Lack of Attention and Focus: Disruption to Learning?
By Dorinne Davis
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD or ADHD) is a classification widely used today, both in the medical and educational setting. Many children (and adults) with this classification have disruptions in their ability to process sound correctly. As a result they have difficulty maintaining attention and focus long enough to appropriately process and respond.
For example, some people over-react to sound. They often hear soft sounds from long distances. This ability may over-shadow what they need to listen to right in front of them. If they have difficulty blocking out distracting background sounds, they can only process bits and pieces of what they need to listen to. As a result, they learn incorrect information, take in insufficient information to comprehend, misunderstand the subtleties of what was said, or are sure that they heard and understood something that the speaker did not say.
For a child in the early learning stages, the brain needs consistent clear input to maximize learning and overall development. When only pieces of information are heard, the listener can become frustrated and turn off. They may search for additional information from their other senses. For example, a child may learn to let his eyes wander to see what other children are doing to verify for himself that he is doing the appropriate thing. Or he may need to constantly move around because the balance receptors in the inner ear requires stimulation to receive better input.
When a child needs to use his other senses to reinforce auditory learning, it is like having to take 2 steps to move 1 space forward. Therefore, children with attention issues often need to learn using multi-modality learning techniques. If forced to listen, they spend most of their effort “trying to listen”, and as a result, they don’t learn the entire concept being taught. They may need to be retaught 2 or 3 times before understanding the entire concept. Each time they learn the “same thing” they are able to understand another piece.
Typically, children with attention issues are encouraged to receive medication to maintain attention. Other techniques include adaptive teaching techniques, classroom modifications, or enhanced listening situations as with amplification systems. However, newly emerging techniques include the use of sound based therapies. These therapies appear to work foundationally at repatterning sound information to the brain so that a more clearly processed sound is received and understood, thereby enhancing attention, focus, comprehension, and ultimately behavior.
