Attention issues can be particularly difficult to notice among children, since they are just balls of pure energy. Most kids are energetic and love to explore the world, as children do. However, attention issues often become more apparent when children enter school for the first time, where they are expected to sit still for long periods for the first time. 

In this episode of the Attention Ladies and Gentlemen podcast, our host Jeff Coleman talks to Debbie McNulty, a pediatric occupational therapist about addressing attention issues among school children. Debbie shares some strategies to help educators and parents make it easier for kids to pay attention, rooted from her experience in working with kids both in home and school-based settings.

HIGHLIGHTS

• How Debbie got into occupational therapy
• A kid's attention issues may not be noticeable before preschool
• How Occupational Therapists can help kids deal with their attention issues
• Why special treatment might not be the answer
• Strategies to help attention-challenged kids gain focus
• Kids need a way to say when they're having trouble focusing

QUOTES

Debbie on why a lot of attention problems are not apparent before school age: "If we're looking at a preschool situation, those kids at that age they're required just to be able to sit in a circle time situation where there's usually about 10 or 12 kids. For some of these kids it's the very first time having to sit for up to 10, 15 minutes and maybe having other kids right next to them. This is usually the first time that teachers or parents might even notice [that] 'hey my kid has an attention problem' because it may have never manifested itself before they're actually in that situation."

How Occupational Therapists can help kids deal with their attention issues: "It could be something as simple as fidget toys to a little cushion where the child can move around a little bit. Anything, [even] just educating the teacher and staff to provide movement breaks and that sort of thing." 

Connect with Debbie on the links below: 

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbie-mcnulty-618082116/
• Website: https://www.steppingstonesot.net/

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