The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of play programs on the development of attention and management of behavior problems in children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and to suggest a practical methodology for specia...
The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of play programs on the development of attention and management of behavior problems in children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and to suggest a practical methodology for special education teachers involved with children with ADHD.
The population of this experiment is 33 students enrolled in T public kindergarten, located in Daegu City. The ADHD measurement scale developed by APA was used to select 2 students, who were then sampled as experimental subjects from the population. The experiment of this study was conducted on three occasions between June 7th, 2004 and July 16th, 2004. In the first stage, children were introduced to the play program and allowed time to adjust and overcome any anxieties that might be associated with a new play environment. In the second stage, the focus was on the tasks introduced into the play program. In the final stage, the play program focused on the development of the childrens attention through exercise.
This study utilizes an AB research design. It is composed of 3 stages and 35 experimental instances (5 baseline, 25 intervention, 5 maintenance). The intervention program was conducted 4 times a week during the subjects free time.
Interviews and observation were the primary means of data collection. The interviews lasted for 20 minutes and were conducted 40 times during the course of the experiment. All of the children were video recorded during the interviews. At the same time, two observers recorded and analyzed the behavior of the two test subjects.
The data processing of this study is divided into 3 stages, the baseline, the intervention, and the maintenance stage. In each stage, observers recorded the frequency of the childrens inappropriate or distractive behavior. The observers then analyzed the change and trend in the childrens behavior using graphs and percentages.
The results of the study indicate that the play program is very effective at decreasing distractive behavior in children with ADHD. The play program also proved very effective in decreasing their behavior problems.
This study suggests the need to devote more research to the development of better play programs aimed at improving education for children with ADHD. Future play programs would benefit by being directed at a childs specific level and capacity. In addition, any such programs should include appropriate intervention programs for comparative analysis of effectiveness.