In the past, rowdy, disruptive children were often spanked or scolded, while their parents were looked upon with disdain. With increasing research in child behavior, as well as with more studies in how molecular imbalances can trigger certain kinds of behavior and movements, physicians and psychiatrists have found that such unfortunate parents and noisy children should be treated with consideration.
In fact, as you know from reading thus far, they have in fact given a name to such a phenomenon: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
ADHD, now considered as a developmental disorder, is caused by changes in brain molecule levels, which in turn can be caused by head trauma in the womb. This head or brain trauma may be physical in nature, or chemical, say, if the expectant mother ingested certain toxins.
Children with ADHD tend to be impulsive and forgetful. They are also hyperactive and easily distracted. Because the disorder persists into adulthood, more and more adults are finding that their distractibility is due to ADHD.
ADHD also has a strong genetic component, and can thus be inherited. ADHD can’t be cured, and its symptoms can be eased only with a combination of behavioral modification, special education, parental support, lifestyle changes in the person suffering from the disorder, and special medications meant to target the central nervous system. Popular ADHD medications have been used to treat blood pressure disorders and narcolepsy, and they can include the popular Ritalin, Cylert, and Strattera.
After reading about these medications and reviewing opposing points of view amongst the medical and psychiatric communities, you must consider the consequences of taking ADHD medications in the long term even though it hasn’t been thoroughly studied.
Many ADHD medications also have dangerous side effects. In general, they can cause nausea, vomiting, abdominal pains, constipation, cramps, insomnia, and depression. In extreme cases, some ADHD medications have exacerbated existing cardiovascular disorders, such as high blood pressure and heart conditions; or have worsened certain psychiatric disorders such as mania and psychosis.
There is another component to consider. That is ADHD medications work by increasing alertness and attention, and by decreasing restlessness. Because of these properties, people who don’t suffer from ADHD can and do abuse the drug. For instance, some students believe that ADHD medications can make them perform better in school by focusing their attention.
The disorder itself is subject to controversy. Some psychiatrists and parents contend that the symptoms of ADHD can be surmounted and obliterated by the proper discipline; in some extremes, some people don’t consider ADHD a disorder at all. Backed by scientific proof, however, other scientists and physicians believe that ADHD is a real disorder that can be eased, thanks to long-term medication.
Long-term medication, however, doesn’t sit well with many people. In fact, some psychiatrists, physicians, and even parents of ADHD-affected children cite their positive experiences with holistic medicine and natural ADHD medications. Before using such medications or even recommending them, however, you must read as much as you can on what advantages and disadvantages they carry. Moreover, you should always consult with your physician on what options are available to you before plunging into any natural or holistic treatments.
There are many natural treatment regimens available for ADHD, but the most common so far is a change in diet. ADHD-friendly diets are generally free from stimulants, such as sugars and preservatives, all of which can exacerbate ADHD symptoms and even interfere with the effectiveness of ADHD medications. There are many names for such diets, but in summary, they recommend that junk foods be taken out totally. Some junk foods contain a chemical called tartrazine, which is used to color foods, and can increase hyperactivity.
Holistic medicine practitioners also recommend certain drinks to help calm adults suffering from ADHD. Instead of taking ADHD medications, adults are asked to take yoga classes, which can help them concentrate, as well as monitor their breathing patterns. Adults suffering from ADHD are also requested to drink calming beverages, such as chamomile tea, instead of relying on ADHD medications to calm them down.
Holistic medicine practitioners also recommend certain herbs that can be integrated into an ADHD-friendly diet. For instance, fresh lemon balm can induce calm; while ginkgo biloba tablets can increase concentration. Melatonin can also regulate the body’s sleep cycles and induce relaxation while Saint John’s Wort can ease depression without pushing the body into hyperactivity. People with ADHD are also encouraged to take vitamins to increase concentration. Such vitamins can include Vitamin B complex, Vitamin C, and Zinc.
Other techniques, such as massage, magnet therapy, and even acupuncture have been used to calm people with ADHD and regulate their body cycles. These are only a few natural techniques that you may want to consider if you are looking for ways to cure ADHD. Always be on the alert for new research in the field of ADHD treatment, and be sure that you thoroughly and truly understand the underlying principles governing the use of your natural treatment of choice before you or your child use it to combat ADHD.

