Active Listening skills

What is Active Listening Skills and why must it be developed?

Active listening involves fully concentrating on the teacher, understanding their message, responding thoughtfully, and remembering what was said. It’s not just about hearing words, but also about understanding the meaning behind them.

But active listening isn’t always easy. It requires focus, attention, and the ability to filter out distractions, which is where many children—especially neurodivergent children struggle. In addition it requires the use of all their senses. Imagine a child who is given multi-step instructions but only completes part of the task because they didn’t listen to the entire set of directions. Or a child who misses important points in class because their mind wandered.

Without these skills, children may find themselves falling behind academically, struggling to connect socially, and feeling frustrated when they can’t keep up.

At Biolink we use our AudioLab program

that is specifically designed to help children improve their active listening skills.

Using targeted brain training exercises, we strengthen your child’s ability to focus on important sounds, process verbal information, and filter out distractions.

Strengthening these skills helps children:

Stay focused on conversations and instructions without getting distracted.

Follow instructions more effectively, both at home and at school.

Understand and engage in conversations with teachers, peers, and family members.

Stay on top of learning by absorbing and retaining information more easily.

Build better relationships through clear communication and thoughtful responses.

Why Neurodivergent Children Struggle with Active Listening Skills

Neurodivergent children, including those with ADHD, autism, dyslexia, and other learning differences, often experience significant challenges with Active Listening . Here’s why:

Difficulty Focusing: Children with ADHD or autism may find it challenging to stay focused on one speaker or task for long periods. Their attention can easily shift to something else, making it hard to fully engage in a conversation or instruction.
Sensitivity to Distractions: Background noise, visual distractions, or even their own thoughts can pull neurodivergent children’s focus away from the speaker. Unlike neurotypical children, who can filter out distractions, these children may struggle to separate what’s important from what’s irrelevant.
Processing Delays: For children with auditory processing disorders or autism, processing verbal information can take longer. By the time they’ve understood the first part of a sentence, the speaker may already have moved on, leaving them feeling lost or confused.
Social and Emotional Barriers: Children on the autism spectrum may struggle with interpreting non-verbal cues like tone of voice or body language, which are essential for active listening and responding appropriately. This can make conversations feel overwhelming or unclear.
Impulse Control: Children with ADHD may have difficulty holding back impulsive responses, often interrupting or speaking out of turn before they’ve fully listened to the other person. This impulsivity can lead to misunderstandings or incomplete communication.