Selective (Focused) Attention

Authors

Affiliations

Nate Yomogida, B.S., SPT

Doctor of Physical Therapy

B.S. in Kinesiology

Chloë Kerstein, B.S., SPT

Doctor of Physical Therapy

B.A. in Neuroscience

Selective attention refers to the ability to attend to a task despite all of the other stimuli around.

Deficits

Functional presentation of deficit:

• Easily distracted by any activity in the environment
• Responds to background noise
• Difficulty attending to therapist’s directions while in a crowded therapy clinic