ADHD money management is a paradox. The first thing financial experts say is never let anyone else have control of your money. The next thing they say is that you need to follow a strict budget, avoid impulsive spending and save for the future.
As an adult with ADHD, you know that is a recipe for disaster. After all, they are asking you to:

 

The Effect of Fine Motor Training Program on the Academic Achievement for Students with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder

 

Introduction

 

Fine motor skills involves the ability to control the small muscles of the body and is usually defined as the ability to coordinate the action of the eyes and hands together in performing precise manipulative movements.  Manipulative movement such as handwriting is controlled by the central nervous system (Barkley, 1998).   Many areas of the brain are involved in the act of manipulating.  The act simultaneously controlling the nerves and muscles in the arm, wrist, hand, and fingers to move in four different directions, focusing the eyes on the writing; as well as controlling the amount of pressure exerted.  Brain research has identified the critical need to supply a variety of multi-sensory stimulation to the young brain for motor development (Farmer, 2005).  Multi-sensory fine motor g training answers that need in a non- traditional but innovative way.  Joseph (1992) indicates that the entire right brain is dominant in regard to attention and arousal, factors strongly influenced by the fine motor process.  Manipulating the fingers through handwriting not only calms the right brain, but also stimulates the left-brain, the “brain that goes to school.” where the specialized reading/ writing capacities are located. 

 

The link between children with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and fine motor coordination problems has been recognized for decades (Piek, Pitcher, & Hay, 1999).  In a study of both fine and gross motor ability of males with ADHD compared with a group of control children, Pitcher, Piek, and Hay, (2003) found poorer fine motor ability in children with ADHD.  Poor fine motor problems have been associated with ADHD in addition to the main symptom groups of inattention, impulsiveness, and hyperactivity (Meyer & Sagvolden, 2006). 

 

The literature seems to suggest that fine motor training will improve the brain function of students with ADHD.  This improvement has been attributed to better eye-hand co-ordination, improved fine motor control, and improved concentration. All these behaviors are impaired in students with ADHD.  Research to investigate this relationship could spark more interest in using fine motor training programs to enhance the brain function of students with ADHD. 

 

Schooling is a challenge for children with ADHD, as far as their academic failure and challenging behavior.  Students with ADHD are more likely to achieve lower grades at school than their peers (Merrell & Tymms, 2001).  The course of ADHD tends to be chronic and progressive, and without treatment may even increase students’ academic problems as well as their challenging behavior.  Fine motor training is a simple way of stimulating the brain and improving the ADHD students’ academic achievement.  Teachers who deal with students suffering from ADHD are aware of the problems their students encounter in the classroom.  Perhaps the most serious concern for teachers of students with ADHD is how to enable the students to achieve academic success.

 

The purpose of this research study was to determine if students who participated in the Fine Motor Training (FMT) program make more progress in the WRAT-III than those who did not participate.  The following research questions are addressed:

 

 

Method

 

Participants 

 

Twenty male students between the ages of 6 and 11years, all of whom had classified as having combined symptoms of ADHD participated in the study. All participants were on psycho stimulants medication at the time of the study.  Participants were selected from ethnically mixed students with ADHD attending public schools in southwestern Louisiana.  The racial composition was 88% white and 12% black.   Participants were randomly divided into two groups, the experimental group (n=10) and the control group (n=10).   All participants are receiving Special Education services.  These services are based on their Individualized Educational Programs (IEP).  Public Law 105-17 (1997) amendment to Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), requires that each public school child who receives Special Education and related services must have an IEP. 

MaterialsThree instruments were used on the study.  The first instrument was the Wide Range Achievement Test-III (WRAT-III).  The WRAT-III includes 3 subtests that measure basic school codes.   The reading subtest measures decoding skills in which the student recognizes and names letters and pronounces words in isolation.   The spelling subtest measures written spelling in which the student writes letters and words from dictation.  The math subtest measures mathematical calculation, in which the student counts, reads numbers, identifies number symbols, solves oral problems and performs written computation within a time limit.  The test is an individually administered for population ages 5-0 to 11-11, 12-0 to 75.  The second instrument was the Fine Motor Training (FMT) program.   The FMT program was designed to develop and apply the fine motor skills needed for academic achievement in students with ADHD.  Fine motor activities such as handwriting and manipulating small objects are included in this program, see Appendix A.  The third instrument was the Data Collection Sheet.  It was developed to collect demographic data about each participant in the study as well as the results of the WRAT-III, see Appendix B.  Procedures Participants were randomly divided into two groups, the control group (n=10) and the experimental group (n=10).  The present level of academic achievement was determined for both groups prior to the beginning of the FMT program (pretest) using the WRAT-III for Reading, Spelling, and Arithmetic.  The experimental group received FMT in addition to the usual Special Education services based on their IEP, see Appendix A, while the control group received only the usual Special Education services base on their IEP.  Training was provided for 4 sessions a day, 5 days a week over 2 months period.  The length of each session was 10 minutes.  After two months, both groups were evaluated with the WRAT-III (Posttest).

