What tricks do you use to NOT space out --

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I've read about numerous people on this forum who talk about beginning a project, either for homework or a work project, and they have written about the problem they have with keeping on task. The problem lies in the fact that once they sit down to start a project, they zone out, and twenty or thirty minutes later they realize they've done nothing on their project at all. Often, they don't know where to start on the project.

I often sit with my son when he begins a writing project (yes, a hard thing for many) and I think that I've got him off to a good start. We discuss the project, we brainstorm, I try to get HIM to think of what he wants to write, and then off I go. Thirty minutes later, I come back and he's done NOTHING.

I know for sure that he wants to do the work -- he just doesn't know HOW. It's just painful. Sometimes, he can get to the writing and do the work, by himself, but most of the time, I have to hover and brainstorm and think of what to write. It's as if he's waiting for me to do the work. I keep trying to extricate myself, since at age 12, I think he should be doing his own work, but often I have to just hang there with him until the work gets done. Last night, what was the equivalent of two paragraphs to summarize a newspaper article on a subject that he IS interested in took 2 1/2 hours to finish.

I do not want to be the hovering mother. I want to help him learn independence and the sense of accomplishment of doing his own work, WITHOUT MY HELP. I fully know the difficulties that most kids on the spectrum face with this issue.

What I'm asking is this -- for those of you who have had this problem, how do you get beyond it? What tricks do you use to basically wake yourself from zoning out? Do you have any tricks that you use to plan out a project and accomplish the work in small steps so that you can achieve the end result?

Brainstorming is a good concentration aid I still use them for my language studies. I break my sessions into lengths of music tracks by using classical CDs such as Vivaldi or Hans Zimmer etc so I concentrate for a length have a break on the next track then go back to concentrating (this was for essays). For revision I would set an alarm to go off after 20mins of study in which I would brainstorm what I just learnt then go for a 10min break and restart after that it keeps me focused. It took a while for me to discipline myself into doing this but it got me through school and uni.

Excellent ideas. Thank you.

Hmm, I have the same problem, and it's one of the big reasons why I messed up in college and had to take a break from it. Music tends to distract me when I'm trying to do homework, especially writing. And taking short breaks like that would make it far too tempting to slip into a longer break and abandon my work altogether. :/ It might work for your son, though. It's good to try different techniques to see what works and what doesn't. Everyone's different.

As for me, I was able to write a couple of essays this past summer, but I don't remember what my technique was, except that my own parents hovered for a bit (which was irritating, but it helped) and that I didn't procrastinate until the last night before it was due, as I usually would. I can get to a point where words and ideas just flow out of me and the project becomes easy, but it's extremely difficult and takes a looong time to get into that state of mind.

But I guess... it's better to start brainstorming early, preferably soon after getting the assignment (I would get ideas right after I read the paper in class, oddly enough) and let the ideas ripen in your head for a while. Keep working at thinking of what you'll write, so that you don't space out later when you sit down to start writing. Doing it a little at a time takes a degree of discipline which I haven't fully acquired yet, but after I get used to it, it'll hopefully make it a lot easier to complete projects.

I'm trying to figure this out as I'm writing it now, if you couldn't tell already. >>

But anyway, I hope that helped you out a bit. I think I'll watch this thread. D'you remember the links where other people were talking about this problem?

Cardinal_W, as I checked it out, apparently I was the one who started the thread where this subject was discussed before. . . I guess I'd forgotten that small fact!

The link is here: http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt27151.html

It starts out as a "how to get my child to keep doing his homework" -- but all sorts of people responded with good ideas, including college students and adults.

I just felt like I should ask about specifically how to shift oneself out of that "zoning out" situation -- because I think that's usually the real problem.

cybershooter --

after reading your post, I did some research on the internet into absense seizures, because I had never heard of that term (I did read something that inferred that it was like what we used to call petit mal seizures). That particular definition of symptoms did not fit my son, but I did read something else that I hadn't thought applied, but after reading the symptoms, I REALLY do think it applies now --

Central Auditory Processing Disorder

CAPD presents with difficulty processing auditory in-put in the absence of peripheral auditory acuity deficit. There is also difficulty with sound recognition such as differentiating phonemes and the direction of the source of sounds. Distinguishing needed sounds from non-relevant background stimulus is the main source of difficulty with the condition. These children often occlude external ear canal because of noisy surroundings. They present with inattention seeming to be in different world. They are often mistaken for ADHD without Impulsivity and Hyperactivity and with Impulsivity and Hyperactivity since they usually have a different agenda because of their inability to follow the activities of a classroom. This is responsible for their failure to follow instructions. They are easily distracted and bothered by loud or sudden noises. Noisy environments are usually very upsetting to these children. They seem to be forgetful and very disorganized.

