Attention Activities Building Foundational Elements for Attention and Focus and ADHD

This article provides helpful attention activities to build attention and focused learning. Integrated Learning Strategies (ILS) is a learning and academic center. As a reminder, ILS is not a health care provider and none of our materials or services provide a diagnosis or treatment of a specific condition or learning challenge you may see in your child or student. If you seek a diagnosis or treatment for your child or student, please contact a trained professional who can provide an evaluation of the child.

Supporting a child’s attention and focus doesn’t always have to mean medication. Attention activities that target areas of the brain as well as those that require movement can directly improve sustained and focused concentration.

Attention and focus is one of the most common issues teachers see in the classroom. While Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) diagnoses are on the rise, are there reasons behind the uptick?

Could it be because of the following:

We are diagnosing more often?

Genetics play a role?

Increased screen time and instant gratification?

More screenings are being done in and out of schools?

Motor skills aren’t being fully developed?

Retained Primitive Reflexes are being retained?

No matter the reasons behind the escalating numbers of ADHD symptoms in both children and adults, it continues to be a problem that prevents kids from reaching their fullest academic potential.

To build a foundation for supporting focused learning in the classroom, a child needs strong development in 5 areas of attention.

Attention and Focus Signs and Symptoms

Many kids have an official diagnosis of ADHD. However, there are several children struggling with attention and focus issues that aren’t always ADHD specific.

Children with a retained Spinal Galant reflex, for example, might not have ADHD, but they are prone to ADHD-like behaviors because the reflex is retained. When integrated, the child shows significant improvements in concentration.

Fidgeting and squirming are also prominent in children who have underdeveloped balance and vestibular systems.

While we often think of hyperactivity as what is associated with ADHD-like behaviors, a child can also daydream or zone out when attention issues come into play. There are typically 3 types of attention often associated with symptoms of attention and focus delays.

Other attention and focus signs you may find in children include the following:

• Can’t remember tasks and struggles to follow directions
• Trouble with organization and executive function
• Often makes simple mistakes on schoolwork
• Frequently loses homework or important items
• Is easily distracted by background noise or stimuli within their environment
• Fidgets and squirms in desk and often disrupts neighbors
• Interrupts others and talks over peers constantly
• Daydreams and misses what’s being taught in class
• Big emotions and is easily frustrated or overwhelmed
• Acts impulsively and makes decisions without thinking through them

Kids who are prone to these signs and symptoms in the classroom may need alterations or classroom modifications to support their needs and academic potential.

Attention Activities for ADHD-like Symptoms

Activities to help attention and focus are important for all children, especially those delayed in motor development. Targeted attention activities can help the brain develop neural connections between the two hemispheres of the brain to support concentration.

Many kids who struggle in these areas find focused activities challenging and difficult. You may need to break them down in pieces so the child doesn’t get frustrated and give-up. As you get started with these activities, keep the following in mind:

• Provide plenty of space for the child to move.
• Adjust or adapt activities to the child’s level and ability.
• Complete the activities slowly and purposefully.
• Utilize objects as tools rather than distractions.
• Choose activities that directly support the child’s specific emotions and behaviors.
• Complete activities 3 to 5 times per week, typically with 10 repetitions on both sides of the body.

Activity #1: Wall Ball Toss

This activity hits multiple areas of the body and the brain for more focused attention. The child has to sustain visual attention when they toss the ball, plus use hand-eye coordination and proprioception to get the ball from the wall to their hands. In addition, the child must maintain focus or the ball could come back and hit them or bounce in another direction.

Choose a medium-sized bouncy ball or ball that fits the child’s height and weight.

You can use a ball you already have at home or in your therapy center. Or, try a similar ball we use here.

To complete this activity, do the following:

• Make sure the child is far enough back from the wall so they have plenty of room to toss the ball and get it back into their hands (too close means they can’t toss the ball back on the wall, too far means they miss the ball completely).
• Ask the child to toss the ball against the wall and let it bounce on the floor once before hitting it back on to the wall.
• Ball should be tossed underhand with flat or cupped palms.
• Encourage the child to keep their visual focus on the ball at all times.
• The child can complete the activity slower at first and then more quickly for an added challenge.

