22/01/2018
Understanding your Child's Trouble with Focus
What Can Cause Issues With Focus
A number of learning and attention issues can interfere with a child’s ability to focus. The one most closely linked to attention problems is ADHD. That may surprise you—perhaps you picture kids with this condition as hyperactive, and your child isn’t. But there’s a type of ADHD (sometimes called ADD) that doesn’t include hyperactivity.
Here are some of the issues that can cause trouble with focus.
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: ADHD is the most common brain-based condition of childhood. In fact, 8 to 10 percent of kids in the U.S. between the ages of 3 and 17 have been diagnosed with the disorder. For kids with ADHD, the area of the brain that controls attention may take longer to develop and may work differently.
Kids with ADHD may not be able to:
Know when to focus on small details and when to focus on the bigger picture
Filter out unimportant sights, sounds or information
Pay attention without getting distracted
Hold a train of thought when interrupted
Follow through on a task without needing to hear directions several times
Concentrate on one activity at a time
Follow spoken directions
Process information quickly
Keep up in conversation
The signs of ADHD can change over time. What a child struggles with in preschool or grade school may look different in middle school or high school.
Issues with executive functioning: This set of mental skills helps people pay attention, plan, prioritize and start on tasks. If those skills are weak, it can cause some of the symptoms you may be seeing in your child. Many kids with learning and attention issues, particularly ADHD, also have weak executive functioning skills.
Auditory processing disorder (APD): This listening comprehension problem can cause issues with focus, but for a different reason. Kids with APD have trouble processing the sounds of language. If your child struggles to pay attention when people are speaking, that might be the cause.