Asian J. Interdicip. Res, 6(2) (2023), 9-16 | 9 ASIAN JOURNAL OF INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH DOI: 10.54392/ajir2322 DISCUSSION Variable Attention Stimulus Trait (VAST) Spectrum Traits: A Brief Discussion on Attentional Control & Emotional Regulation in Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Guo-Hui Xie a,b* , Arnold Chee Keong Chua a,c , Harjit Singh a a a Merlion Academy, Singapore b Early Years Research Association of Singapore c Leapfrogs Therapy Center, Singapore *Corresponding author Email: xguohui62@gmail.com DOI: https://doi.org/10.54392/ajir2322 Received: 12-08-2022; Revised: 11-05-2023; Accepted: 16-05-2023; Published: 25-05-2023 Abstract: Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) was first identified in 1902 by a British pediatrician, Sir George Still, as an abnormal defect in children’s moral control that caused poor control of their behavior despite their average and/or above intellectual capacity. It was not until the late 20 th century when the American Psychiatric Association formally recognized ADHD as a mental disorder, whose hallmarks are excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Also known as the triad of impairments in ADHD, these symptoms are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise age-inappropriate. Only recently, Hallowell and Ratey (2021) introduced the concept of Variable Attention Stimulus Trait (VAST) in their book ADHD 2.0 to describe the condition. They argued that VAST/ADHD is unrelated to intelligence and has nothing to do with the deficit of attention. VAST/ADHD describes about how each brain/mind is uniquely wired affecting the way one deals with stimulation and attention. In this paper, the authors have chosen to explore two of the traits on the VAST/ADHD spectrum - (i) attentional control/sustained attention, and (ii) emotional regulation/impulse control - to illustrate the condition of ADHD as a variability of attention rather than a deficit of attention. Keywords: ADD, ADHD, Attentional Control, Emotional Regulation, Impulse Control, Sustained Attention, VAST 1. Introduction Whenever the word inattention is uttered by a teacher or parent about a child in class or at home, the first thought that always comes to mind is that the child might have Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit- Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) (Kessi et al. 2022; da Silva et al. 2023). The other term that is also frequently used or heard is distraction and it is also associated with the same challenging condition. Though the two words - inattention and distraction - seem to be the same, they are not and, strictly speaking, should never be taken as synonymous. Inattention refers to a person's preoccupation in internalized thought, whereas distraction refers to the diversion of attention away from the on-going target activity toward other unrelated tasks. In the big picture, inattention has something to do with attentional control (AC), while distraction has to do with sustained attention. In the former, AC entails paying attention for a long period of time while concentrating on a given task until it is done. This means it involves two distinct behaviors: (i) paying a full attention to an external or environmental stimulus; and (ii) turning out or not attending to other things in order to complete a given activity. AC, therefore, constitutes a foundational activity for success in executive functioning (EF), apart from emotional regulation or impulse control. In the latter, sustained (or undivided) attention refers to a person’s ability to stay on - task or focused on a situation or activity in spite of other distractions, fatigue or boredom. For young children, the duration of staying on-task or remained focused on a given activity with minimal supervision or monitoring is rather short, but adolescents are able to have a prolonged duration to complete a one-to-two hour homework (with short breaks in between). Both AC and sustained attention (SA) are executive functioning (EF) skills. Besides, the EF skills also include task initiation, cognitive flexibility, problem-solving, working memory, planning-and-organizing, time