Client Case Study: “Concentrating”
Jason was referred to Emma by his Mum who was worried about his ability to cope at college. Jason had sustained a minor head injury 6 months ago.
After talking to Jason and his Mum together, Emma
noted that all the incidents described seem to
link to Jason getting told off for not paying attention,
or becoming distracted.
Emma suggested completing the TEA which they did the same
day. Jason described it as being hard and thought Emma was
being mean because she made it harder by adding in
distractions!
The results indicated that Jason had significant difficulties in
focusing his attention which made it hard for him to absorb and
retain the information being taught at college. His performance
when completing the TEA showed that he was unable to remain
focused on one specific topic or area when distractions were
added. For Jason, this might be something as simple as a bird
flying past the window, or as complex as a tutor temporarily
going off on a tangent before returning to the original topic.
Once distracted, Jason was unlikely to be able to re-focus on
the original task or topic so might simply entertain himself by
chatting or finding something else of temporary interest.
Emma was able to provide a report to college and to his GP which enabled him to get further assessments and to receive support at college by way of extra time in exams, quiet areas to work, specific seating arrangements in class and timelines of work to aid re-focus and return to task.
Jason is now in his second year and doing well.