I've heard of this, I think that I've even studied it way back when my son was diagnosed -- but I never considered it seriously. Now, as I read this description, it absolutely describes everything we've been observing in my son.

Thank you so much for helping me to look into this!

Schleppenheimer, if the source of your information was Dr Garth Vaz's website, I'd recommend looking up another site as Dr Vaz specializes in dyslexia. Patient UK gives some good information and links on the subject. If you think that it's an auditory processing disorder that's affecting your son, then that's definitely worth getting checked out. Good luck!

cybershooter, the Patient UK site that you directed me to really does describe what my son is going through. That is VERY interesting. If ONLY that could really be the problem, I could feel like calling the doctor and getting my son checked out could really help him. I'm going to look further into this, and probably will get a doctor's appointment for him.

As I looked into central auditory processing disorder, I kept getting conflicting information. Here's a list of symptoms, some of which apply, and some that don't:

* Have trouble paying attention to and remembering information presented orally
* Have problems carrying out multistep directions
* Have poor listening skills
* Need more time to process information
* Have low academic performance
* Have behavior problems
* Have language difficulty (e.g., they confuse syllable sequences and have problems developing vocabulary and understanding language)
* Have difficulty with reading, comprehension, spelling, and vocabulary

The first four symptoms listed apply, for sure. BUT, my son does well academically, doesn't have behavior problems or language difficulty. He has problems with reading comprehension, but NO problems with spelling and vocabulary.

This is why I discount the Central Auditory Processing Disorder -- it doesn't seem to really apply to my son completely.

This new website that you brought to my attention about the absence seizures DOES describe him perfectly:

"They (absence seizures) are often not noticed for some time as it can appear that the affected person is simply daydreaming. The following gives a typical example.

The person has a brief loss of consciousness (an 'absence') for a few seconds. They do not fall, but may pause in what they are doing. Their face often looks pale with a blank expression. They may look dazed, the eyes stare, and the eyelids may flutter a little. Sometimes their head may fall down a little, or their arms may shake once or twice. Each seizure usually starts and finishes abruptly. The person is not aware of the 'absence', and resumes what they were doing."

It's the concept of a "blank expression" that seems to ring so true here.

Why wouldn't this happen during any other activity? I don't notice this while my son is playing video games, or any other activity.

Thanks so much for bringing this to my attention.

well you definately don't want to try my strategy unless you are certain it can work for you, but i found it best to write my papers the morning they were due. That kept me from getting sidetracked.

What you can try to see if that works is writing down false due dates. Then writing your papers/projects at the time you'd have to cram to make those due dates

It really depends on what is triggering the seizure is to what times it occurs. But don't mistake that as my saying whats triggering epilepsy - my epilepsy has no known cause, my seizures have known causes such as diet, light, stress, nervousness and exhaustion

A child whose only trigger is stress will be unlikely to have any seizures during playtime, but will have many during work time


Also, an absence seizures would be much harder to notice while he's playing something like a video game because the signs could very well be mistaken for intense concentration on a difficult aspect of the game.

Even neurologists have a very difficult time pinpointing when an absence seizure is occuring. Since you only notice them during work time make sure that he gets a 24 hour eeg if the sleep deprived one doesn't show anything. Then make sure he has work to do during those 24 hours


Even I who knew alot of the signs to look for that most don't, was having seizures for about a year before I became suspicious of epilepsy returning. Actually you could even say for 4 years as I came across some paperwork where I went to the health center about problems that are now attributed to having seizures - i have no memory of that though. The first neurologist I saw when I knew my epilepsy had returned flat out said it was impossible for me to be having any seizures at all. The second said that from my description alone there was no doubt I was having seizures and when she repeated the tests - after putting me on seizure medicine, I had six seizures in 30 minutes with constant seizure activity

You can be having a conversation with me and have no clue that I've had a seizure during it, sometimes I won't know either. You have to look for minute clues - did I not explain myself clearly? use a malapropism? have to ask you to repeat something? not answer a question? not finish a sentence? have to take a moment to think about what we were saying? take longer than normal to respond? ask about something that never occurred?

I don't have problems with TV and music, but the internet....ehh...see me postig now; should finish those international relations definitions..

I usually have a problem with procrastination so I feel releived if I can say to myself " I'm gonna put this off for another 2 hours and do w/e, and then I just do it." Also listening to classical music and music in another language helps me concentrate.