Your Therapy Source Magazine for Pediatric Therapists May 2015 | Page 12
Physical Activity, Executive Function and ADHD
Research in Developmental Disabilities published research on 43
children with ADHD between 7-12 years old to determine if there
are effects of different types of physical activity on executive
functioning. A 12 week training program included two different
groups: experimental group 1 (EG1) included 13 children who
participated in ball handling, balance and manual dexterity and
experimental group 2 (EG2) included 14 children who participated
in sports without a specific focus. There was also a control group
(CG) who received no intervention. Each participant was
evaluated for working memory and motor performance before,
immediately after the first training week and one week after the last
session.
The results indicated the following:
1. after the 12-week intervention period, several measures of the EG1 and EG2s significantly
improved over time.
2. between group comparisons demonstrated significant improvements in both EG1 and EG2
compared to the CG in variables assessing working memory performance and motor
performance.
The researchers concluded that long-term physical activity has a positive effect on executive
functions of children with ADHD, regardless of the specificity of the activity. The researchers
recommended that regular physical activity can be used as a complementary or alternative nonpharmacologic treatment for ADHD.
Reference: Susanne Ziereis and Petra Jansen. Effects of physical activity on executive
function and motor performance in children with ADHD. Research in Developmental
Disabilities Volume 38, March 2015, Pages 181–191.
Brain Breaks Card Game
Get active, refreshed and ready to work with 50 mini
movement breaks that require no equipment. Most of the
movement breaks can be done with one child or a group.
It does not get any easier than this to encourage sensory
motor activities in the classroom or home.
Find out more at
http://yourtherapysource.com/growingplaycards.html
www.YourTherapySource.com