Are you looking for strategies to help students who only listen when someone makes eye contact with them? If so, keep reading.

1. Make sure that the learner is seated close enough to make eye contact with and hear the teacher when information is being delivered.

2. Urge the learner to ask for clarification of any directions, explanations, and instructions before starting a task to enable comprehension.

3. Refrain from placing the learner in situations that require listening for an expanded duration of time such as lectures, seminars, assemblies, etc. Give the information for the learner through a recording or lecture notes.

4. Urge the parents to take advantage of dinner and other family-gathering times for their child to converse and practice keeping eye contact.

5. Provide information in a clear, concise manner.

6. Make sure information is delivered forcefully enough to be heard by the learner.

7. Provide information to the learner on a one-to-one basis. As the learner shows the capacity and ability to listen successfully, slowly include more students in the group with him/her.

8. Ascertain which stimuli in their surroundings interfere with the learner’s capacity and ability to listen successfully. Minimize or remove those stimuli from their surroundings.

9. Teach the learner listening skills: • Separate working. • Clear desk of nonessential learning materials. • Attend to the source of information. • Jot down essential points. • Ask for clarification. • Wait until all instructions are received before beginning.

10. Urge the learner to ask people to repeat portions of a conversation they were unable to follow.

11. Provide a predetermined signal (e.g., hand signal, turn lights off and on, etc.) to the learner prior to delivering information.

12. Make sure the learner is not engaged in learning activities that interfere with directions, explanations, and instructions (e.g., looking at other learning materials, putting away learning materials, talking to others, etc.).

13. Select a peer to model excellent attending skills for the learner.

14. Use the learner’s name to gain their attention prior to delivering information.

15. Praise the learner for listening based on the duration of time the learner can be successful. As the learner shows success, slowly increase the duration of time required for reinforcement.

16. Urge the learner to say a mantra to themselves when entering a situation where they will receive instructions (e.g., keep eye contact, keep eye contact, keep eye contact).

17. Select various people (e.g., peer, paraprofessional, counselor, friend, etc.) to help the learner keep eye contact.

18. Assess the difficulty level of information presented to the learner. Ascertain if the information is presented at a level the learner can understand.

19. Provide information in both oral and written form.

20. Select a peer, paraprofessional, friend, etc., to signal the learner when they need to keep eye contact (e.g., the person can touch the learner on the arm when it is time to pay attention to a speaker).

21. Consider using assistive technology designed to help students to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder to concentrate. Click here to view list of assistive technology apps that we recommend.