Activity #2: Balance Letter Claps

Again, this activity targets many areas of the body and the brain to achieve overall attention and focus over time. Because many kids with ADHD-like behaviors also struggle with balance, it’s important to add a balance element to this activity (balance beam or lined tape). If the child struggles with balance, they may need to practice first walking on the balance beam before adding the claps and verbal queues.

When the child is ready to add the claps to the activity, ask them to clap on the beat of each step on the balance beam. This creates the timing and rhythm necessary to achieve much-needed attention and focus.

As the child progresses, add verbal queues to the entire exercise to ensure sustained focus and attention. In this activity, we use letters and sounds, but you can add different verbal queues to encourage more difficulty and focused attention. Some examples of verbal queues to use may include the following:

• Saying letters and sounds as they walk
• Practicing tongue and mouth exercises needed for speech and language
• Saying the word on the wall and then calling out it’s opposite (i.e., seeing stop, but saying go).
• Singing nursery rhymes or jingles
• Repeating math facts

For this activity, you can place tape on the floor, but we highly recommend a balance beam to support the child’s balance centers of the brain, like the one we recommend here.

To complete the activity, do the following:

• Have the child balance on the balance beam and walk heel-to-toe forward, then backward.
• Clap both hands together at the same time in beat with how the child walks on the balance beam.
• Provide the child with a sicker or dot on the wall to maintain their visual focus as they walk across the beam.
• Add verbal queues to the activity, something that really makes the child think about what they have to say while they are walking and clapping.
• Complete the activity 3 to 5 times a week with 5 to 10 repetitions forward and backward on the beam.

 

Activity #3: Bean Bag Hip Toss

This activity may look simple, but it can be extremely difficult for children with ADHD-like behaviors. The child typically wants to rush through the activity and struggles to perform it slowly and purposefully. They may also act impulsively or throw the ball too high, making it fall on the floor.

When completing the activity, you may need to hold the child’s hips if they struggle with balance. The child must maintain their body in a forward position while crossing the arm and bean bag over the body. If the child has difficulty tossing the bean bag at first, they can raise it higher in the air with their arm until they are proficient at tossing it lightly in the air. Visual focus and eye tracking needs to be maintained on the bean bag at all times.

Choose a bean bag that won’t easily slip out of the child’s hands. We recommend a bean bag with some type of soft material or you can get the sensory bean bags we use here.

To complete the activity, do the following:

• Have the child stand and place the bean bag in their dominant hand.
• Ask the child to guide the bean bag across their body and lightly touch their hip on the opposite side.
• Guide the same arm with the bean bag back to their dominant side (eyes tracking the bean bag the whole time) and lightly toss the bean bag in the air and catch it back in their hand.
• Complete the activity with this arm and hand for 10 repetitions and then switch to the non-dominant hand and do the activity on the opposite side of the body.

In addition to this activity supporting sustained attention, it also requires the child to cross the midline of the body so we get both the left and right hemispheres working together. Cross lateral patterns also help organize the brain for better attention and focus.

Activity 4: Ring Balance Patterns

Adding patterns to attention activities requires the child to complete two or three step tasks, which is going to translate over to following directions in the classroom. You can keep it simple in the beginning, but continue to add additional patterns or steps to the activity as the child gets better and stronger. As always, we recommend adding a balance beam or balance element to the activity so the child strengthens the balance system connected to the attention areas of the brain.

You can use tossing rings for this activity or you can try the rings we use here.

To complete the activity, do the following:

• Ask the child to walk on the balance beam forward and backward, heel-to-toe.
• As they walk forward or backward, give them a pattern with the ring to do as they cross the beam.
• Add additional steps to the activity as the child gets better at doing 1 to 2-step patterns.
• Complete the activity 3 to 5 times a week doing 10 repetitions on both sides of the body.

