Skills Training 4: Task Planning and Execution

Distracted (image source)

One of my children finds it difficult to plan and execute tasks in a timely manner.  In short, this child is easily distracted.  This is a problem both at home, and at school, so we have been working with this child for about two years now on this one issue. 

Because of this, I have become more pro-active in training planning and execution skills with my other children as well.  This is very much a work in progress, as I am continually experimenting and learning strategies for training purposes, but here are some things I have learned along the way:

• getting angry with a child who has gotten off-task is natural, but not helpful. 
• there may be an underlying reason why the child is distractible.  Learning about sensory processing can be very helpful in understanding the child.
• sometimes, the child deliberately chooses to avoid the task; other times, the distraction is involuntary.  Wisdom is needed to discern the difference and apply appropriate consequences.
• independent play helps the child develop focus within a quiet, contained context.  However, the child may not be able to maintain this focus in a noisy or visually busy context.
• take the child's personality into consideration when training. What may be helpful for one child may be very distracting for another.

My parental goals and strategies to developing planning and exectution skills vary depending on the age of the child. 

Toddlers
For toddlers, my goal is to supervise and keep the child on-task so that distraction does not build a habit of task avoidance.  This is not difficult, but requires commitment.  

If I have given my toddler a task, I take it for granted that I must supervise and most probably assist in that task.  If my toddler is distracted in the middle of the task, I will verbally prompt him or her, and use physical touch to regain their attention.  Sometimes the toddler will need several prompts or be gently turned away from the distraction in order to re-focus.

Note: TV is especially fascinating for my toddlers, and I do not expect them to remain on-task if the tv is on.  Based on the context, I will either turn off the tv, or release the toddler from the task.

Preschoolers
For preschoolers, my goal is to supervise and help the child to recognise when the problem is occurring, and to understand why it is a problem. 

If I have given my preschooler a task, and I know the child is competent, I expect them to perform that task independently.  If the task is time-critical, I will put on the microwave beeper, and warn the child that the task must be done before the beeper sounds.  If the child becomes distracted, I will give verbal warnings; I also give a 5 minute warning before the beeper sounds.  I will sometimes also model the task for the child to demonstrate how to execute it in a timely manner (eg purposeful walking vs dawdling).

I experimented this morning with using a visual prompt to indicate the passage of time. I would dearly love a clock like this one for training purposes, but this morning I used an abacus similar to this and marked off 50 beads indicating 25 minutes.  As each 5 minute interval passed, I moved 10 beads across the abacus.  This was much more helpful for my preschooler than the verbal time warnings I had previously given.

If the child does not complete the task in time, I will complete it, but he or she is then required to do an extra job for mom at a later time in the day to pay for mom's help.  Following the beeper, we have a discussion about what went wrong, why it is a problem, and what he or she will do differently next time.

School-aged Children
For school-aged children, my goal is to help the child build skills to recognise when the problem is occurring, and to re-focus himself or herself. 

I do this with the same methods as with a preschooler, but with the added structure of a written or visual chart of tasks.  On the visual chart (for non-readers), I have a picture of the child doing each task. On the written chart, I include the name of each task, the time it should start, and the expected duration.  The child then has the responsibility of doing all tasks in a timely manner. 

If the child becomes disctracted, I will re-direct them back to the chart, and ask them what they should be doing.  My discussions with a school-aged child are more detailed, but we cover the same issues as the preschooler: what went wrong, why it is a problem, and what he or she will do differently next time.

What is Your Goal?
For both preschoolers and school-aged children, I find it is very helpful to have a rewarding activity scheduled following the work time, to motivate the child to complete the tasks in a timely manner. 

Before the children start, we talk about what the goal is (currently the reward is computer time, so that is their goal).  Then if they become distracted, I will ask them again what their goal is, and how they will get to that goal.  My intention is to help the children visualise their goal, and monitor their own progress towards that goal.

Do you have children who are easily distracted? How do you manage this and teach them to complete tasks in a timely manner?