In what contexts does the student need to display this skill, now and in the future?
What are the steps that comprise this skill?
Shifting attention is a challenge for many individuals. While working or focusing, does the student pay attention to his surroundings and to the activities of others or does he ‘screen them out’? In group working conditions, the expectation is to do your job. However, you must pay attention at some level to the actions of key co-workers and your supervisor. If the supervisor walks into the merchandise processing area where three people are preparing clothing items for display, each of the three generally look up to determine if the supervisor is passing through or if he ‘looks like’ he has something he needs. This is the skill of social attribution. At the core of this skill is the ability to recognize that someone is talking to you. You process the verbal information but that is not all that you process. You process the details of someone looking in your direction, or the gestures he uses, of the words he is saying and the materials that may be important. Attribution is picking out the relevant details of the context to determine meaning. Targeting this skill of identifying the relevant details may be the crucial point of intervention for some students. This involves both verbal processing and the processing of non-verbal cues and concrete events and surroundings.
Second, if the student is unsure of the key details or does not quickly process (or attend to) what is said or is confused, the student may need ‘repair strategies’ to determine the relevant details. Identify if the student needs repair strategies such as “I am sorry. Were you talking to me? Could you say that again?” or “I did not understand. Is there something I need to do?”
Third, for the student who is agitated or upset by interruption, practicing and using coping strategies to both appear calm and to remain calm may be a focus of instruction. What words will the student say to ‘appear’ cooperative even when he is confused or agitated? In addition, what will he do to relax and to regulate his own agitation?
What sub-skill should you target first for the student to initiate? Given what the student can do presently, how will you present the task so that the student can perform steps within his capacity while learning a new step?
Ask yourself whether the individual needs practice and instruction in recognizing the verbal information of a question or interruption. Second, ask yourself if practice in recognizing the physical surroundings and the non-verbal cues of those around him is really the core issue. Oftentimes, practicing the shift of attention and awareness to process a question or interruption while looking for specific cues, is a skill that can be improved by shaping and repetition.
Identifying the ‘repair strategy’ that the student will use requires negotiation (priming) to determine the words or approach the student will use. The repair strategy will probably be necessary while improving the student’s ability to attend to both verbal and non-verbal information.
In contrast, certain students need a stronger focus immediately on self-regulation, on taking a deep breath and using self-calming statements to prevent an explosive or irritated response.
So, what sub-skill should you target first? Choose the one that is most problematic to the student and set up priming, shaping and practice in a sequence that builds the student’s confidence in handling questions and interruptions. For one student, handling the startled reaction of being interrupted will be first. For another, repeated practice in verbal processing is first. For another, looking up and attending to environmental and non-verbal cues will be your focus. What is the student’s primary need?