Areas to focus on and suggested strategies

Writing:

• Frank needs help with organizing his thoughts and putting them down on paper. Possible strategies could include: planning think sheets, using graphic organizers such as semantic mapping, and putting sentences on index cards and then having him organize them into paragraphs.
• Encourage Frank to use a word processor for his writing which will make it easier for him to move material around and organize.

Reading

• Build on Frank's reading strengths for short passages - help him see that a reading passage of many paragraphs is really a combination of many small passages. Incorporate strategies that help to break down the units of information and build in graphic organizers to help pull the key information from each section to increase his overall understanding of the text.

Attention and organizing

• Frank will need help to organize tasks. Help him to learn to break large tasks into small tasks - incorporate his renovation work to help him identify with the tasks. Build in time management and organizing tools (checklists, etc.) to help him recognize signs that he is getting overwhelmed. Provide stress management techniques and encourage him to stop and think before going any further.
• Encourage Frank to rephrase what has been said to ensure he understands and build in short breaks.
• Incorporate decision-making strategies to help decrease his frustration when he feels overwhelmed or does not know what to do first.