Data Analysis

 

The data was analyzed by comparing the growth the students made on the WRAT-III using a group pre-test/post-test design. The statistical procedure of treatment Effect Size (ES) was used to allow the comparison between scores earned at the beginning and end of treatment.  The ES is the difference in the means between two group divided by the standard deviation. This measure of “effect size” is known as Cohen’s d.  Cohen (1988) suggested that d of “0.2 is indicative of a small effect, 0.5 a medium and 0.8 a large effect size. However, ES as small as 0.1 may be of important practical significance if the intervention that produced the improvement is relatively inexpensive compared to other competing options; the effect is achieved across all groups of students; and the effect accumulates over time (Glass, 1988). 

 

Results

 

            Pretest to posttest Effect Size statistical procedure revealed significant gains on the WRAT-III scores for the experimental group (d=0.61).  Consistent gains were noted across all WRAT-III subtests.  The ES reading subtest was (d=0.69), the ES spelling subtest was (d=0.44), and the ES mathematic subtest was (d=0.66).  The Institute of Education’s Joint Dissemination Review Panel stated that an ES above 0.33 can be regarded as indication that significant educational changes has occurred (Tallmadge, 1977).  Table 1 summarizes results of achievement changes for the experimental group (n=10).

 

Insert Table 1 about Here

 

Although the control groups improved their WRAT-III scores over the time of intervention, that improvement was not significant (d=0.17) and it would be attributed to the students’ normal development and/or to the implication of the IEP.  Consistent non-significant gains were noted across all control groups’ WRAT-III subtests.  The ES reading subtest was (d=0.14), the ES spelling subtest was (d=0.18), and the ES mathematic subtest was (d=0.0.15).  All ES scores were lower than the suggested d =0.2 as indicative of a small effect (Cohen, 1988).  Table 2 summarizes results of achievement changes for the control group (n=10).

 

Insert Table 2 about Here

 

Furthermore, the results indicated that ADHD students who have participated in the FMT program made more progress in the WRAT-III than students who have not participated.  The results also indicated that the FMT program has a significant efficacy on the improvement of academic achievement for students with ADHD. 

 

Discussion

 

Statistical analysis indicates that FMT program appears to enable students diagnosed with the Combined Type of ADHD to make statistically significant gains in measures of academic achievement in the areas of reading, spelling, and mathematics.  Contrary, no significant academic achievement gains were indicated for the ADHD students who did not participate in the FMT program.  This finding suggests that providing ADHD students with fine motor training would positively impacted their academic achievement.  Quality intervention should make an impact on life-long learning in enabling the individual to become an independent learner. Although it cannot be confirmed by one test or one study alone, it appears that the FMT program improves specific levels of academic achievement skills for students with ADHD.

 

Currently, fine motor training programs for students with ADHD are not well defined in public schools.  Further fine motor training research needs to  include a  follow-up phase of this particular study to determine if students who participated in FMTP demonstrate regression in the broad areas of achievement after being retested at least one month after completion of the program.   Furthermore, future studies with larger subjects, longer training periods, and on subjects with the Predominantly Hyperactivity-Impulsive Type ADHD or/and the Predominantly Inattention Type of ADHD are needed to determine the quality and the effectiveness of the FMT program.   

 

 

References

 

Barkley, R. A. (1998).  Attention –deficit/hyperactivity disorder:  A handbook for diagnosis and

 

treatment (2nd ed.).  New York: Guilford.

 

Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd. ed.). Hillsdale, NJ:

 

Lawrence Earlbaum Associates.

 

Farmer, J. (2005).  The Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders at the

 

University of Missouri-Columbia promotes research.  Http://www.retrainthebrain.com.

 

Glass,G.V., & Stanley, J.C. (1988). Statistical methods in educational psychology. Englewood

 

Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

 

Joseph, R. (1992).  The right brain and the unconsciousness, discovering the stranger within.

 

Plenum Press, New York, NY.

