not having a concept of time

My 12yrs old has 2 problems that are of daily occurence. He has no concept of time and always takes a long time to do anything. He also does not remember things that are taught to him a day ago. It takes him a while to recall information. This only happens in math. I am not sure if he has ADD or non verbal learning disorder. He is also very disorganized and never remembers to turn his homework in. He does not even know what his homework is or when it is due. In other words, he is just clueless sometimes about life. I am so frustrated . Please advise.

[Kestra]

I would recommend that he be given an evaluation by a Neuropsychologist.  They will be able to determine if specific learning disabilities are interfering with his ability to learn.

[April2]

This sounds very much like ADD. Try using a timer to let him know when it's time to move onto the next task or to show him how much time he has. It really can help. As for organization, that's a biggie. My kids struggled with that too. You can try and help him get his binders organized with marked dividers for each subject. One thing that helps, too, is to get him a planner and have him get used to writing down all his assignments every day in it. If he doesn't have homework, he writes "no homework" but have him write something every day in every subject. You may need to enlist the teachers help here too by having them sign off the planner every day to show that he did indeed write down his homework. Once he's used to doing it, you can stop having the teachers sign off on it. I did this with my kids and it really helped. Hope any of this helps!

[RStern]

Evaluate each option and opinion carefully.  While some suggest it does sound like ADHD - there are any number of other reasons this could be happening.

ADHD / non-verbal learning disabilities look very similar.  You could get a neuropsych. evaluation - but they are very costly and can take a long time.

You also likely have resources at your child's school to have him evaluated as a part of No Child Left Behind.  Your school (should) have a special team who evaluates children.

A few thoughts:

Speak with your physician.
Talk with people at school involved in special education (to get the ball rolling).

In the meantime - find some supports to help your child watch time (timer might be good) - while at the same time - support, support, support and leverage his strengths.

Maybe some study skills could help with taking notes as well as specific skills related to his struggles.  Verbal learners do well talking out their notes or lessons.  Auditory learners benefit from recording classes and listening to them again.  Visual learners to do well with seeing things.  There is also a fourth kind of learner - the kinesthetic learner who is more active and appears to have ADHD.

Don't just assume he has ADHD.  Talk to some people - get an evaluation of sorts, and keep an eye on him.

One last thought - consider what else is going on in his life that might be accounting for the behavior.  Children respond to the world quite differently than adults do.

Hope this helps.

Rory