What a Gorilla Can Teach Us About FND and Attention

You may have seen the classic "gorilla basketball experiment" — the one where you're asked to count how many times people in white shirts pass a basketball. Most people get so focused on counting that they completely miss a person in a gorilla suit walking right through the middle of the screen.

This experiment isn't about FND. But it illustrates something that matters deeply in FND: our brains pay attention to what they're asked to look for.

Research on functional movement symptoms has found that when someone pays close attention to an affected movement, those symptoms can become more noticeable or harder to control. And when attention shifts elsewhere, movement can sometimes become easier or more automatic.

This is why distraction can feel helpful in the moment — watching a video, talking to a friend, playing a game. Your teen's attention is no longer locked onto the symptom. But here's the important distinction.

Why Distraction Alone Isn't the Answer

There's a real difference between shifting your attention so you can keep functioning and constantly running away from symptoms because you don't want to deal with them.

Dr. Lee uses the analogy of smoke and fire. FND symptoms are the smoke — they're visible and noticeable. But the fire underneath is the miscommunication between the brain and the body.

If you see smoke, you notice it. But you don't spend the entire day staring at it, measuring it, and asking whether there's more or less of it. You also don't pretend it doesn't exist.

So if you've ever been told to "just ignore your child's symptoms and they'll go away" — that's not the goal either. What we often see is that the most effective approach is teaching teens to respond differently when symptoms show up.

The Shift: Respond Instead of React

When your teen says something like, "My legs feel really weak," it's natural to want to jump into problem-solving mode. How weak? Is it getting worse? Can you walk? Should we cancel everything?

But that response — however well-intentioned — can unintentionally center the entire conversation around the symptom.

The alternative? Notice the symptom and respond, but don't react.

The VP Framework: Validate and Punt It Back

This is a tool Dr. Lee teaches parents in her program, and it's straightforward.

V = Validate. Let your teen know you hear them and believe them.

P = Punt it back. Put your teen back in charge of what they do next.

So when your teen says, "My legs feel really weak," a VP response might sound like: "Gosh, I believe you. That's hard. What are you doing to help yourself?"

That's it. You're not ignoring the symptom. You're also not letting it take over the conversation. You're acknowledging what's happening and giving your teen the space to practice their own response.

Change What You're Measuring

Here's one more shift that can change the entire recovery conversation at home.

If you ask, "How were your symptoms today?" — you're going to hear about symptoms. That's what you're asking about.

Instead, try asking:

• What did you do today?

• What did you do when things got hard?

• How did you get yourself back to what you were doing?

Now you're measuring something different: function, skills, and independence.

Your teen could still have symptoms and have a genuinely successful day. Maybe they had symptoms at school, used their plan, rode the wave, and got back to class. That is progress — even if the smoke was still there.

What families I've worked with often discover is that when they stop asking "Are your symptoms getting better?" and start noticing "Is my teen getting better at responding when symptoms show up?" — the whole picture changes.

That's how teens build the skills to ride the wave instead of running from it. And over time, that process of retraining the brain and body is what helps them get more control and get their life back.

Where to Start

If you're thinking, "This makes sense, but how do I actually apply this day to day?" — you're not alone. Building a structured plan around these principles is exactly what Teen FND Academy is designed to help with. Visit teenfndacademy.com to learn more about the program and see if it's a good fit for your family.

References

• Huys, A.-C. M. L., Haggard, P., Bhatia, K. P., & Edwards, M. J. (2020). Misdirected attentional focus in functional tremor. Brain, 143(11), 3436–3450. View study

• Nielsen, G., Stone, J., Matthews, A., Brown, M., Sparkes, C., Farmer, R., Masterton, L., Duncan, L., Winters, A., Daniell, L., Lumsden, C., Carson, A., David, A. S., & Edwards, M. J. (2015). Physiotherapy for functional motor disorders: A consensus recommendation. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 86(10), 1113–1119. View study

• Simons, D. J., & Chabris, C. F. (1999). Gorillas in our midst: Sustained inattentional blindness for dynamic events. Perception, 28(9), 1059–1074. View study