Attention and Memory
I'm excited to share with you the best tips to improve attention and memory as well as concentration, in school or at home, that can be used to help teach children in general or those with ADHD or autism signs. Poor concentration and attention problems are often accompanied by poor listening skills that can lead to a misdiagnosis, so it's important to learn underlying causes that may be contributing to this type of symptom to avoid getting the wrong treatment.
Some children that have a bad memory or that are easily distracted when spoken to, may actually be suffering from a sensory disorder. This is when they may be overreactive to sensory stimuli or under-reactive to external stimuli. Many children and adults struggle with poor attention and memory difficulties on a daily basis, which affects many areas of life. It can become challenging to do well on exams at school, remember to perform requested activities, remember individual’s names, and participate effectively in conversations when you have a poor memory.
I myself have struggled with this, but after treating an undiagnosed thyroid condition, getting adequate sleep, changing my diet and exercising more, my problems have become very minimal.
Causes of Attention and Memory Problems:
- Children that have difficulties with environmental distractions that are frequently the cause of memory or attention problems, should be checked for sensory processing disorder or ADHD symptoms.
- Attention problems or difficulties with concentration can be due to symptoms of candida overgrowth.
- If memory appears to be really bad, you may want to investigate any possible medical conditions. Thyroid diseases and other conditions can cause memory loss and difficulties concentrating, including Lyme Disease.
- Make sure your child is getting the recommended hours of sleep for his or her age. Lack of sleep greatly affects a child’s ability to pay attention and affects memory recall.
- Foods high in processed sugar and simple carbohydrates (e.g. white bread, white pasta, white rice, candy, cakes, cookies) cause blood sugar spikes and blood sugar crashes leading to attention difficulties.
- You may also want to have your child checked for food allergies or sensitivities. These can make children hyperactive causing attention problems. Often times putting children on a gluten free casein free diet improves the ability to concentrate immensely. This is due to the opiate theory that claims to cause brain fog and spaciness.
- Lastly, try to eat plain fruit first thing in the morning by itself. This quickly provides your brain with carbohydrates it needs to function.
- Omega 3 fatty acids taken can also help with attention and memory
- Eliminate food dyes and preservatives like sodium benzoate. The Feingold diet focuses on this and has shown to eliminate the majority of ADHD symptoms when utilized.
After ruling out all of these possibilities and treating conditions when appropriate, be sure to check out my additional tips on how to improve concentration, attention and memory.
If you haven't already, be sure to download my eBook with the best tips and techniques for helping all children by clicking the image below!
