Children seem to be in constant motion. Parents are forever admonishing their children to sit still. But for children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) the constant fidgeting isn’t in their parents’ imagination. Even when other children are able to remain focused and quiet, children with ADHD are compelled to fidget and twitch and squirm. Parents and teachers often respond by trying to get them to stop moving, thinking that if they can just still their bodies, their minds will be able to focus and learn.
A recent study by Mark Rapport, a psychology professor at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, suggests that it might be more effective to encourage ADHD children to fidget as much as they need to. Rapport spent four years meticulously recruiting, screening, and testing 23 boys aged 8 to 12. In a lengthy analysis of the results, Rapport found that ADHD children use movement to stay focused. Fidgeting may actually facilitate learning in children with ADHD. Just like the caffeine in coffee helps adults stay focused, jiggling, bouncing at their desks, swiveling in their chairs, swinging their feet, etc. may help ADHD children concentrate and do better in the classroom.
Children with ADHD, which affects 3% to 5% of U.S. children, have problems with short-term, or working memory, the part of the brain that temporarily stores the information needed to carry out immediate tasks. ADHD children process information differently than those without the disorder. A child without ADHD can remember and follow a series of brief directions like opening a book, turning to a certain page, and doing specified exercises. Children with ADHD lose focus part way through the instructions. They may only catch one or two in the series of instructions and wind up lost in the classroom.
Stimulants like Ritalin can augment short-term memory, making it easier for ADHD children to focus on tasks. But not all children respond equally to Ritalin, and some parents would prefer a drug-free solution. Rapport’s study, though small in scope, offers new methods for helping ADHD children focus in the classroom and succeed at school.
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