Rebecca encounters frequent homework challenges, particularly with math . She often forgets the instructions and gets angry when her mother suggests a process that doesn't match the one she was taught at school.

Tommy's parents expect him to do chores on the weekend . Cleaning his bed- room is one chore that's always on the list , but there are other chores like sweeping the kitchen floor , changing the kitty litter , raking leaves , or putting laundry away . He has figured out that if he gets through his chores early in the day , he can spend the rest of the day doing all the fun things he's planned for the weekend . He's developed a routine of starting right after breakfast , rewarding himself with small breaks after he's finished each chore , and getting back to work promptly after each break by reminding himself that the sooner he finishes his work , the sooner he gets to play .

Lydia likes having a clean bedroom and a clear workspace for doing homework . She usually puts away each toy after she finishes playing with it , but if that doesn't happen , she makes sure before she goes to bed each night that everything is in its des- ignated spot in the bedroom . And when she finishes working on a project on her desk , she returns the arts and crafts materials to the bin she set aside for this purpose . She looks at her clear desktop and smiles , knowing that when she decides to do another art project , she has a space to work and can gather her materials quickly .

Mark has a hard time with mealtimes. He has two older brothers, and everybody at the table has something they want to talk about. When a thought pops into Mark’s head, he has to share it right away, otherwise the conversation will move on without him. And ideas pop into his head frequently, so the rest of the family gets mad at him for interrupting them. He gets bored listening to others talk, and he’ll remember he was right in the middle of building a cool LEGO construction, so he wanders off to work on that before he’s finished eating his vegetables. His mom may say, “Where do you think you’re going?” and he calls out over his shoulder, “I just thought of something. I’ll be right back.”

Grant wants a new controller for his Xbox—the elite kind that comes with all sorts of features that his standard controller lacks. But it’s expensive, and he knows that even if he saved up all his weekly allowance, it would take him a long time to earn enough money. So he goes to his parents with a proposal: “If I do extra chores each week, do you think you could pay me for them?” His parents offer a couple of options, but they’re not willing to pay him very much for the added work. Then he remembers that his next-door neighbor is pretty old, and he suspects, based on what his lawn looks like, that keeping up with lawn mowing is hard for him. So he talks with Mr. Riley, explaining that he’s trying to save up money for something and asking whether Mr. Riley would be willing to pay him to mow his lawn every week. Mr. Riley likes the idea, but he’s worried about Grant’s following through. Grant creates a weekly schedule and a work contract, and he tells Mr. Riley that he’s willing to keep mowing the lawn even after he’s saved up all the money he needs.

Jason is told by his mom to clean his room. He goes in and is greeted by books , sports equipment , and toys , a partially built LEGO structure and clothes, dirty and clean, on the floor. He gets the LEGO container and starts to pick up the pieces on the floor but decides to finish one section of the structure before putting it away . A half hour later his mother comes in to check on him and he's still building . “Jason! Nothing's done , and you've only got a half hour to finish!"

Tara was a challenging child from birth. Temper tantrums routinely happened in unfamiliar social situations and with changes in routine and transitions, especially if she was tired or hungry. She seemed comfortable only with familiar, routine activities or when she knew in advance what would happen and with whom .