A new study could alter the way educators, parents, and mental health professionals understand and treat attention-deficit hyperactivity (ADHD). Researchers in the University of Florida system have discovered that the incessant, undirected movements of “hyper” 8- to 12-year-old boys seem to actually help them to retain concentration and short-term memory better than if they are prevented from moving around.
In other words, when Johnny can’t sit still, he’s only doing what he needs to do in order to learn, and forcing him to stop may only decrease his retention while increasing his frustration—and the frustration of adults who expect him to learn in the same way as other children.
“When they are doing homework, let them fidget, stand up or chew gum,” study leader Mark Rapport, of the University of Central Florida, said in a statement. “We’ve known for years that children with ADHD are more active than their peers. What we haven’t known is why. They use movement to keep themselves alert. They have a hard time sitting still unless they’re in a highly stimulating environment where they don’t need to use much working memory.”
This is why stimulant medications may help those with ADHD; they temporarily improve alertness and working memory in the same way fidgeting and pacing, for example, might.
Coincidentally, schools around the nation are following the example of a few schools in Minnesota, where children are working at taller desks that allow them to stand up or sit in tall stools while they work. This has improved performance, and the new Florida study offers an explanation and a justification for continuing this new, growing practice.
The study was published in the most recent issue of the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology.
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