Attention Skills: ADD and ADHD

Our six year old foster son nearly drove his kindergarten teacher to insanity. She had over 20 children to deal with and our little tornado arrived in her classroom about three months before the school year ended. She came to me literally shaking one day saying, "I guess I'm just going to have to hold his hand the entire day! He needs medication!!!"

No matter how calmly and how often we discussed his behavior with him he still threw several tantrums per day and was a ball of energy. After much pleading from the school we finally went to the pediatrician about his behavior. Before the doctor even handed me the assessment he said, "Yes, he probably will be diagnosed with ADHD and we can put him on medication to help."

I wasn't completely against medication but if another option was available I would have chosen it first. So, I asked the pediatrician if putting him in a smaller school setting would help. He said, "Absolutely!" Unfortunately, foster children aren't allowed to be homeschooled or that would have been ideal for us, but there was also an option of putting him in a very small private school. So, we planned to pay his tuition to attend the next year, especially if we had the chance to adopt him and his sisters. They ended up leaving that summer, though.

ADD or ADHD

The difference between Attention Deficit Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is the key word "hyperactivity". Children with ADD tend to be quieter and daydream a lot or have trouble concentrating. Children with ADHD get noticed easily like our little tornado in the story above! They are constantly moving and interrupting the classroom. Sitting still for any length of time is nearly impossible. The commonality of disorders is the consistency of this type behavior at home and school and it lasting for a period of six months or more.

Do you suspect ADD or ADHD in your child? Contact a mental health professional and learn as much as you can about these disorders before making major changes, such as medication. Here is a free ADHD test to give you an idea of the probability of this disorder in your child.

Mind the Children does not diagnose disorders of any kind.

Attention Skills: What are they and can they be learned?

Foster Children Listening to "Grandma" Read a Story

When our first three foster children (3, 4, and 6 years old) arrived at our house they possessed no attention skills. So, when we sat down with them at night to read them a bedtime story it was quite a task! They obviously had no previous experience of the joy of listening to a story being read by a parent.

However, one month after our little ones came to our home they looked forward to listening  to a story with anticipation. They also sat relatively still and paid close attention. The CPS worker couldn't believe the change in them! Attention skills can be learned and improved.

Primary Types of Attention

• Sustained Attention is the ability to concentrate on a task, object, or thought and the amount of time we are capable of focusing. 
• Selective Attention is the ability to concentrate on a task while being distracted.
• Divided Attention is the ability to attend to two or more things at once (multi-tasking).

Attention and Learning

Attention and learning are related brain processes, separate but dependent on each other  for successful functioning. 

“Learning” is the way the brain uses and remembers information like a factory taking in raw materials, storing parts and then manufacturing and shipping a finished product. 

“Attention” involves brain controls which regulate what information gets selected as important and gets acted on. 

The attention/behavior control system acts like the executives at the factory distributing the “brain energy” budget, setting priorities, deciding what to produce and monitoring quality control. Late shipments or poor quality products could be the result of any number of “glitches” in either system. Minor problems in one system can be compensated for but when both systems are affected failure looms. Sorting out the breakdown points is critical but can be complicated. -NCLD

Why Some Kids Can't Sit Still

According to The Centers for Disease Control  there has been a jump in the percentage of children diagnosed with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in recent years. While I am sure there are many factors that go into the reason for this increase, Angela Hanscom argues that it is mostly due to a lack of opportunity for movement. Children are required to sit for long periods of time in the average American classroom.

We know that exercise helps the brain gear up for learning. Finland has had this figured out since the 1960's giving their school children a 15 minute break every 45 minutes. This means the teachers also get a break while the children engage in free play. No doubt teachers need a break as much as the kids!

"Pellegrini and his colleagues ran a series of experiments at a public elementary school to explore the relationship between recess timing and attentiveness in the classroom. In every one of the experiments, students were more attentive after a break than before a break. They also found that the children were less attentive when the timing of the break was delayed—or in other words, when the lesson dragged on."

If the average child (whatever that is, since they are each wonderfully unique) benefits from a break every hour, how much more would ADHD students? If you don't have the privilege of homeschooling your child, at least be aware and give him plenty of free play time when he is at home and even frequent breaks during homework. You might be surprised at how much better he is able to focus!