At a Glance- Attention is what allows people to identify and take in useful information.
- Paying attention is a process with several distinct parts.
- Kids with attention issues can have trouble with any or all of the parts of the attention process.
Most people understand that attention plays an important
role in learning. But they may not know that it’s the very first step in the
learning process that occurs in the brain.
Attention is like a funnel that lets kids select and take in
useful information. Once the information is there, the brain can make sense of
it and store it in memory.
Paying attention may sound very simple. But it’s a highly
developed process with several distinct parts. Kids with attention issues can
have problems with any or all of these parts. And if they do, it can affect
their ability to learn.
Here are the parts of the process and where some kids with
attention issues have trouble.
Being Alert
What it is: To
pay attention, a child must first be aware and alert, ready to take in
information. For most kids, that means being wide awake and well rested.
A student who isn’t alert may literally have his head on his
desk during class. But sometimes the signs are more subtle. A child can simply
seem “tuned out” and appear to be staring at nothing.
Its relationship to attention issues: Poor-quality sleep and
lack of sleep are the top culprits when it comes to alertness issues.
This is true for all kids—those who have diagnosed learning
and attention issues and those who don’t. In fact, some kids who appear to have
learning or attention issues actually turn out to have sleep disorders.
Sleep disorders include insomnia—problems with falling
asleep or staying asleep. They can also affect a person’s ability to achieve
deep, restorative sleep.
Kids with ADHD struggle with sleep disorders more often than
other children do. If you believe your child is not as “awake” as he should be,
talk to his doctor. She may want to adjust his meds or arrange for a sleep
study.
Selecting and Sustaining
What it is: The
next step is selecting what exactly to pay attention to. That’s followed by
continuing to pay attention to it.
To some extent, people use judgement to decide what deserves
attention. For instance, a student can choose to pay attention to the teacher
and not the birds flying around outside.
But choice and judgement play a smaller role in this process
than many people realize. For example, if the whiteboard falls off the wall,
all the brains in the room will automatically focus on that. It’s basic
instinct.
The same is true if a teacher stands and talks right in
front of a student. That child’s brain naturally focuses on what’s taking up
his immediate visual and auditory space.
Its relationship to attention issues: Many kids with
attention issues want to focus on the “right” thing. But their brains may have
trouble picking out what that right thing is.
The other big challenge: Even when kids can pick out what’s
important, they may not be able to sustain attention for a meaningful amount of
time. So a child may start out listening to the teacher. But then his mind may
drift to the birds outside.
Shifting Focus
What it is:
Nobody can completely ignore distractions. For example, a loud noise in the
hallway will catch the attention of everyone in the classroom. People also
frequently shift attention to something internal, like a thought, feeling or
memory. But most students are able to shift their attention and then quickly
shift back to the teacher.
Its relationship to attention issues: The mechanism that
lets most students shift attention easily and quickly is sticky in many kids
with attention issues.
A child with ADHD may stay focused on that loud noise out in
the hallway long after his classmates have returned their attention to the
teacher. By the time he tunes back in, he may have missed important
information.
Or he may not return his attention at all. Instead he may
move on to, say, what he’s going to have for lunch and what he’s doing on the
weekend.
If your child struggles a lot with attention issues there
are strategies you can try at home. Medication is also an option to consider. A
combination of the right support and treatment can help your child absorb what
he needs to know—in school and out.
Key Takeaways
- Paying attention is not as much of a “choice” as many people may think.
- Kids with attention issues have trouble determining where to focus attention, maintaining attention and shifting attention to and away from distractions.
- Educational therapies, as well as medication, can help many kids strengthen attention skills and focus more easily.
