Auditory Attention

Attention is the ability to stay and be focused on a particular thing or task. The person needs sustained attention, divided attention, and flexible attention. Sustained attention is the ability to stay focused for a certain period of time. Divided attention will focus on more than one task at a time and flexible attention shows changing focus from one thing to another without delay.

However, auditory attention is the ability of a person to respond to an auditory stimulus. It is the most important component of auditory processing which help to get appropriate information to our central nervous system. Whenever there is a deficit in auditory processing; the individual is able to hear the sounds, but his/her ability to interpret sounds and language will break down. Using various therapies, we can manage these issues. Find suitable therapy centres having a multidisciplinary approach that will enhance your child’s auditory attention.

Problems with lack of auditory attention

  • Difficulty in remembering – Example:- shows the difficulty in following simple directions or commands, inability to remember the characters of the story that have just been heard.
  • Difficulty in understanding letter sounds
  • Shows difficulty in identifying rhyming words
  • Trouble with spelling and reading
  • Omitting sounds or saying common words incorrectly when speaking.
  • Difficulty in concentration when too many distracting sounds are present in the background.
  • Asking often for repeating the directions/information
  • Difficulty in expressing thoughts and organizing skills.

Some activities which help to improve auditory attention

  • Red light, Green light game -one will hold up pictures of red and green lights like a visual prompt, if assistance is needed he/she will give verbal cues also.
  • Freeze   -The players will pose or shows different actions, then the catcher has said “freeze” so the players should hold the pose or action.
  • Ask more questions when reading -The child can act the characters while reading a story
  • Musical chairs -when you play musical chairs in a large group it is more fun. Provide one less chair than the players, while the music starts the players have to move around the chair and try to sit on the chair immediately when the music stops. This will help children to improve their socialization process and also attention.
  • I went shopping -Each person has their own turn and the person who starts have to say ‘I went shopping, I bought an orange’. Then the second person should say ‘ I went shopping, I bought an orange and I bought papaya. This series should be continued with the item he/she likes to buy further (like apples, grapes, etc.)
  • Circle this -Here what we have to do is, take a blank paper and draw rows, and columns, and write alphabets on that. One or more alphabets should be repeated. On the first day, give instructions to the child-like, `circle all the A’s ´ or whatever letter you repeated. On the second day, `circle all the A’s and put a square around all the C’s´.
  • Which doesn’t belong- say a group or series of words which belongs in the same category except for one or two words. Your child should listen and find out the word which does not belong in that category. Example- elephant, monkey, book, bear. (Here book is a term that does not belong to the category of animals.)
  • Hand clapping rhythms – taps, snaps, or claps with the same rhythm, the person should repeat the same rhythm or pattern like tap, tap, snap, snap. Start with simple patterns which the child can follow.