Sometimes homework is used as an opportunity to put theoretical knowledge into a practical context. For example, understanding how to weigh is just a skill or technique, but when you use it to make a cake it becomes a part of real life. Something with meaning and purpose. In language and literacy it might be using a writing technique to produce something the learner is intrinsically interested in.

But there’s a catch. In homework, using and applying often involves word problems. For many neurodiverse learners, unpicking what’s required in a word problem is challenging. We’ve discussed this above. And it’s just part of the difficulty.

Sometimes word problems are very difficult to relate to.The ability to unpick the question relies heavily on reading, working memory and processing speed. That has to be dealt with before we can and apply what we know to the real world. Being able to generalise what we have learnt in one situation to other experiences is a fundamental predictor of success. For some this comes naturally but for others this ability needs to be carefully nurtured and taught.

Another purpose for homework is exploration. Developing independence through independent learning skills.

It is important to look at what you’ve learned and think about where you can apply it, and what else you can find out about it. Is it the only way? Is it the best way? Is it the quickest way? What makes one way better than another?

This kind of exploration requires the ability to use a library or online search engines to expand one’s knowledge.

Using search engines makes information accessible but it requires the ability to assess that information, to decide what’s reliable, what’s not valid, what’s useful and what isn’t. This is something that needs to be constantly reiterated at home. Some useful approaches include “I wonder who wrote that” and “I wonder how they know” or “I wonder if and how I can check this”. In short, critical thinking. This needs to be taught, and we recommend that families discuss how to critically approach anything found on the internet. Not just for the sake of homework quality, but for other decisions and judgments made in life.

The third issue we’d like to discuss is whether or not it’s clear what the homework assignment literally is. Even in the cases that the homework is planned well, there are further potential difficulties for your child.

It may be dictated verbally, with the learners writing it down on paper. Children who learn differently, whether they struggle to retain verbal information, or write more slowly, or think more slowly, or whose handwriting isn’t very legible, are already at a disadvantage.

Perhaps copying from the board is easier? Alas, some learners find it difficult to look at the board, remember what they have seen, refocus on the page to write, then adjust their vision again to the board and remember where they got to.

One solution these days is to email the homework or provide it online… This may solve the problem for some, but not for those learners who don’t know how to find it, how to submit it, or when to submit it. If someone is attempting to help but doesn’t know how to find or use this information, then again we’re dealing with a problem.

What do they want us to do? How do they want us to do it? We discussed some of this earlier in this article.

There need to be very clear instructions, instructions that are not only clearly understood by the child who’s been to the lesson, but also by their supporting adult who’s never been in the class and may or may not already have the skill.

If you don’t have a clear understanding of the task and its purpose, then you cannot do the homework.

If you do understand the task, do you know what you need to do? For so many of us who learn differently, even if we know where we need to get to, the problem may be with how to begin.

And it can be even this: Do I know where my books are? Do I know where my pencils are? Do I know I need to find the right page? Do I just know what the first thing to do in doing homework might be?

Homework can be an opportunity for extension and exploration. Used effectively this can ignite a joy of learning and discovery, a sense of competence and independence and the motivation to become successful life-long learners.

We can teach strategies and structures for dealing with homework issues and organization.

We can support the underlying neurodevelopmental irregularities, or irregularities that developed because of injury or illness, which cause some of the problems in the first place.