Why Do Kids with ADHD Seem to Hyperfocus on Some Things and Not Focus at All on Others

Why Do Kids with ADHD Seem to Hyperfocus on Some Things and Not Focus at All on Others My child can focus on things when he wants to. In fact, when hes really interested in something, he focuses better than other kids hes hyperfocused. Hes the opposite of distracted! I just wish hed choose to hyperfocus on the important things, like homework. If you are the parent of a child with ADHD, this may sound strikingly familiar. Many of the parents I have worked with describe their child as someone who can hyperfocus on a few high-interest activities, but seem to be unable to focus on less enjoyable tasks, like homework. While the targets of hyperfocused attention vary from child to child (e.g., Legos, video games, books, etc.), across the board parents are bewildered by their childs ability to focus so well on some things and not at all on others. Parents often say that they feel frustrated by their childs seemingly willful choice to focus well only when he or she is engaged in an activity that he or she enjoys. For frustrated, perplexed parents, its often helpful to start by shifting the way we talk about and conceptualize the ability to focus within the context of ADHD. We often talk about a child, teen, or adult with ADHD as completely lacking the ability to pay attention. In reality, most people with ADHD can focus very well at times, and many can in fact hyperfocus on some activities directing 100% of their attention toward the task at hand and blocking out everything else in the room. The core difficulty in ADHD may not be the inability to pay attention, but instead be difficulty in regulating attention. The struggle lies in turning on focused attention at the necessary and appropriate times, adjusting the focus intensity to match the demands of the activity, and turning off focused attention when its time to shift to another task or activity. In fact, some would argue that across the board ADHD should be conceptualized primarily as a disorder of regulation, including difficulties wit h regulating emotion, activity level, and behavior, as well as attention. When we think about ADHD as a disorder that causes problems with regulating attention, it becomes easier to understand why kids with ADHD experience so much variability in their level of attention from one day to the next, and why they hyperfocus on some activities and focus so little on others. There are many factors that influence our ability to regulate attention, including fatigue, hunger, how interesting an activity is to us, the length and complexity of a task, the immediate payoff we get for completing an activity, etc. As parents, there are things you can do to help your child regulate his or her attention and even make the most of his or her ability to hyperfocus. First, make sure your childs basic needs around sleep, nutrition, and exercise are adequately met. If your child is hungry, sleep deprived, has a great deal of pent up energy, or is feeling lethargic from sitting around too much, then address these issues first. Youll be laying a solid foundation for better regulation of attention as well as emotion, behavior, and activity level. Second, be on the lookout for factors that tend to push your child into hyperfocused mode. There will of course be certain high interest activities that pull his or her attention into a hyperfocused state, but there may be other factors as well, like having to complete an assignment just before a deadline, being asked to beat the clock by completing a certain number of problems or worksheets before a timer goes off, being challenged to do something better than he or she has ever done it before, or having to finish an assignment or task to earn a reward or privilege. Hyperfocus triggers will be specific to your child, but once theyve been identified, you can use them to help your child focus when its necessary. Lastly, always have your child complete his or her hyperfocused activities last. Once your child goes into hyperfocus mode, it may be hard for him or her to stop what he or she is doing and shift to another activity. On top of this, it takes more mental energy for your child to regulate his or her attention during less engaging activities than it does when he or she is hyperfocused. So, have your child do less interesting activities first, before he or she is mentally fatigued. Helping your child use strategies to regulate their attention, and make the most of his or her hyperfocus abilities, will go a long way in improving the ability to focus during those activities that he or she doesnt typically enjoy. ABOUT DR. MARY ROONEY Mary Rooney, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California San Francisco. Dr Rooney is a researcher and clinician specializing in the evaluation and treatment of ADHD and co-occurring behavioral, anxiety, and mood disorders. A strong advocate for those with attention and behavior problems, Dr. Rooney is committed to developing and providing comprehensive, cutting edge treatments tailored to meet the unique needs of each child and adolescent. Dr. Rooney's clinical interventions and research avenues emphasize working closely with parents and teachers to create supportive, structured home and school environments that enable children and adolescents to reach their full potential. In addition, Dr. Rooney serves as a consultant and ADHD expert to Huntington Learning Centers. ABOUT HUNTINGTON Huntington Learning Center is the tutoring and test prep leader. Its certified tutors provide individualized instruction in reading, phonics, writing, study skills, elementary and middle school math, Algebra through Calculus, Chemistry, and other sciences. It preps for the SAT and ACT, as well as state and standardized exams. Huntington programs develop the skills, confidence, and motivation to help students of all levels succeed and meet the needs of Common Core State Standards. Founded in 1977, Huntington's mission is to give every student the best education possible. Call us today at 1.800.CAN LEARN to discuss how Huntington can help your child. For franchise opportunities please visit www.huntingtonfranchise.com. This website does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The material on this site is provided for educational purposes only.

