Teens with ADD/ADHD can face a host of school-related problems related to disorganization. Some of the best ways to cope with these issues involve helping with simple physical management of the student's school work organizational tools. Planning and organizing a teenager's use of a backpack is a great way to help avoid lost school items and forgotten homework.
Packing the Backpack
One of the best ways to use a backpack as an organizational system for an ADD/ADHD teen is to pack the bag every night before school--but after homework is finished. Completing homework, then accidentally leaving it at home, can be a common recurring problem for an ADD student, so it's a good idea to pack up finished homework while the matter is still fresh in her mind.
Packing the schoolbag the night before is also a good way to make sure that the student has time to find and pack everything she's going to need for school tomorrow, including things like permission slips, pencils and pens and calculators.
Keep Paper Clutter Down
The impulsiveness of ADD is notorious for creating clutter everywhere, and a backpack is no exception. A common problem for ADD students is the creation of a large pile of crumpled papers lining the bottom of the school bag, often a mix of both old, handed-back assignments as well as papers that are still important, like assignments in progress or materials needed to complete them. These important papers can not only end up getting lost beyond recovery in this mess, they can accidentally get destroyed.
Clean the backpack on a weekly basis. Some paper clutter is bound to happen, and sorting through it once a week will help the mess to a minimum while giving the student a chance to find and deal with any forgotten items.
Pocket Assignments
Another good way to help organize an ADD student's backpack is to get a backpack with many compartments and to designate each compartment to hold a specific item or type of item, such as books in one section, notebooks and homework in another, and pencils and a calculator in yet another. This will help the student recognize when she's left behind something important (because the necessary compartment is empty) as well as help her know exactly where something is when she's supposed to have it.
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