Strategies to Increase Time on Task and Manage Distractions (page 2)

To Increase Client’s Time on Task

At this time, your client will continue to need cues from parents and teachers to remain on task, with the goal that these are faded over time and that he/she learn ways to better manage his own attention in the future. This will be important as he progresses to upper elementary and critical for junior high and high school where he will likely need to rely more on his own attentional resources.

Strategies to Increase Time Spent on Tasks

• Shorten the length of time that he/she is expected to attend to one activity and inserting planned breaks will increase his chance of success of staying on task.

• Break down tasks into small parts and ask to complete one part at a time.

• Provide him/her with a way to “reset” his own attention through use of a timer and an alarm (vibrating/or other quiet noise that will limit disruption to other students in the classroom).
  • An alarm, like the MotivAider http://habitchange.com/motivaider.php can be set to vibrate/beep at intervals to remind him to “pay attention”.
  • When the signal goes he should immediately start to perform or maintain an on-task behaviour.

• Teach your client to use self-talk to remind himself how to get on task (e.g. “Okay, read the question again”, “Write one more sentence”, “Keep looking at the teacher while she’s talking”, etc.)

• Capture his/her attention by increasing his self-interest in tasks. For example, having choice to pursue a topic of interest in writing or reading, working on an errand at home that leads to a favoured activity.

• Help your client learn the times of day when his attention is better, and schedule more challenging tasks during these times when possible.

• Play family games that rely on attention and planning like Uno, Battleship, Scrabble, Chess.