A Resource for Teachers, Clinicians, Parents, and Students by the Brain Injury Association of New York State.
 

At Home #18: attention seeker

Problem: The student speaks out of turn, shows off or engages in other apparent attention seeking behavior.

  • Please review the list of possible explanations to the problem.
  • Click on a possibility to learn about relevant observations and experiments to further determine the source of the problem.
  • There are 3 categories: Cognitive/Self-Regulatory, Behavioral, Social-Emotional

 

I. COGNITIVE/SELF REGULATORY POSSIBILITIES

II. BEHAVIORAL POSSIBILITIES

III. SOCIAL- EMOTIONAL POSSIBILITIES


I. COGNITIVE/SELF-REGULATORY POSSIBILITIES

1.Inhibition Impairment: Some students may engage in apparent attention-seeking behavior as a result of inhibition impairment (i.e., impulse-control problems). (See Tutorials on Self-Regulation; Impulsiveness/Disinhibition)

2.Inflexibility: Some students may engage in apparent attention-seeking behavior as a result of difficulty with change; they may be rigid and inflexible; they may have particular difficulty with novel versus routine tasks. (See Tutorial on Flexibility)

3.Generally Weak Cognitive Functioning: Some students may engage in apparent attention-seeking behavior as a result of excessive demands placed on their memory, organizational ability, academic skill, or other cognitive ability. (See Tutorials on Cognition; Memory; Organization)

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II. BEHAVIORAL POSSIBILITIES

1.Functional Behavior Assessment: Negative behaviors can serve a variety of possible purposes, including (1) to escape something (e.g., escape a person, place, activity, demand, sensory environment), (2) to gain access to or acquire something (e.g., gain access to a person, place, activity, thing, attention), (3) to gain control or power, (4) to gain peer attention, approval, or admiration, (5) other. Each of these possibilities can be explored experimentally in a way that is similar to the other experimental explorations outlined on this web site. In the case of negative behaviors, this exploration is called functional behavior assessment.

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III. SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL POSSIBILITIES

1.Depression: Some students may engage in apparent attention-seeking behavior because they are upset, depressed, and/or lack positive relationships with peers and/or adults. (See  Tutorials on Depression; Peer Relationships) Young children often manifest depression by acting out. 

2.Anxiety: Some students may engage in apparent attention-seeking behavior as a result of anxiety. (See Tutorial on Anxiety)

3.Frustration: Some students may engage in apparent attention-seeking behavior as a result of feeling frustrated. (See Tutorials on Self Regulation/Executive Function Routines after TBI; Teaching Positive Communication Alternatives to Negative Behavior)

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