1. Take the Mystery Away
Perhaps most important management strategy is to insure that all students understand how attention works and identify their particular profiles of attention strengths and weaknesses. After that, students should be taught attention management strategies.

2. Understand Consistent Inconsistency
Parents and teachers should understand that the inconsistency of children with attention problems is not evidence of a poor attitude or lack of motivation. It is beyond their easy control, and it is a part of their biologically based attention dysfunction.

3. Explore the Option of Medication
Medication can be helpful in dealing with attentional difficulties for many children and adolescents. Medication can improve mental alertness and the intensity and duration of concentration. Besides, it may reduce impulsivity and hyperactivity. Parents and student and should explore this option with a physician.

4. Allow for Movement and Breaks
It is useful for students who have problems with inconsistent alertness and mental effort to be provided with opportunities to move around. For instance, at school, teachers could ask the student to erase the board, collect papers or take a message to the office. Parents and/or the student could schedule regular breaks and change work sites at home. For example, the student could work several minutes at the kitchen table and several minutes on the living room floor. Every time the location is changed, the student may experience a burst of mental energy. Moreover, students may need to be doing something with their hands while seated. Students may doodle, roll a piece of clay or perform some other manual tasks that enhance their alertness and arousal.

5. Vary Instructional Strategies
A variety of instructional strategies should be used by teachers and these should be changed approximately every 15 to 20 minutes. For instance, they could deliver information for 15 minutes via lecture; this strategy could be followed by small group work or cooperative learning for 20 minutes. Also, students could engage in individual seatwork or watch a video.

6. Use Signals
Parents and teacher and should have a private way of signaling students when they are tuned out. For instance, a gentle tap on the shoulder may be effective. Besides, the student's teachers and parents may need to signal him when something important is about to be stated. His teacher or parent could say, looking right at him, "Now listen very carefully. I am about to give you important instructions about tomorrow's test.