What do I need to know?

All students have a range of abilities and skills but for some there are key factors that can influence their day-to-day ability to retain information in a learning environment. The key factors affecting attentional skills are as follows:

Working memory

Working memory is thought of as the ability to store and manipulate information in the mind for a short period of time. As students with a reduced working memory capacity are required to engage in more complex activities (particularly when they transition to high school) they experience difficulties in attending to the task.

Sensory processing

Learning is dependent on our ability to process and interpret information we receive through our senses. A student uses this information to organise their behaviours.

Impaired sense of time

When students have an impaired sense of time they may experience difficulty in planning behaviours across time and using time to manage task performance.

Learning and developmental difficulties

When a child is diagnosed with a specific learning disability (e.g. dyslexia or dyspraxia) the impact on their learning is significant. As students, these children are likely to have many co-existing problems that impact on their ability to attend to and participate in the normal learning environment. Some helpful websites are: Dyslexia-Speld and Dyspraxia Foundation.

English as additional language learners

The working memory demands on children who have English as an additional language are considerably greater than others. This may result in a student appearing as though they have attentional difficulties. Some helpful websites are: Teacher Vision and LD Online.