Why do I get distracted in class?

10 year old Lily asked Child and Adult Psychiatrist Domenick Sportelli, DO, what she can do about getting distracted in class and what to do if other classmates are distracting her.

Transcript

00:00

If the subject matter that you're listening to is not interesting to you, you're probably going to have a harder time paying attention.

00:07

[MUSIC PLAYING]

00:17

Hi, Dr. Dom. My name is Lily, and I'm 10 years old. Sometimes I get annoyed when people are distracting in class.

00:24

We are the distractions in class. Squirrel! (SINGING) Tell me why-- Am I so distracted all the time.

00:30

Why am I also a distraction? Distraction. But also get distracted, too.

00:36

Why is that? If you're having an attention problem, well, you know what, good for you because you're recognizing that you do.

00:43

Now attention and concentration problems are what we call a symptom. It's not a problem in and of itself.

00:49

It could be a symptom of so many other things. Now first of all, I want to tell you, sometimes it's OK to not be able to pay attention.

00:57

Sometimes it's actually very normal to be distracted. But what we can do is now that you're realizing that there's a problem,

01:03

let's think about a few very basic things. Number one, if the subject matter that you're listening to is not interesting to you,

01:11

you're probably going to have a harder time paying attention. To alleviate the effects of the-- anyone, anyone-- the Great Depression, past the--

01:22

anyone? So think about where in your life, maybe in school or in your daily life, where you're having trouble paying attention and focusing

01:30

because maybe your interest just isn't there, and you might have to use some strategies to develop more

01:36

interest into that subject to pay more attention and be more interested in it. The other one is the environment that you're in.

01:43

Hello. We are taking the SATs in less than 12 hours. Can we focus? Guess what, guys. If there's noise, if there are distractions,

01:50

if the seating is uncomfortable, you're probably going to be distracted. So think about the environment that you're in

01:57

and if there are any circumstances in that environment that could potentially be distracting or affecting your attention and concentration.

02:03

Janine, turn that down please. A lot of people, too, when they don't have personal organization,

02:11

meaning they don't keep a notebook, they don't keep a calendar, things of that nature, they tend to feel overwhelmed because they have so many tasks

02:19

to take care of, and when you feel overwhelmed, guess what happens. You feel anxious, and when you feel anxious, you can't concentrate.

02:26

So I encourage you to pay attention to your structure. Are you taking good notes? Do you have a good notepad? Do you have things organized?

02:34

Even just your physical things that you have-- your pens and pencils and papers and books-- are you organized, and if you're not,

02:41

sometimes just structuring those things can make a really, really big difference because, again, you'll feel less overwhelmed then less anxious

02:49

and then be able to pay attention more. The other thing is the physical stuff. Guess what, again, I'm just giving you

02:55

guys these very basic things but sometimes we forget. Are you hungry? Are you thirsty? Do you have to use the bathroom?

03:02

Do you have physical pain? Do you have a headache? Are you anxious? Even if it's not a physical thing, are you worried about something?

03:08

Is something else on your mind? We're not robots, guys. We have a lot of external things happening, a lot of physical and mental feelings all happening

03:16

at the same time. All of those things can distract you. All of that being said, if you go through that little checklist and really pay attention

03:24

to all of those things and you still find that you're having trouble concentrating, well, then it's time to get a good evaluation

03:30

and a neuropsychologist, a psychologist, a behavioral health professional, a medical doctor, a neurologist.

03:36

These are all great people to talk to see potentially if you have a specific problem with attention and concentration that can be addressed.

03:44

There's a lot we can do if you let us try. [AUDIO LOGO]