Attention Span

Brett Ashley

Alright take two.

My cousin in 13 and has terrible ADHD. His attention span is basically shot unless he's sitting down with a controller in hand. It's bewildering how fast he jumps from task to task or topic to topic without finishing or explaining himself. It's kinda like being inside of a whirlwind you can't escape. Yet, it got me to thinking, how long is the average adult attention span without adhd? Will my cousin develop a longer attention span as he gets older?


Sometimes, I even catch myself being distracted by the littlest things. I think reading is the best way to cultivate a longer attention span.

Dman

Attention spans do get longer as you grow up but that doesn't mean his will go from "so short it's a problem?" to "average" whatever that is.

I know kids who are put on meds for ADHD who probably don't need it and I know people who did need it...if it's just annoying to be around to then suck it up, if it's negatively affecting his life then maybe he should get a professional opinion. YMMV.

I haven't heard of reading as a way to increase attention span, just because there is a correlation between people who read and people with long attention spans doesn't imply causation. But encouraging people to read more is generally a good thing so go ahead and encourage away.

Hotlead Junkie

I assume it's already been investigated, but could he have some form of autism? This sounds a lot like my cousin who was diagnosed with autism when he was around 8 or so. Before he was diagnosed, they thought he had ADHD since he was/is very overactive, once really beat up another kid at school, has trouble sticking to doing one thing and if he does want/do something he's very focused on it and tends to 'block out' most other things/other people around him.

I may as well ask, when he plays games, is he REALLY good at them? I once noticed my cousin wander over to the computer and with lighting speed play a few moments of Age of Empires. I was really amazed at how lighting quick and prescise he was at the game before he wandered off again, and if I recall he must have been about 7 years old at the time.



EDIT: Also, as for activites he could try, tried encouraging him to pick up a pencil and sketchbook and draw? I'm a little too fidgety to sit down with a book most times so I like to sketch or write. I just natrually have a need to move my hands and feet a lot, such as clicking my fingers randomly or tapping my foot incessantley. I like to use this energy to get things drawn.

Euphoriac

The kid sounds bored. I know when i get bored i tend to flit from activity to activity, all of them within easy reach from the last thing i did.

Have a go at broadening his horizons so to speak. The drawing thing is a really good place to start.

Hotlead Junkie

Euphoriac wrote: »

The kid sounds bored. I know when i get bored i tend to flit from activity to activity, all of them within easy reach from the last thing i did.

Have a go at broadening his horizons so to speak. The drawing thing is a really good place to start.

Aye, something fun and messy but creative. Maybe try modeling clay or buy the poor kid some lego. Kids still play with lego these days, right? I know half of the people on this forum do but the average age is around 19-20 here if I'm not mistaken

defreak

If you treat him like he has ADD, then he'll always behave like he has ADD. If you treat him like a normal person, he'll eventually overcome it, while not completely, but enough to live a more normal life. Why would he finish an activity if no one expects him to, especially if everyone is like "it's ok, he has ADD". Raise your expectations.

It's like dealing with a physically handicapped person, like, someone with no hands. If you treat him like he has no hands, he's always going to live like he has no hands. If you treat him like a normal person, if you expect him to function like everyone else despite his disadvantages, he will find ways to overcome it.

I'm not saying learning disabilities don't exist, but a lot of them are just excuses to not try harder. Everyone has disadvantages in life, some more severe than others, but there are millions of people who overcome them everyday.