Attentional Underfocus (3B)
Attentional underfocus is the tendency to lose concentration as a result of internal thoughts or external stimuli.
Students with attentional underfocus may have difficulty with concentration as their focus is interrupted by their own mental processes and/or random thoughts that cause their attention to shift from one topic or activity to another. This kind of interference can also be caused by external distractors that interfere with a student's ability to maintain concentration on a task.
Students with attentional underfocus may have difficulty with concentration as their focus is interrupted by their own mental processes and/or random thoughts that cause their attention to shift from one topic or activity to another. This kind of interference can also be caused by external distractors that interfere with a student's ability to maintain concentration on a task.
Formal Diagnostics
- Wechsler Scales (WISC), Letter-Number Sequencing Task: Score at or under the 35th percentile rank.
- Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST): Score at or under the 35th percentile rank.
- Doctor's Diagnosis of AD/HD: A diagnosis of AD/HD indicating that a student is inattentive or combined type is indicative of the presence of attentional underfocus.
Intake Questions
- Do you struggle to stay on task or keep your mind from wandering?
- Do others often ask you to explain how you get from one thought to another?
- What accommodations or strategies have been effective in the past?
Resources
- Barkley, R. A. (2006). Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (3rd Ed.). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
- National Institute of Mental Health: ADHD
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd/index.shtml - DO-IT: How Can Universal Design Be Applied to Instruction?
http://www.washington.edu/doit/Faculty/articles?128 - National Attention Deficit Disorder Association
http://www.add.org/
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