A Recent Study finds ADHD kids benefit from fidgeting
| May 26, 2009 | Posted by SuperADDMom under ADDventures, Neuro-News |
It is great to see the studies being done on ADD, so that doctors, teacher etc just starting to try and wrap their brains around ADD will listen when there is scientific evidence behind the reasoning, but it is pretty commonly known among ADDers, that when we fidget we listen better, and learn better.
I homeschool my kids, and when they do math they tap a pencil, chew the pencil, or swing their feet. When they are reading they are twirling in a chair or again, swinging their feet. I often let them play with playdough while we are doing stuff, to keep them on task.
I doodle when on the phone, as it seems to help me listen to the speaker better.I read better when there is one non intrusive background noise to take away all the other noises, as well.
There are other studies now that show kids focus better when sitting on exercise balls rather than in chairs or desks as well, which some schools are starting to implement in small classrooms.
I’m glad to see the medical society catching up.
My daughter reading in a rocking chair sideways, swinging her feet, rocking, and twirling her hair while homeschooling.
Mirror Article
Source: http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2009/05/25
ORLANDO, Fla., May 25 (UPI) — Children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder can actually concentrate better if allowed to fidget, a University of Central Florida study says.A team of researchers at the Orlando university said by studying 23 preteen male subjects, 12 of whom had been diagnosed with ADHD, they found the ADHD subjects began to noticeably fidget when facing short-term memory problems, the Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel said Monday.
Dr. Mark Rapport, who led the study, said fidgeting allows ADHD sufferers to keep their minds and bodies active since their brains typically do not produce enough dopamine to maintain alertness.
The ADHD subjects in Rapport’s study routinely fidgeted when tasked with memory problems, but those same kids were able to sit still when able to mentally relax and watch a scene from the movie “Star Wars.”
“Everybody moves more when they’re concentrating on the tasks, not just the ADHD kids,” Rapport told the Sentinel.
“But the ADHD kids moved significantly more,” he added.
Wish they had been interested 35 years ago. My poor son had it so hard and all I got was that I wasn’t being strict enough, he needed more discipline or he was spoiled. I am very happy things are changing at least a little for the children and the moms.
Hola, I´m Mexican. My homeschooled 10-year old son pays attention while building with legos or constantly changing positions on and off the couch, on the floor, etc, which at first exasperated me; and then I finally let him when I found out that he WAS listening to me. I pulled him out of fourth grade, last school term, and this year I´m also homeschooling my 13-year old daughter, who used to be the the best student in her class in “Primaria”, and won the third position in a competition against 16 other schools, and then was absolutely miserable and got terrible grades in her first year in “Secundaria”,(the H1N1 flu virus was partly to blame, bullying was another, not being able to make friends was another, an incredibly mean teacher who even got sacked was also to blame… and she just gave up and started hating school. I started yelling at her all the time, she stopped doing homework, she made us being late almost everyday, etc.) In Mexico only a few non- Catholic Christians are homeschooling, and we´re Catholic. I just know a handful of other Catholic homeschoolers, and not even one in Mexico City! I´d like to meet other homeschoolers, Catholic or not, but haven´t found any nearby yet. (Just another one in the city, but Mexico City is huge, and she has a toddler…)
We do have an “OPEN” schooling system, which is the Mexican Education Deparment´s INEA(just google INEA: Instituto Nacional para la Educación de Adultos) It´s conceived as a remedial network to help “school dropouts” to complete their education, mainly meant for adults. A new program was added for the 10 to 14 year olds who haven´t been able to complete their studies because of an illness, a natural disaster, moving house, poverty, etc. Quite a few homeschoolers have taken advantage of this, and have enrolled, naming their own parents their “asesores” or teachers, rather than being assigned one by that system. In this way, the kids get the “Primaria ” and “Secundaria” certificates, and now our homeschoolers can even get a High-School (Preparatoria” certificate from the UNAM (National Mexican University). Greetings from Mexico and good luck to you all