Inattention Associated with School Failure

School Support for ADHD Children May Be Missing the Mark: Inattention, Not Hyperactivity, Is Associated With Educational Failure (Science Digest August 28, 2011)

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencedaily.com%2Freleases%2F2011%2F08%2F110829070608.htm&h=fAQB3-5sI

Science Digest reports on a 20 year study of 2000 children.  New research from the University of Montreal shows that inattention, rather than hyperactivity, is the most important indicator when it comes to finishing a high school education.  Only 29% of children with inattention problems will graduate high school.  Early intervention to teach attention controls is needed to aid in students' success. 

     "In the school system, children who have attention difficulties are often forgotten
      because, unlike hyperactive kids, they don't disturb the class," said Dr. Sylvana Côte,
      who led the study. "However, we know that we can train children to pay attention
      through appropriate activities, and that can help encourage success at school."

Mental health experts have started a discussion of separating hyperactivity and inattention problems in the new addition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). 
   
      "These two health issues have now been more precisely dissected, and we may now
       need to define a differentiated type of inattention that is independent from hyperactivity,
       to improve our understanding of the phenomenon and better tailor interventions,"
       Dr. Jean-Baptiste Pingault said.

Kasting Connections' Perspective:

My 25 years of prescriptive teaching has taught me that hyperactivity and inattention are two different issues.  You may see both conditions in a student, but they need to be addressed differently.  I was just presenting a math lesson as a guest teacher in a sixth grade classroom when a student brought this very issue to light. 

The young man was excited about the lesson, but he was distracted by the activity in the classroom.  Although he wanted to participate, his inability to prioritize what sensory information was bombarding him kept him from attending to the lesson on a consistent basis.  Most of the students knew that my voice and the markers writing on the whiteboard were the sounds and sights to focus on.  This young man did not have that innate ability to decipher all the data that was streaming through his system.  I was able to bring his attention back to task by using several redirection tools, being careful not to associate any judgement placed on his lack of focus.  (Shame is rampant with inattentive children; they know they should be paying attention to the teacher, but some truly don't currently have the ability.)  Each time he returned to task and participated, only to be distracted by a student's comment or any movement in the classroom.

When it was time to practice what they had learned, the young man continued to be drawn to the noises in the environment.  After checking on the other students' understanding, I was able to return to the student to guide his attention. 

"Here's what you should be saying to yourself to help you focus on the math problems." 

I played his "inner voice" while he moved through each step in the process.  Had I known about his attention difficulties before entering the classroom, I would have prepared a mnemonic of the steps to follow.  Instead, I used my physical presence, deep pressure on his shoulder, and a calm voice repeating the cues for each step.  When he got in the rhythm of how to maintain his focus on his work, I walked away giving him a chance to perform on his own.  He was able to maintain focus enough to finish his math problems and turn it in like the other students in the classroom, a feeling that can be fleeting for a student with attention difficulties. 

If I had seen this young man's behavior through a different lense, I may have seen a defiant student who wanted to cause problems and avoid completing his work.  Instead I used cognitive strategies to help him regain control and begin to build self-confidence.  A small step in his school years, but one that can be built upon. 

In his book, A Mind at a Time, Mel Levine, M.D. discusses, in detail, our Attention Control System which is made up of three forms of control:
     1.  Mental Energy Control
     2.  Intake Control (taking in information and over stimuli)
     3.  Output Control (behavior and work)

These three forms of control have to work together if a student is going to  succeed in the classroom.  As educators, and parents, we need to know how these attention controls work and what the signs are if they aren't working. 

 A lack of attention control can look like laziness, attitude problem, poor behavior choices, writing difficulties, sleepiness, and inability to focus on
details.  When a student is displaying some of the above behaviors, it is reasonable to question whether all of his/her attention controls are efficiently functioning. 

Using cognitive strategies can be very successful with students who struggle with attention controls.  Dr. Levine has also written The Mind That's Mine, A Program to Help Young Learners Learn About Learning.  It is accompanied by a student's book, All Kinds of Minds, which is filled with stories of students that students will be able to connect.  "Eddie's Kind of Mind: A Boy with an Attention Deficit" is one of the chapters included.  The teachers's manual, The Mind That's Mine, is filled with lessons, supplementary activities, letters to families, and other resources to guide teachers. 

