Question
What is a good reference for normal attention development? Is there a quick scale of children's milestones in this area?
Answer
Attention is an elusive term. The term is defined and studied by disciplines such as education, psychology, and neuroscience. The term attention has been used interchangeably with words such as concentration, problem solving, selective attention, focused attention, and visual attention. Therefore, providing only one or two references for normal attention development would be difficult as currently there is no set definition. Information regarding attention is often viewed by the length of time an individual engages in an activity and/or acts upon that engagement.
A few references would be:
Enns, J. (1993). What can be learnt about attention from studying its development? Canadian Psychology, 34, 271-281.
Enns, J., Brodeur, D., & Trick, L. (1998). Selective attention over the life-span: Behavioural measures. In J.E. Richards (Ed) Cognitive neuroscience of attention: A developmental perspective (pp. 393-418). London: LEA.
Landy, S. (2002). Encouraging concentration, planning, and problem-solving. In S. Landy, Pathways to competence: Encouraging healthy social and emotional development in young children (pp.473-515).Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing.
There are various developmental milestone scales available. However, specific scales for attention focus on the different types of attention and play skills that emerge in young children. I would refer the reader to Landy (2002) for more detailed information.
Kerri Phillips holds the OT.D. from Nova Southeastern University. She is an Associate Professor and Coordinator for the Graduate Program Speech-Language Pathology at Louisiana Tech University. Her research interests are ethics, supervision, outcomes data, and child language. She has served in various leadership roles in LSHA, LBESPA, and ASHA.
