My daughter is bright, but has a difficult time with basic tasks and day to day routines. What should I do?

Show me another question in this topic

Zienaz asks:

My daughter is almost eleven years old. She's a bright child academically speaking and has always been involved in the talented and gifted programs. However, when it comes to day to day life she is unable to perform basic tasks. If I asked her to put plates on the table she would fix glasses. If she has a chore to complete she has trouble doing it or doesn't even realize she was asked even though she may have answered the request. She has always been somewhat creative and enjoys writing and art, but has a difficult time finishing what she starts. She often has many, many ideas in her head at a time. Focusing on the task at hand is all but impossible for her. She does well with lists. For example when getting up in the morning if she can look at a list that says to brush her teeth, her hair, eat breakfast, etc., she is fairly successful, but without a reference she is mostly at a loss or really has to think about what comes next even though it is a daily routine. Listening to what we say or following direction is hard for her. She often guesses at what we said, just doesn't do it at all and says she forgot, or has to come back and ask what she's supposed to be doing. I am at a complete loss as to what to do. It's hard to not be angry at her for not being able to do one thing that is asked of her. Please advise.

In Topics: Special needs

> 60 days ago

Report Abuse

Answer

Sort by:

Most Helpful | Most Recent | Least Recent

Answers (2)

KidAngel writes:

Hi Zienaz,
I hear your concern. As a parent and an educator I would be concerned also. I would advise you to make an appointment with your Primary Physician and request that your daughter have a complete general check up first. Then I would ask for a referral to a Child Psychologist and have a complete battery of testing done. This way you can see the complete results of her physical health and her mental health. You need to get to the bottom of this for your daughtersÃ¢â��Â¬Ã¢â��Â¢ well being and yours. Thank you for being invested in your daughter and choosing to ask why.

Barbara Antinoro
Educational Counselor
Kid Angel Foundation
Education.com team

> 60 days ago

Did you find this answer useful?

yes

Report abuse

Boys Town National Hotline writes:

It is wonderful that you are seeking ideas to help your daughter. At eleven years of age it sounds like she is quite a talented child. You do a nice job seeing the positive behaviors she is doing and what techniques work effectively with her. One of the skills she can learn to help many of the situations you mentioned is Following Instructions. When teaching her this skill, teach it to her in steps since she does well with steps. Teach her that when she is asked to do something she 1.) Looks at you and acknowledges that she heard you 2.) Begins the task immediately 3.) Lets you know when she has finished. When she reports that she is finished it gives you the opportunity to praise her for what she has done and offer suggestions of need be. Let her know why it is important to Follow Instructions in this manner, what the benefit to her would be. When teaching the skill, make sure to practice Follow Instructions and keep the practice fun. Such as, ask her to get each of you a purple popsicle or something she likes. Make sure that even in practice; she follows each of the three steps. When asking her to do a task, make sure she understands it and has steps to follow to complete the task like you do with her morning routine. Hopefully this will help. Let us know if it is effective.

Boys Town National Hotline an Education.com partner
Ã¢â��Â¬Ã¢â�¬Å� 1-800-448-3000 / www.boystown.org

> 60 days ago

Did you find this answer useful?

yes

Report abuse