If you need more guidance in using cognitive strategies with students, Strategic Tutoring, written by Michael F. Hock, Donald D. Deshler, and Jean B. Schumaker gives teachers an excellent resource to develop cognitive strategies for your students. 



Building attention controls is a team approach; parents and teachers need to share what works with each other. 

I would enjoy discussing this issue with anyone who is interested in more detail.  Contact me:
Sandi.Kasting@KastingConnections.com!

Food Colorings in major restaurant chain's pastries can be harmful to children.

Taken From Men's Health Online

http://eatthis.menshealth.com/content/16-restaurant-industry-secrets?article=11&page=1

16 Restaurant Industry Secrets

We scrambled behind the counters, dug under the drive-thrus, and plunged into the deep fryers to find out what's really going into our meals

#11.  Panera Bread ...doesn't want you to know that the synthetic food colorings in its pastries have  been linked to irritability, restlessness, and sleep disturbances in children. And British researchers found that artificial food colorings and preservatives in the diets of 3-year-olds caused an increase in hyperactive behavior. (The same ingredients appear in fast-food items like mayonnaise, M&M Blizzards, and McDonald's shakes.) To its credit, Chipotle uses no artificial colorings or flavorings. July 2008 Update: On Panera's Web site, you can track down calories, fat, sugar,  and other nutritional numbers. If you look hard enough you'll find ingredient lists, too—and note that a few items still contain artificial coloring. Disappointing.   Kasting Connections' Comment I didn't check Panera's website to see if the artificial coloring is still found in their pasteries, but I do know for sure that food coloring has been linked to  many side effects in children like irritability, sleeplessness, hyperactivity,  etc.  Here is a collection of some of the articles that I was able to read regarding the subject.  It appears that the more neurologically sensitive a child is, the more sensitive he or she is to food coloring.  Buyer beware!  Read the labels, look for natural food colorings... FDA Food Coloring Lawsuit: http://doihavealawsuit.com/lawyer-attorney/personal-injury-lawsuit-lawyer/306-fda-food-coloring-lawsuit.html Lance Armstrong Foundation: http://www.livestrong.com/article/481828-seizures-food-coloring/ Columbia University Medical Center: Columbia Psychiatry http://columbiapsychiatry.org/http%3A/%252Fwww.eatingwell.com/food_news_origins/food_news/the_hidden_health_risks_of_food_dyes%3Fpage%3D2 Behavior Advisor: http://behavioradvisor.com/Dyes&HyperActivity.html

Physical Education Needed in the School Day

From TODAYonline:

Too little time to play in school

Letter from Ho Kong Loon

04:47 AM Jun 27, 2011

Play as a form of exercise, relaxation, character building and camaraderie trumps almost any other educational or social activity.

Children are bursting with energy. They should be given the time, the space and opportunity to stretch their limbs, strengthen their bodies, toughen their minds, acquire good social skills and build sound character traits.

In some schools, children are directed to the school hall the moment they set foot in the school compound. Sitting cross-legged and packed like sardines in the school hall, the pupils spend time before class doing silent reading.

Recess time should be at least 30 minutes long, to allow children to do what they inherently love to do: Play. However, the present recess period of 20 minutes is often curtailed for various reasons. Often children have to gobble their food and gulp down their drinks in great haste, before they are corralled, five minutes before the end of recess, back to the classroom.

The abundant reservoir of pent-up energy is often negatively discharged in restlessness and hyperactivity during lessons.

When my sons were in school in the '70s and '80s, I allowed, in fact encouraged them to have three hours of outdoor fun and engage in activities in the company of their friends, from 4pm to 7pm.

The three hours of unsupervised playtime was on condition that they completed their schoolwork satisfactorily.

To see them trudging home weary but contented and happy was very heart-warming indeed.

http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC110627-0000120/Too-little-time-to-play-in-school#.TiSTdm64lV8.facebook


Kasting Connections Perspective:

Many professionals have been writing about and doing research on the very same topic:  Children must move to develop academicaly, socially, psychologically, etc.

These are some of my favorite books to learn more about how and why children should be moving.  With budget cuts, many schools are cutting out daily physical education along with their fine arts programs.  It is these very
programs that help develop children's minds to problem solve, adapt, and mature. 

Talk to your schools, find out what you can do to add
physical education back into the school day, along with
 at least 15-20 minute recess times throughout the school
day.  Develop our students' minds...

                                                                                                    S'cool Moves for Learning (book)