Auditory Attention Difficulties due to Poor Selectivity (Selective Attention)

Another common auditory attention problem relates to selective attention. Selective attention is viewed as the ability to know to what one must attend. In essence, the problem is in selecting the relevant information and filtering out the irrelevant. For example, if a teacher said, "There will be a test in two days," and some children next to the child with auditory selective attention difficulties said, "Let’s get together tomorrow and study," the child with the APD attention problem may process the message as "There will be a test tomorrow, so study."

To simulate auditory selective attention difficulties, the next message will include a combination of relevant and irrelevant information. Your task is to filter out the irrelevant and figure out the correct message.

Little Jack and Jill Horner sat went up in the corner

hill eating to fetch his a pail of Christmas pie water.

He Jack fell in his thumb down and pulled out a broke his plum

crown and said "What Jill came a tumbling good boy am after I."

If you figured out the message (or read the answer) you would know that it contains the complete versions of both Little Jack Horner and Jack and Jill. But, how would you know which is the relevant message? What if we increased the font of the words in the relevant message and decreased the font of the irrelevant message? This is what happens if a child with auditory attention problems, especially involving selective attention, uses an accommodation known as an FM system. This device amplifies (increases in loudness) the teacher’s voice (to a comfortable level) while decreasing the loudness of background noises. Now, here is the same message as above, modified as if through an FM system.

Little Jack and Jill Horner sat went up in the corner

hill eating to fetch his a pail of Christmas pie water.

He Jack fell in his thumb down and pulled out a broke his plum

crown and said "What Jill came a tumbling good boy am after I."

Is it easier to see the two nursery rhymes now? It should be much simpler to read the relevant one, Jack and Jill. Therefore, increasing the volume (font) of relevant speech can certainly make it easier to understand.

View lyrics used for simulation.