The Indirect Effects of Independent Reading

The Indirect Effects of Independent Reading Improving Academic Performance “The amount of free reading done outside of school has consistently been found to relate to growth in vocabulary, reading comprehension, verbal fluency, and general information. Students who read independently become better readers, score higher on achievement tests in all subject areas, and have greater content knowledge than those who do not. -Research Journal of the American Association of School Librarians The indirect effects of independent reading are well documented and, in some ways, almost obvious. You can split the effects into two categories: direct and indirect. The direct effects are perhaps the most obvious. The more you read, the more information you’ll accumulate about a variety of topics. If you read about finance, you’ll learn finance. If you read history, you’ll learn more history. If you aren’t a great public speaker, obviously reading a public speaking book can help you improve. In addition, your vocabulary naturally expands, regardless of what you’re reading. Even if you are only reading fiction, you’ll still learn about people, places, concepts, ideas, etc. that apply in the real world. The indirect effects of increased reading are less obvious, but perhaps more important. By reading more, even more fiction, you naturally will improve your command of the English language (spelling, grammar, usage, etc.), reading comprehension skills, ability to apply logic, understanding of cause and effect, and more. In fact, the benefits of reading independently can be downright surprising. According to the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges, there is a strong correlation between independent reading and mathematics achievement. Studies show reading and writing skills not only lead to general academic success, but are also directly valued by colleges and employers as high as almost any other factor. At the same time, we see the average 12th grade reading scores declining in the U.S. between 1992 and 2005. The most surprising study I’ve found was conducted by Dr Alice Sullivan and Matt Brown, who analyzed the reading behavior of approximately 6,000 young people being followed by the 1970 British Cohort Study, which is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. According to the Institute of Education University of London’s review of that report, “reading for pleasure was found to be more important for children's cognitive development between ages 10 and 16 than their parents' level of education. The combined effect on children's progress of reading books often, going to the library regularly and reading newspapers at 16 was four times greater than the advantage children gained from having a parent with a degree.” Interesting, and luckily or unluckily depending on your situation, the reading comprehension skills can be much more difficult to build quickly. At MyGuru, when we’re helping students prepare for standardized tests, we tend to find that, paradoxically, the most stressed out students are those that are really struggling with the math section of the ACT, SAT, GRE, or GMAT, but those that are truly lacking basic math skills can be the easiest students to help. “We can teach you how to solve quadratic equations by “completing the square” if you’ve forgotten most of the algebra you learned in high school. We can teach you any math that you once learned and have now forgotten. We can even teach you a lot of math that you never learned in the first place. Unfortunately, we cannot re-teach you how to read and comprehend…improving your reading comprehension skills takes time, persistence, and focused practice.” John Easter - Senior GMAT, GRE, ACT, and SAT tutor for MyGuru (John holds a B.A. in English and B.A. in Mathematics, Indiana University-Bloomington, and M.A. in Mathematics) What does it mean to read intentionally? You’ll get the most benefit out of reading more if you do so intentionally. There are actually two contexts in which to interpret what this means, and it goes back to the direct vs. indirect distinction we made above. First, you are reading intentionally if you know you aren’t great at managing your schedule and being organized, and so you buy a book about personal productivity, making to-do lists, using calendar tools, etc. However, you are also reading intentionally if you know that, in 3, 6, 12, 24, or 48 months you’ll be taking a standardized test with a “verbal” component. So, with that in mind, you stop yourself while reading and ask questions like: What was the author’s main point? What evidence does his use to support that point? What type of evidence could be used to challenge the point? Etc. Or, on an even simpler level, I know that a magazine like the Economist is not always easy reading. Even when I try to read it, I sometimes find myself losing the point, but continuing with the article, just trying to pick up whatever info I can, to say that I read it. To read intentionally would always be to challenge yourself to stop, think critically about what you’ve read to ensure you understand the logic, and move on only once you’ve truly understood the paragraph, article, or chapter. You can do this while sitting in a room with your parents, friends, girlfriend, or spouse. They don’t need to know that you’re not just reading, you’re reading intentionally to build your comprehension and critical thinking skills. How to learn more? I’d recommend reading the New York Times, Economist, or Wall Street Journal, anything non-fiction, that you’re interested in, and in particular, historical fiction. Historical fiction is set in contexts which are real, but which involved characters and plots that are fictional. So, they are the best of both worlds in a sense. You can learn a lot of real information, while also being highly entertained. hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(215486, 'f08a3c58-464f-4164-a82e-313b7951bbb2', {});