INATTENTION

REPORTER: Hazel B. Paclar

BEED SPED 2x3
ATTENTION
Attention has been defined as the
ability to remain oriented to a task
for the length of time required to
complete the task, or for an
amount of time that seems
socially acceptable.
WILLIAMS, AND SILVA IDENTIFY THREE BEHAVIORAL
DIMENSIONS ASSOCIATED WITH INATTENTION:

Planning
Organization
Execution of task or activities
INATTENTIVE BEHAVIOR WILL
OFTEN HAVE PROBLEMS THAT
FALL ALONG THREE
DIMENSIONS:

 Coming to attention
 Making decisions
 Giving sustained attention
 Parents and teachers often describe these
children as having trouble starting or finishing
things, and being easily distracted. These
children may become off task at even the
slightest noise or change in environment. These
children often have trouble getting back to work
once they have been distracted. As a result, they
may have difficulty completing academic tasks,
possibly resulting in poor academic
achievement.

 Children who have attention problems are also

called as poor listeners.
RUFF AND LAWSON FOUND THAT:

 As children got older, their attention became

more focused when they are presented with a
variety of activities that involved complex
problem solving aspects.
 Effective intervention problems usually involves
the presentation of novel and interesting tasks at
a pace that is age appropriate and geared toward
motivating children.
LEARNING TO BE ATTENTIVE:

Children must taught the

skills of "sitting and
listening" at school,
hopefully at preschool or
kindergarten level.
EFFECTIVE INTERVENTIONS FOR
INATTENTION:
 Guidelines for developing behavior change interventions
to assist children increase attention skills:
 1. A functional analysis should be used to assess problem
behaviors.
 2. The children should receive more frequent and
specific feedback than their peers.
 3. Both positive and negative consequences should be
incorporated into behavior management programs.
 4. Tasks should be broken down into specific instructions
and delivered to the student a few steps at a time.
 5. The focus of behavior change programs
should be based on concrete results of
appropriate behavior rather than on specific task
related behaviors.
 6. Preferred activities should be used as
reinforcers , rather than tangible rewards such as
candy.
 7. Priming children with discussion of privileges
that can be earned prior to the assignment of
academic tasks will increase task completion.
OTHER EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES IN REDUCING
INATTENTION:

 SELF INSTRUCTION: During a self instruction

program, students would receive a prompt throughout
the class. Each time they hear a prompt, the students
would ask themselves if they were paying attention and
completing their task. Self instruction usually includes
self monitoring, in which a student would record if he or
she was or was not paying attention or completing his or
her work.
 SELF MONITORING and SELF RECORDING provide
students with the opportunity for direct feedback as they
review their own recorded data.