or clothing needed.
• When you are putting away toys, books or clothes, organize the items by type, size, color, etc.
• Label where things belong in your room e.g. pencils, notebooks, pictures, socks, shirts.
• Look out for other people being impulsive. Impulsive behavior might include interrupting others, or not waiting for a turn to do something. If you see people being impulsive, imagine what they could have done that would not have been impulsive.

Language

General Tips

• Find ways to learn new vocabulary words. Look up unfamiliar words in a dictionary or ask an adult to help you use the internet to find out a word’s meaning.
• Try to find ways to use new vocabulary words in conversation or when writing. Pick a word for the week and see if you can find an opportunity to use it.
• Write stories and poems about topics that interest you.
• Keep a journal.
• Join a play or speech team.
• Practice enunciating words clearly when you speak.
• Read what you have written out loud to yourself, to help you revise grammar and punctuation.

Learning

General Tips

Make a study area for yourself:

• Your study area should be comfortable.
• Your study area should be free of interruptions and distractions.
• Study in the same place every day.
• Identify the best time of day for you to study, (e.g. when you get home from school or after dinner).
• Before you begin, collect the materials you will need to study (e.g. pencils, paper, a calculator).
• Study difficult or boring subjects first.

While Studying:

• Think about what you are trying to learn.
• Read directions slowly and carefully.
• Ask an adult for help when you are having trouble.

After Studying:

• Come back to your material later in the day, even if it is only for a few minutes.
• Ask yourself if you can remember the most important information you learned from the last study session you did.

Memory

General Tips

• Create visual images of things you are trying to remember.
• Use mnemonic devices, such as phrases or rhymes that helps you remember a list.
• Make associations between things that happen together or things that are at the same place or time. Make associations that are meaningful for you.
• Make lists of things you will need to remember.
• Take notes in class, especially things that your teacher repeats several times.
• Get a proper amount of sleep.
• Organize information that you want to remember (into categories or groups of the same kind of information).
• Think of a humorous phrase or image that you can associate with information you are trying to memorize.
• Use “chunking”. Group items from a long list into smaller chunks and try to remember each chunk.
• Test yourself or review the information frequently.

Sensorimotor

General Tips

• Join a sports team or play active sports or games such as “tag” with friends.
• Play or learn to play a musical instrument.
• Play “jacks”.
• Dance to music.
• Go swimming.
• Paint or draw pictures.
• Use a pencil grip to make the pencil or pen more comfortable for your hand.
• Practice writing neatly.
• Practice typing skills.
• Use three tennis balls and learn to juggle.
• Bounce a ball as many times as you can.

Visualspatial

General Tips

• Do jigsaw puzzles.
• Try and look back and forth several times over the page when reading to make sure you did not miss any information.
• Look around the room/environment to make sure you are aware of all of the surrounding objects.
• Do stereograms (pictures that appear 3-Dimensional), which are available at the library, a local bookstore, or online.
• Do Tavern puzzles (a metal puzzle in which you separate certain pieces), which can be purchased in stores and online.