Activity #5: Ball Toss Crossovers

This activity includes several movement elements at one time, which requires a lot of attention and focus from the child. We’re targeting certain areas of the brain while also adding timing, rhythm, balance and proprioception. Each piece helps the child develop focus and sustained attention as they complete the activity.

For this activity, you can use a ball pit ball or tennis ball, or you can try the one we use here. We recommend using a lighter ball that’s easier to toss until the child becomes more proficient.

You can create your own tape balance beam on the floor, but we suggest using a balance beam if possible.

To complete this activity, do the following:

• Have the child stand sideways on the balance beam with their body facing straight forward.
• Ask the child to cross their foot over their body (close to the opposite foot in small steps).
• Then, direct the child to bring the opposite foot back to standing position.
• As soon as the foot is back to standing position, ask the child to toss the ball lightly and controlled in the air and catch it back in their hand.
• Complete the balance crossovers with the ball consistently across the balance beam.
• Immediately transition back over the balance beam in the opposite direction using the other side of the body when they reach the end of the beam.
• Complete the activity 3 to 5 times a week with 5 to 10 repetitions on each side.

Activity #6: Peanut Ball Color Taps

We love adding activities in the prone position because of how they support the child’s neck and head strength in addition to their posture. What does that have to do with attention and focus? If the child doesn’t have enough postural development and upper body strength, the child has difficulty staying seated for long periods of time and is prone to fidgeting because they can’t find a comfortable position. Supporting those areas of the body helps the child establish sustained attention and focus.

When completing this activity, make sure the child is secure on the peanut ball and is not prone to falling off the ball. You can hold their legs if needed when performing this activity. Give the child plenty of space and room to roll across the room toward the wall so they can fully engage their tummy muscles.

Place a variety of colored squares on the wall so the child has plenty of options to choose from and provides more of a challenge as you call out different colors. Tapping on the colors also requires visual attention as well as visual and auditory processing skills when following directions.

If you don’t have a peanut ball, we recommend using one over a regular exercise ball because it has a dip in the middle to support the child rolling across the floor. You can find the one we use here.

To complete this activity, do the following:

• Place the peanut ball in front of the child and have them securely plant their feet on the floor when kneeling.
• Ask the child to roll over the peanut ball in the prone position (on their tummy).
• As they roll forward toward the wall with the colored squares, call out a color for them to tap.
• Have the child tap the color alternating hands so they cross over the midline of the body (using cross lateral movements).
• When the child can complete the activity successfully, call out two colors at a time or more for the child to tap multiple colors in the order you call out.
• Complete the activity 3 to 5 times a week with 10 repetitions on both sides of the body.

Reference Materials

Khadka, N., Peltier, M. R., Fassett, M. J., Mensah, N. A., Yeh, M., Chiu, V. Y., Oyelese, Y., & Getahun, D. (2024). Rising trends of childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in a large integrated healthcare delivery system in Southern California, 2010–2021. The Journal of Pediatrics, 269, 113997. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2024.113997

Xu, G., Strathearn, L., Liu, B., Yang, B., & Bao, W. (2018). Twenty-year trends in diagnosed attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder among US children and adolescents, 1997–2016. JAMA Network Open, 1(4), e181471. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.1471

Kazarov, C., Peasah, S. K., McConnell, E., Fischer, K. K., & Good, C. B. (2024). Trends in pediatric attention-deficit hyperactive disorder diagnoses and prescription utilization: 2016 to 2019. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 45(5), e397–e405. https://doi.org/10.1097/DBP.0000000000001296

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Integrated Learning Strategies is a Utah-based center dedicated to helping mainstream children and children with learning challenges achieve academic success. Our services provide kids with non-traditional tutoring programs within the Davis County, Kaysville, Layton, Syracuse, Farmington, and Centerville areas. Areas to find Integrated Learning Strategies include: Reading tutors in Kaysville, Math tutors in Kaysville, Common Core Tutors in Kaysville, Tutors in Utah, Utah Tutoring Programs