As of this writing, if you enter the search words “How to Focus Better” into Google, you’ll encounter about 6.2 billion results. In a world with so many distractions, we scramble to sustain our attention on what matters the most. If adults struggle with this skill, imagine how difficult it can be for learners with unique needs. As part of our Executive Functioning 101 series, we’re taking a deeper dive into attentional control and how diverse learners can benefit from a boost in this skill area.
For insight into how attention skills mature across the lifespan, see our Executive Functioning Skills by Age Guide, which maps typical milestones and next steps.
What is attentional control?
Attentional control is an executive functioning skill that involves focusing on certain stimuli in the environment while not focusing or “tuning out” other things. There are two distinct behaviors involved in attentional control: paying attention to a stimulus in the environment and ignoring or non-attending to others.
Examples of attentional control
What does attentional control look like? How do we know if a learner with unique needs demonstrates focused attending? One of the reasons we struggle to help learners with attentional control is it can be difficult to measure through direct observation.
We cannot know precisely when or if someone is “attending” or when the behavior starts and stops because it’s a private or internal event. Instead, we often measure attentional control by directly observing a secondary, alternative behavior. These by-products of attention are behaviors we assume would be difficult to complete without demonstrating attentional control. Often these direct observations occur through a comprehension or skills check.
Some ways you might directly observe your learner’s behavior include:
- Observational Learning – Can your learner watch others’ behavior and perform a similar behavior immediately after? Can your learner watch others’ mistakes and avoid similar mistakes in the future?
- Task Completion – Can your learner complete an activity (worksheets, puzzles, games, etc.) with multiple steps without stopping?
- Comprehension – Can your learner answer questions about something that was observed, read, or spoken about?
- Social Interactions – Can your learner stay on topic and answer questions during conversations? Does your learner get off-topic or distracted by details in social interactions?
- Problem-solving – Can your learner solve simple problems, including examining details in the environment and generating a solution to move forward?
Attentional Control and Executive Functioning Skills
Using the examples above, one can quickly see how attentional control relates to other executive functioning skills. How we pay attention can influence success at home, school, work, and in relationships. Learners who struggle with emotional control, problem-solving, planning, and working memory may also struggle with sustained attention and vice versa.
By evaluating your learner’s focus and attention, you may find connections to other executive functioning skills that could also use a boost.
Attentional Control in Diverse Learners
Humans have a remarkable capacity for attentional control. We can rapidly shift our focus from one thing to the next, make split-second decisions, and pay attention to the tiniest of details. As a result, humans also have an abysmal ability to multitask or successfully attend to more than one thing happening at a time. Studies show that less than 3% of adults can effectively and efficiently multitask or use divided attention. Our environment has never been more saturated with distractions that pull us in different directions. The vast majority of us are susceptible to the challenges of sustaining focus.
Now, stack on the specific challenges faced by diverse learners. Many of the core features of diagnoses like Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, Anxiety, and OCD specifically relate to how a learner may or may not attend to stimuli in the environment. These unique learning needs can contribute to even more challenges with sustained attention, focus, and tuning out distractions. While research has made gains in these areas, in many ways, we still don’t yet know precisely how to help our learners with unique needs improve attentional control.
How to Evaluate Attentional Control
After reviewing the basics of attentional control, you may have decided your learner might need some extra support in this area. You can take several steps to evaluate your learner’s attentional control skills and how they relate to other executive functioning behaviors.
- Take an attentional control skills assessment. There are multiple resources available to parents and educators to evaluate a learner’s attentional control skills. Paying attention can be assessed through direct observation of your learner performing specific daily-routine tasks. Or you can also conduct an indirect assessment like a questionnaire. Download our attentional control skills assessment today to evaluate if your learner might benefit from additional training in executive functioning skills.
- Talk with your learner. Even though your learner may be struggling with executive functioning skills, it’s possible they already identify their own struggles with attentional control. Getting distracted and losing focus can significantly impact an individual’s social relationships and ability to engage with others. It’s possible that having an open conversation with your learner about attentional control may be enough to start brainstorming goals and resources you can work on together.
- Contact a professional. Not all parents and educators are equipped to manage attentional control issues with diverse learners. Contacting their primary care physician, a mental health professional, or an executive functioning coach can be the first step towards evaluating their attention skills.
Further Reading
- Cleveland Clinic – Why Multitasking Doesn’t Work
- Hendry, A., Jones, E.J.H., Bedford, R. et al. Atypical Development of Attentional Control Associates with Later Adaptive Functioning, Autism, and ADHD Traits. J Autism Dev Disord 50, 4085–4105 (2020)
- Iris Center, Vanderbilt University – Direct Observations
- Life Skills Advocate – All About Emotional Control
- Life Skills Advocate – Executive Functioning 101 Series
- Science Direct – Attentional Control, An Overview of Research