A-10-chun!

A-10-chun!

Below is a little exercise that is helpful in establishing or regaining attention/mental clarity.  I've used this as a 'take home activity' for clients who have difficulty with attention (often paired with decreased impulse control and increased energy levels).  I also used to implement this with my own son when I needed to call him and get him focused.  Actually, this exercise became somewhat of a 'out to eat' tradition when my son was in first grade.  Whenever we would go out to eat, he seemed to need something to calm him down while we were waiting for our meals.

Activity:
1) Present a word equation similar to this:


five balls eight lights


2) Then, have your child put this phrase in order according to numbers first, then items (and in the order they were named):


five eight balls lights

*** BE sure to demonstrate this a few times first.

IMPORTANT TIPS:

• This exercise can be implemented with or without paper (writing it down).  This would depend upon your child's ability/development (i.e., you may find your child would do better writing these down at least initially).  This is meant to be challenging, but not to cause frustration or feelings of "I can't do it".  Either way, you may find it helpful to write the first few exercises down until everyone gets the hang of it.
• Present this as a 'game' for the family (not just the one child) rather than a 'task'.  Take turns going around the table ... make sure Mom, Dad, Grandmamma, Granddaddy (whomever is at the table) have turns, too.

ADDITIONAL OPTIONS: 
(be sure to only move onto these after mastery of the above)

• Add to the equations as they are mastered (i.e. - seven car fourteen wall one teacup)
• Establish a theme for each equation (i.e. - "automotives", "foods", "sports")

This is a great (and very simple) tool that lends itself well to 'on the fly'.  You can implement this in many situations/environments, and it doesn't require props/etc.

Jessica