What do attention disorders say about the brain's usual attentional strategies? Attention is a deeper process than simply noticing incoming stimuli, it involves a number of processes including filtering of perceptions, balancing multiple perceptions, and attachment. emotional meaning of perceptions (Ratey, 2001). There are two forms of attention, passive and active. Passive attention refers to involuntary processes that are driven by the environment and external events, for example loud noise. Active attention is the voluntary process guided by alertness and concentration, for example curiosity (Gaddes, 1994). It is a cognitive ability to select and focus on certain factors and inhibit an action while planning alternative actions. This is also known as preattention because the process takes place without any awareness (Neisser, 1967). An example of this would be during a conversation, if an individual's name is mentioned, their attention is instantly diverted. Active attention is described as a complex process that includes alertness and arousal, which allows planning and monitoring of thoughts and actions. Attention is often described as the first step in the learning process, because if something is not attended to, there is no ability to understand or learn it. Much research has been conducted on the conceptual framework of this process, including the process and what happens to students when this process breaks down (Levine, 1998). Attention is often linked to alertness as a basic mental tone, where each of these factors plays a role. Vigilance is a state of consciousness, which includes a spectrum from alertness to unconsciousness. An individual's level of consciousness varies depending on middle of paper......regulate, control and manage daily tasks (Brown, 2008). Some of these disabilities include excessive procrastination, problems concentrating, regulating emotions, and maintaining time. These criteria for executive function deficit are met in thirty to fifty percent of ADHD cases (Lambek et al., 2010). One study found that eighty percent of people with ADHD had at least one impaired executive function, compared to fifty percent of those without ADHD (Nigg et al., 2005). Due to rates of brain maturation and increasing demands on executive control as a person ages, ADHD impairments may not fully manifest. From these examples of attention disorders, it appears that there are obvious differences in the attentional strategies of the brain, due to the difference in brain pathology and the way individuals manage daily tasks...