Looking Beyond Behaviour | When concentrating feels harder than it should

Perhaps your child struggles to sit still during lessons. They may lose their place when reading, forget instructions, become distracted by everything happening around them, or take much longer than expected to complete their work.

You might hear that they need to “concentrate more,” “try harder” or “stop getting distracted.”

But what if concentration isn’t simply a matter of trying harder?

When a child can’t concentrate at school, it can sometimes be a sign that their brain and body are working incredibly hard just to manage the demands of the classroom.

At WayMaker, we like to look beyond the behaviour and ask a different question:

What might be making concentration difficult for this child?

Concentration involves more than paying attention

A busy classroom asks a lot of a developing brain.

A child may need to listen to their teacher while ignoring background noise, sit upright at a desk, remember several instructions, follow words across a page, coordinate their eyes and hands, process information quickly and regulate their emotions, often all at the same time.

For some children, these skills happen relatively easily.

For others, much more effort is required.

Difficulties with concentration can sometimes be connected with underlying areas such as:

sensory processing
auditory processing
visual tracking and eye movements
retained primitive reflexes
balance, posture and coordination
working memory
processing speed
timing and sequencing
emotional or nervous system regulation

This can mean that what looks like poor concentration on the outside may actually be a child working very hard on the inside.

What concentration difficulties can look like

Every child is different, but you may notice your child:

frequently loses their place when reading
finds it difficult to follow more than one instruction
is easily distracted by sounds, movement or other children
fidgets, rocks or constantly changes position
struggles to remain seated
appears to listen but cannot remember what was said
takes a long time to start or finish tasks
rushes through work and makes avoidable mistakes
finds copying from the board difficult
becomes tired or overwhelmed during the school day
concentrates well on something they love but struggles with classroom tasks
seems to cope at school but is exhausted or dysregulated afterwards

None of these signs tells us exactly why a child is struggling. They can, however, help us recognise that it may be worth looking beneath the surface.

Why trying harder isn't always the answer

Imagine trying to listen to someone while several conversations are happening around you. At the same time, you are sitting on an uncomfortable chair, trying to remember three instructions and attempting to read words that are difficult for your eyes to track smoothly.

You could probably do it, but it would require a huge amount of effort.

For some children, everyday learning can feel a little like this.

Repeatedly reminding a child to “pay attention” doesn't necessarily address what is making attention difficult in the first place.

Instead, understanding how that individual child processes information, movement and sensory input can give us a much clearer picture of the support they may need.

Looking beneath the surface at WayMaker

At WayMaker, we don't expect parents to know whether their child's difficulties relate to sensory processing, retained reflexes, auditory processing, attention or something else.

That's our job to explore with you.

We begin by listening to what you are noticing at home and school and building a picture of your child's development, strengths and areas of difficulty.

Where appropriate, support may include our Brain Balance Programme, which uses carefully selected multisensory activities to develop some of the underlying skills involved in learning and concentration.

Activities may work on areas including timing and rhythm, processing, coordination, eye movements, working memory, auditory processing and the ability to organise and respond to information.

For some children, we may recommend exploring INPP Reflex Integration. Retained primitive reflexes can sometimes affect areas such as posture, balance, coordination, eye movements and the physical effort required to sit and learn.

The important part is that you don't need to decide which approach your child needs before you contact us.

We will help you work out the most appropriate next step.

From “Why won't they concentrate?” to “What do they need?”

A small change in the question can make a big difference.

Instead of asking:

Why won't my child concentrate?

we can begin to ask:

What might be making concentration harder for my child?

When we look beyond behaviour, we can begin to understand the child in front of us and find practical ways to support the skills they need for learning to feel more manageable.

Not sure where to start?

If your child is finding concentration, learning or the demands of the school day difficult, you don't need to work out the reason on your own.

Connect with WayMaker and let us help you explore what may be happening beneath the surface and find the right next step for your child.

Explore INPP

why can’t my child concentrate in school?