Frankfurter Concentration Test for Children

Children begin to focus their attention after they start to be exposed to stimuli in the outside world. Concentrating on specific stimuli, they discover their environment and form their learning experiences. Today, the lives of children, especially those exposed to digital stimuli, are not constructed with natural stimuli. Therefore, it becomes more important to measure the attention deficit in our children. By identifying and intervening attention problems in early childhood, negative situations that may occur in later years can be eliminated. Interventions especially before the age of four increase the quality of life of the child with the attention deficit and/or attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

What is the Frankfurter Test?

The Frankfurter Concentration Test for 5-Year-Old Children (FTF-K) is a test for children. It is also known as Frankfurter Tests Für Fünfjahrige-Konzentration-FTF-K. It is suitable for 60-72 months. It is a short-term test lasting up to 90 seconds. It consists of pictures of fruits and measures the level of attention. It is usually applied when school starts.

Who is the Frankfurter test applied to?

It can be applied to children in schools, preschool classes, kindergartens. Children should be given some time after school (approximately 14 days) for appliance of this test. The most accurate results can be achieved when children are accustomed to the school environment and external stimuli. On the other hand, it is necessary for teachers and guidance teachers to know the child.

How is the Frankfurter Attention Test Applied?

The test should be carried out in a quiet environment. During the test, no one should go in or out to the room. If the child plays before the test, it is important to chat for a while before the test and to reduce stress. After the test is given verbally, it must be clarified whether the instruction is understood or not. The exercise example is then displayed. In the exercise example, his errors are corrected. Then the test begins. The stopwatch is operated for 90 seconds and no further explanation or assistance is made during the test. The test will require child to identify some of the fruit images according to the instruction.

Is the Frankfurter Test Objective?

As with any individual attention scale test, there is limited objectivity in the Frankfurter test. When performing this test for each child, the environment should be equally silent and the relationship between the child and the person performing the test should be the same. It is not advisable to compare the results of children with each other, as there is no way that these two situations are stable.

The measurement of attention by finding the one that is different from the fruits is useful in determining the short-term attention level, although it is not sufficient to determine the level of attention in general. As with every test, the student’s acquaintance with the practitioner and the student in a preliminary session will provide a safer result by reducing the child’s level of influence on the environment and the person.