Investigating the effectiveness of active physical games designed based on cognitive skills on attention performance and response inhibition of children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology and Education of Children with Special Needs, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

2 Master student, Psychology and Education of children with special needs, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

3 Master student, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Social Sciences, Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russian Federation

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of an active physical games program designed based on cognitive skills on symptoms of attention and response inhibition in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Methods: The current research was quasi-experimental, consisting of experimental and control groups. The research population comprised all students with ADHD in Tehran. The sample group consisted of 26 students with ADHD, aged 8 to 12 years, selected through targeted sampling. The sample was randomly divided into two groups: a control group (15 participants) and an experimental group (11 participants). The experimental group participated in a cognitive active physical program for 10 sessions, while the control group was placed on a waiting list without receiving any intervention. To evaluate the sample group, the Conners tests, Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test, and Integrated Visual-Auditory Test (IVA) were administered. The collected data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance.
Results: The results indicated a significant positive effect of the intervention program on the attention and response inhibition of the experimental group (p < 0.01); however, no significant difference was observed in sustained attention among the sample group (p > 0.05).
Conclusions: The findings of this study suggest that active physical games designed based on cognitive skills can positively affect attention performance and response inhibition in children with ADHD.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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