Even before we started receiving in-home services for Samuel, I have always wanted to "work" with Samuel at home. Whether it was getting him to be able to play games with the family, helping with chores, or reading together, a lot of time and energy has been invested by our family to teach these things to Samuel. Thanks to having in-home services, Samuel is well on his way to participating in "normal" family events.
My first step in teaching him to "work" was to follow the recommendation of his special education teacher during the summer break after his first year at school. We set aside an area in the playroom and did little drills and took data! We did things like laying out 3 cards and he had to "select different." After that summer I did not take data, but when I worked with Samuel I started fitting in other activities like working on a puzzle.
In-home services started for Samuel almost 2 years ago. Homework wasn't put into his schedule right away, but was added after he demonstrated that he could comply with other activities. Spelling homework has been around for him since kindergarten. Last school year I requested some math worksheets and copies of his reading stories (they wouldn't let me have a copy of the textbook). This year we have spelling, the school has allowed me to have a copy of the reading textbook (yay!), they send home some reading worksheets, and I make up homework for Social Studies and Science based on the school work I see him bring home and on the "Standards of Learning" lists I have for each school quarter.
If I put together work for 3 subjects I would say that there is about 5-10 minutes of work for Samuel to do. I use edible reinforcers during the homework session and I make sure a highly reinforcing activity follows the homework session. We do his homework in my bedroom, sitting on the floor with a lap desk. The in-home services provider does most of his homework at the kitchen table, but sometimes they will read in the living room. Other staff members might work with him in a quieter area of the house if Samuel is too distracted in the kitchen.
At the beginning of this school year it could take an hour for Samuel to comply. If he did not comply I told him he had to go take a break until he was ready. Most of the hour it would take involved him going back and forth taking breaks and returning to my room. I learned the hard way that I cannot say anything like "this is your last chance to ______..." He has a meltdown if I do that. What works better is to ask him "Are you ready to work?" or say something like "You know, the sooner you do your work the sooner you get to do what you really want to do!" Now he almost never has to leave my room. All I have to say is "If you are not ready to work then you should probably take a break." This is enough to prompt him to say "I'm ready." On a good night he gets through his work in about 10-15 minutes.
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