Children who have attention difficulties can be thought about in a variety of situations. They may find it difficult to give and maintain attention, may be easily distracted, have a short concentration span and seek the attention of other children or adults e.g. by calling out frequently in class or ‘clowning’ around for friends. At Puzzle we understand that children’s ability to listen, think, be attentive and concentrate on a task is influenced by a number of different factors including their ability, medical background and home background.
For example, if a child is very bright and the learning task is not matched to their ability they can easily become restless and lose interest in the task. Importantly, how a child feels will greatly affect their readiness to listen, think and therefore to learn. If a child, for example, is worried about being hurt, failing in class, break times or is going through significant change in their family life, their emotions can be so overwhelming that they find it difficult to listen and be attentive. Puzzle will consider all the possible influences upon the child to reach an understanding of the possible causes of the inattentiveness.
For some children with significant inattention, severe or frequent hyperactivity not typical for their age, a medial diagnosis of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) may be made. These behaviours can become obstacles to children’s success both socially and in their learning. Interventions for ADHD vary dependent upon what is decided to be the root cause. Current strategies Puzzle would consider for intervention may include medication to reduce problematic behaviours, educating parents and teachers about the nature of ADHD, focusing on behaviour management and finally using psychological techniques to teach children self-control skills.