Effectiveness Sand Tray Therapy on Hyperactivity Attention Deficit and Evident Anxiety of Children with Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder

Attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by a persistent pattern of attention deficit and hyperactivity. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of sand tray therapy on anxiety, hyperactivity, and attention deficit in ADHD children. The research method was semi-experimental and the statistical population included all children aged 7-12 years in Hamedan who were referred to counseling services for ADHD in the fourth quarter of 2017 and had been diagnosed with ADHD by a child counselor or therapist. The statistical population consisted of approximately 280 individuals. Of these individuals, 32 people were selected using purposeful sampling method and placed in the control and experimental groups. The required data were collected using Conner’s Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (1999) and Reynolds & Richmond Children’s Anxiety Scale (1978). The sand tray therapy intervention protocol was implemented with eight 45-minute sessions following Boycott and Goodwin’s (2000) program. The results of data analysis by MANCOVA test showed that sand tray therapy was effective on the anxiety, hyperactivity and attention deficits of ADHD children (p = 0.01). Based on this, the ANCOVA test showed that sand tray therapy significantly reduced ADHD children’s physical anxiety, sensitivity, and apprehension (p = 0.05). In addition, sand tray therapy reduced hyperactivity (p = 0.01) and attention deficits (p = 0.05) of ADHD children.