Building Healthy Habits! Are you off or on task most of the day?
In 2024, our conversations at the Center seemed to revolve around whether their child was on task or off task in school. For me, whether I was doing an observation, IEP meeting, parent-teach conference, or any other type of meeting related to academics, the recurring topic was about on-task/off-task behavior.
Off-task behavior: diversion from assignment
What does off-task mean? The child is unfocused or distracted, making completing a task from beginning to end challenging. During a school day, students are presented with many tasks. The expectation is that all the tasks will be completed as per instructions.
What skills are needed for your child/teen to be on task?
We all need to acquire new skills and develop existing skill sets. Being a person who is on task (self-regulated) is a healthy habit that we can always build up. Most of the day, being self-regulated to accomplish our work and goals is very important. We want to acquire and practice healthy habits as a family and recognize when our habits are unhealthy and cause us more stress and difficulties. It's important to acknowledge our struggles and problems and seek to generate solutions. This is the first step in resolving and coping with skills that may be challenging for us. Helping our children/teens recognize that they are dysregulated/disorganized and how this impacts their lives is very important.
For those with autism and ADHD, self-regulation is something that must be worked on hourly. The core characteristics of these conditions continuously sabotage staying on task. In addition, frustration sets in as they are called out for their off-task behavior frequently. This builds on possible already existing anxiety and escalates the dysregulation. Anxiety causes inattention and significant discomfort, making it challenging to stay on task. So, creating the awareness and habits to address these specific needs is a large part ot increasing productivity. Teaching our children/teens how to help themselves through building healthy habits can assist in their success.
Skill: Self-regulation is goal-directed behavior.
Self-regulation is the ability to monitor and manage your energy states, emotions, thoughts, and behavior in acceptable ways that produce positive results, such as well-being, loving relationships, and learning.
Self-regulation allows kids to manage their emotions, behavior, and body movements when faced with a challenging situation. It is how we deal with the stressors and, as such, lays the foundation for all activity.
The more self-regulated or regulated we are, the more balanced our emotional states and productive we are. Being self-regulated is a healthy habit we want to develop daily.
Children and teens today have high exposure to electronics, which increases inattention. Finding a balance in this exposure is so important, even for us adults. Incrementally reducing electronic time is essential to building on-task behavior. If your child/teen is on electronics many hours a day and you would want to see a reduction in use time, you must find replacements that build on task habits. Especially an activity that can transition them to being on task. Going from electronic time to homework or a non-preferred task is challenging. Finding a transition task that they may enjoy but are focused on, whether drawing, puzzles, comic books, LEGOs, sitting still for a few minutes, or intense movement (jumping jacks, (yoga)downward dog, or quick walk.
Strategies to build on task skill:
Building on-task habits will require practice and strategies. The first step is achieving a self-regulated state, and some children/teens need support and guidance to self-regulate. Throughout the school day, many transitions can promote dysregulation. It is crucial to help the child/teen prepare to focus and work. Assisting the child/teen in identifying and practicing preparing for work state of mind and body (calmer/focus state). Allowing or planning for a few additional minutes to transition is helpful. We must practice healthy daily habits to build and increase our “on-task” behavior, especially if we find ourselves dysregulated often.
Slowing down/moving slower:
Physically, it can help the mind and body to be calmer when we immediately slow down our pace and process. For some, slowing down does not mean stillness. Some may need movement to slow their mind and/or anxiety. Other activities that promote readiness for a task requiring focus:
Are a change of scenery
brief walk
bathroom break
splashing water on the face
hydrating/drinking water
Stretching
find a quiet place/quiet corner in the classroom
A change of scenery promotes an automatic shift in mindset.
What helps you reboot? Being still for a few minutes and closing my eyes helps me reboot. As mentioned above, it is finding the right activity to shift mindset and body to a calmer state and incorporating this act throughout the day.
Switching Gears
Most of us have so many transitions throughout the day. We go from one task/location to the other throughout the day. It's hard to stay regulated throughout the entire day. It helps always to slow down/power down when possible.
Set up for getting started:
Having a designated area to focus on specific tasks is always helpful. Some areas may promote concentrate more than others. I like to move around the house to do my work. My children do the same. We all have backpacks with our supplies for our most crucial deadline-driven tasks. A helpful tool at home could be a mobile bin with all the supplies necessary for you or your child to complete specific tasks.
2. To-Do List and Setup of work/focus space:
Is your child/teen aware of what their to-do’s are? How do they track the work and responsibilities? I am finding, more often than not, that most students are unaware of their daily responsibilities and cannot tackle them independently. An awareness that there is work that needs to be done daily at school and out of school. This is a habit that must be fostered.
1. On task habit building requires an awareness of tasks, timing and tracking.
2. Finding a tracking system for tasks that works for your teen/child/yourself is so important as part of building on task behavior.
I see new systems pop up on Instagram daily. I love organizational tools. It may take some time to find the right tracking tool. Keep the tracking system simple. For my daughter, it’s post-it notes and lists on her phone. It is best to build the tracking skill (non-technology related) until the habit of creating and checking the tracking/list tool is established, anywhere from 30-60 days of daily practice.
The best organization tool is the one that is utilized daily with ease.
Simple tracking tools to manage your to do’s.
The location for work time (on-task) is essential—a designated focus space where work is done accompanied with tools for the task. At home, this space does not have to be a designated desk or the same space every time, although that may be helpful depending on the level of dysregulation you are dealing with. If you want to change spaces around the house, there must be a set tools/supplies spot where all the tools needed for work-time tasks are located. For children/teens who struggle with organization, having more than one pencil case and supplies accessible is essential. This is to avoid the distraction of looking for tools needed to delay getting started.
What will signal or start up your work time?
What sign or step can you take to get ready to get started on a needed task?
3. Don’t forget! Kick-off or Start up-signal:
The start-up is what will mark or kick off your work time. What steps will you take to ease into the on-task/work time? It could be as simple as a drink of water, a snack, or a stretch. In the morning, I wake up very early, 1-2 hours before I must be anywhere or start a scheduled task. I sit and ponder my day for a few minutes. I have my devotional time and journal, then I start my on-task time. This may be more challenging for parents in the morning rush of getting kids to school and work; however, many parents wake up a few minutes earlier to have this time. You cannot imagine having a quiet 15 minutes in your mornings as you start your day; what a difference that will make.
We always had a very definitive routine after school before homework time. Setting up a routine is essential; it does not have to be rigid but a rhythm you follow at certain times of day. If you are a parent with ASD, ADHD, or both, you have to conquer this habit first before you help your child build this habit for themselves. For parents with children/teens with ASD/ADHD, this on-task skill does not develop independently of instruction and implementing a strategy to build the skill.
As a parent, monitor the time you spend prompting and reminding your child to get on task and complete their assignments, and invest that time and energy in developing a slow down/calm, setup, tracking/list, and kickoff strategies.
