The dual-task test (TEA-Occ)

You count the beats. Then you click when two symbols match. Then both jobs run at once, and that combined run is the one that counts. Centres often call it TEA-Occ. Sometimes it is a lamp and headcodes instead of beeps.

If you drop the beats to hunt symbols, or ignore the pair because you are busy counting, that is the miss. You cannot park one job until the other is finished.

Why two easy jobs become one hard one

They already know you can count, and they already know you can match. What they want is whether the second job collapses the first. Perfect on one stream and silent on the other is the usual fail. “Good enough” on both is the point.

• You drop the beat to hunt symbols, or the reverse.
• You click the old target after the rule has changed.
• You freeze on the first miss, then lose both streams.

The combined version feels unfair the first time. After a few runs it feels much more ordinary. That first meeting is a lot of the difficulty, and you can have it at home instead of on the day.

Sit both streams, not the halves

The halves teach the rules. The combined run is what the day is for. Don't protect counting and let the symbols go. Aim for a pace you can hold on both. If practice only ever feels tidy, you have been sitting the easy version.