 

Merrell, C. and Tymms, P. (2001). Inattention, hyperactivity and impulsiveness: Their impact on

 

academic achievement and progress.  British Journal of Educational Psychology, 71: 43 – 56.

 

Meyer, A., and Sagvolden, T. (2006). Fine motor skills in South African children with symptoms

 

of ADHD: influence of subtype, gender, age, and hand dominance.

 

http://www.behavioralandbrainfunctions.com/content/2/1/33

 

Piek, J.P., Pitcher, T.M., & Hay, D.A. (1999). Motor coordination and kinaesthesis in boys with

 

attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology,

 

41 (3), 159-165.

 

Pitcher, T., Piek, J., and Hay, D. (2003).  Fine and gross motor ability in males with ADHD. 

 

Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology , 45: 525-535 Cambridge University Press

 

Tallmadge,G.K. (1977).  Idea book: The joint dissemination review panel. Washington, DC: US

 

Department of Health, Education and Welfare.

Appendix A

 

Fine Motor Training Program for Students with ADHD

Fine Motor Training Program (FMTP) for Students with ADHD

 

Session I. (10 Minutes-Handwriting):

 

 

Session II (10 Minutes- Fine Motor Activities):

 

·        Use fine motor activities to help student develop the precision, balance, and hand-eye coordination that are needed to perform the fine-motor skills used in handwriting.

 

·        Have student pick out one or more of the following fine motor activities:

 

 

 

Session III (10 Minutes-Handwriting):

 

 

Session IV (10 Minutes- Fine Motor Activities):

 

·        Use fine motor activities to help student develop the precision, balance, and hand-eye coordination that are needed to perform the fine-motor skills used in handwriting.

 

·        Have student pick out one or more of the following fine motor activities:

 

 

 

General Instructions:

 

Appendix B

 

Data Collection Sheet

Data Collection Sheet

 

School Name ____________________________________ Parish ______________

 

Teacher Name __________________________________ Date ________________

 

Student Name __________________________________ Grade _______________

 

Date of Birth           ________           Gender (M) ___ (F) ____   Race ___________

 

ADHD (check one):  

 

 

MedicationUsed____________________________________________________

·        Achievement Test Used:       Wide Rang Achievement Test-III·        Pre-Intervention Test Score: ________Date:___________________                                Raw Score      Std. Score       %ile    Grade Score   Absolute ScoreREADING           ______            ______            ____    ______            _____SPELLING           ______            ______            ____    ______            _____ARTHIMATIC    ______            ______            ____    ______            _____Date _____________________________________________________________·        Post-Intervention Test Score:_______Date: ________________________ Raw Score            Std. Score       %ile    Grade Score   Absolute ScoreREADING           ______            ______            ____    ______            _____SPELLING           ______            ______            ____    ______            _____ARTHIMATIC    ______            ______            ____    ______            _____

Table1 

 

Summary of WRAT-III Changes for the Experimental Group (n=10)

 

__________________________________________________________________________

 

     Pretest                          Posttest                                                                       

 

WRAT-III        Mean   S.D.                 Mean   S.D.     Mean difference            Effect-size d    

 

___________________________________________________________________________                             

 

Reading            25.5     4.53                 28.6     4.48                 3.1                   0.69                            

 

Spelling            22.3     6.91                 25.2     6.29                 2.9                   0.44    

 

Math                22.5     5.23                 25.7     4.50                 3.2                   0.66    

 

Full Test           70.3     15.43               79.5     14.61               9.2                   0.61    

 

____________________________________________________________________________

 

1 Wide Range Achievement Test, Revised (WRAT-III). 2. Standard Deviation (SD)

Table 2 

 

Summary of WRAT-III Changes for the Control Group (n=10)

 

__________________________________________________________________________

 

     Pretest                          Posttest                                               

 

WRAT-III        Mean   S.D.                 Mean   S.D.     Mean difference            Effect size d

 

___________________________________________________________________________                             

 

Reading            27.7     7.90                 28.8     8.09                 1.1                   0.14    

 

Spelling            23.6     6.90                 24.9     7.25                 1.3                   0.18    

 

Math                21.1     9.01                 22.4     8.22                 1.3                   0.15    

 

Full Test           72.4     21.73               76.1     21.86               3.7                   0.17    

 

____________________________________________________________________________

 

1 Wide Range Achievement Test, Revised (WRAT-III). 2. Standard Deviation (SD)