What can attention and listening difficulties look like?

If you suspect a child or adult has attention and listening difficulties, it's important to know what signs to look for. Common signs of attention and listening difficulties often appear as difficulties with focus, following instructions, and engaging in conversations, especially in noisy or distracting environments.

• Appearing Disengaged or "Zoning Out": The person might seem to ignore you, even when you're speaking directly to them. They may look away, fidget, or appear to daydream during conversations or group activities.

• Difficulty Following Instructions: This is a key indicator. They might struggle to follow simple, one-step instructions and may need them repeated multiple times. For multi-step instructions, they may only remember the first or last part.

• Easily Distracted: A person with these difficulties is often highly sensitive to background noise and visual stimuli. They may be constantly looking around, tuning in to sounds from other rooms, or watching what others are doing instead of focusing on the task at hand.

• Struggling in Noisy Environments: This is a major challenge. In a crowded classroom, a bustling playground, or a busy restaurant, they may find it nearly impossible to filter out background noise to focus on a single person's voice.

• Inconsistent Listening Skills: Their ability to listen may fluctuate. They might seem to listen and understand one moment, but then completely "switch off" the next, missing key information.

• Difficulty with Social Interactions: They may struggle to participate in conversations, take turns talking, or stay on topic. This can make it hard to build and maintain friendships.

• Taking Longer to Respond: They may take a noticeably longer time to process what is said and formulate a response. This isn't due to a lack of understanding but rather a delay in auditory processing.
   

How The Yorkshire Speechie can help: 

Our specialist SLTs can work with families to consider the child's overall speech, language and communication needs to identify what the child's needs may be due to (e.g. assessing their understanding), considering the child's social communication and emotional regulation, as well as considering sensory and processing needs, as well as considering the child's strengths to provide support and advice. As a Neurodiversity Affirming practice, we ensure that the child is supported with their ability to communicate and self-advocate, and families know the supportive strategies to help their child. We can also provide signposting services to local services. 

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Stripes

We work closely with 'Stripes' (formerly West Yorkshire ADHD Charity) to ensure that families are supported. Please head to https://www.stripes.org.uk/ for further information.