Tool 15-1: Movement Techniques for ADHD
BACKGROUND: According to Dr. Ratey, in his book Spark. The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, “exercise is the single most powerful tool you have to optimize brain function.” A number of studies have shown that exercise enhances cognitive performance and brain function, attention, memory, hyperactivity, impulsivity, behavioral, emotional, and social functioning, and reduces the need for ADHD medications — all of which clients with ADHD can benefit from.
SKILL BUILDING:
Exercise: Explain to parents, children and teens the importance of movement, exercise, and physical activity for improving attention, cognitive control, impulse control, emotional control, behavioral control and social functioning. Discuss the fact that exercising and moving their body exercises the brain and makes it work better. Explain that they might think of exercise as administering the transmission fluid for the basal ganglia, which is responsible for the smooth shifting of the attention system. This area is the key binding site for stimulants, and brain scans show it to be abnormal in children with ADHD (Ratey, 2008). Let them know that although exercise doesn’t typically make the symptoms of ADHD totally disappear, overall it can be very helpful and there are some who no longer need ADHD medications since they adopted a regular routine of physical exercise.
Ask the client (and their parent for younger children) what type of physical activity they enjoy. Use Handout 15-1 Physical Exercise for ADHD to help them find a way to participate in some form of exercise every day. Encourage parents to exercise with their child or teen.
Classroom: Encourage parents to ask their school to incorporate a program of short bursts of activity throughout the day such as the ABC for Fitness program or GoNoodle. Make sure their classroom teacher is not keeping the client inside during recess to catch up on work as this will be counterproductive for the client. Become or help them find a Brain Gym® practitioner who can teach the client simple exercises that are part of an integrated movement program (see the next page for resources).
Yoga: Discuss the benefits of yoga with parents. Explain that yoga is a mind-body practice that can help children and teens with ADHD release physical tension, frustration and excess energy; improve their self-awareness and physical self-control; and help them learn to slow down and gain control over their physical activity (Brown and Gerbarg, 2012). Most parents will agree that their child could benefit from all these improvements, but find it hard to believe their hyperactive child could ever sit still. Yoga is particularly helpful for children and teens with hyperactivity as they need and love to move, and yoga allows them to move while teaching them self-control and self-awareness. Consider the developmental readiness of the child before suggesting they practice yoga. I have seen children as young as two-years-old learn and hold yoga positions and practice breathing techniques.
Before using yoga and/or meditation therapy for children with ADHD follow appropriate ethical practice by getting specific consent from parents to ensure that teaching yoga or mindfulness to their child doesn’t conflict with religious or other belief systems of the parent.
Karate: Karate is another way to incorporate movement and physical activity into a child or teen’s life. Although the research is preliminary, there is a lot of anecdotal evidence that karate helps with self-control and academic success. According to Dr. Ratey, the martial arts demand a kind of concentration that forces coordination of the attention centers in the brain: the frontal cortex, the cerebellum and the limbic system. (Saulny, 2000) Find out if the client and their parents might be interested in finding a karate instructor.
Dance and Gymnastics: Dance and gymnastics, similarly to karate, can provide physical exercise while teaching concentration, memorization and self-control.
Team Sports: Team sports provide an opportunity for exercise as well as mastery, team building and social skills. Help clients figure out if there is a team sport they might be interested in. Caution them that sometimes during the season, team members may not be getting much actual exercise if they are sitting on the bench a lot or waiting for their turn to play. If that happens, they will need to add other types of exercise to their day.
RESOURCES:
ABC for Fitness, developed by David Katz, co-founder of the Yale University Prevention Research Center, is offered free to school districts through Dr. Katz’s nonprofit, Turn the Tide Foundation. The program helps teachers use short bursts of activity of three to ten minutes to accumulate thirty minutes a day. http://www.davidkatzmd.com/abcforfitness.aspx
GoNoodle is an online program that leads students in what it calls “brain breaks.” A two-minute program might lead the children in forming letters with their bodies, and a ten-minute session might run through a Zumba dance routine. The product, offered in both free and premium versions, is currently being used by 130,000 elementary school teachers. https://www.gonoodle.com/
Brain Gym® is an integrated movement program consisting of simple exercises designed to activate the brain, increase blood flow, short-term memory, and concentration, to facilitate learning and to calm and center the client. See Tool 13-1 Brain Gym for more information. http://www.braingym.org/
INTEGRATION: Review Handout 15-1 Physical Exercise for ADHD with the client (and parent). What exercise is the client already getting? What do they notice about their ADHD symptoms when they do or don’t exercise? What might they incorporate to get more regular exercise? Have they increased their activity level since discussing the importance of exercise to managing and decreasing their ADHD symptoms? Are they being held inside to complete work during recess? Is their school open to including “exercise/brain breaks” throughout the school day? If they are doing a team sport, are they sitting on the bench too often to get the benefits of exercise?
PHYSICAL EXERCISE FOR ADHD
List your current exercise/physical activity:
Exercise/Activity How often
List exercise you enjoy or you are interested in trying
Examples: team sports, bicycling, running, swimming, dancing, karate, yoga, skateboarding, skiing, gymnastic, tai chi
• Make it a habit
• Schedule exercise on your calendar
• Plan on at least 3-4 times per week for at least 30 minutes
• WEAR A HELMET on your bicycle, scooter, skateboard, skis etc.
Copyright © 2016 Debra E Burdick. ADHD: Non-Medication Treatments and Skills for Children and Teens, www.TheBrainLady.com. All rights reserved.