Effects of Perceptual Motor Games Training on Motor Skills and Symptoms in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Attention–Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is defined as a pattern of severe persistent problems, such as difficulty sustaining attention, hyperactivity, and impulsive behavior, associated with a greater frequency of developmental disorders, compared to Typically–Developing (TD) children. This disorder is described as a persistent pattern of attentional deficits or impulsive and active behaviors. ADHD is a multifactorial condition with an unrecognized exact etiology. Failure to pay attention to the diagnosis and treatment of this disorder, i.e., increasing, will lead to numerous adjustment, educational, and behavioral problems, aggression, etc., in adulthood. Perceptual–Motor games can play a stimulating role on the nervous system and increase motor skills in children. Motor mastery is referred to physical skills, resulting from the performance of a skill of choice that can affect physical activity. Motor skills are critical in children. This is because they are a prerequisite for participation in social activities, such as group play and sports; thus, they influence their self–esteem and social wellbeing. Additionally, promoting participation in routine childhood activities, such as sports participation, leisure activities, writing, and daily living activities, like tie shoelaces plays an essential role in the development of the child's self–concept. Some studies suggested that motor skills in children with ADHD are also poorer, compared to their TD peers. Therefore, these children have difficulty understanding, processing, and using sensory information. In other words, there is a relationship between ADHD and different aspects of motor skills (fine motor skills, coarse motor skills). ADHD is defined as a pattern of severe attention deficit and hyperactivity or continuous neglect with more repetition than children with the same growth rate. The present study aimed to determine the effects of cognitive–motor skills learning training on motor skills and the symptoms of ADHD.

This was a quasi–experimental study with pretest–posttest and a control group design. The statistical population of this study included all children of preschool centers of Tehran Province, Iran. Of them, 90 subjects were purposively selected and randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. The necessary data were obtained using the Brauninx–Oseretsky Motion Excellence Scale short–form (1978), and the Conners–Wald Formula Child Behavioral Scale (Ritman et al., 1998). Data analysis was performed using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) by SPSS. The significance level was set at 0.05.

The obtained findings suggested that the cognitive–motor learning program improved motor skills (p<0.001) and resulted in the reduction of total ADHD symptoms (p<0.001) in the examined children.

The obtained data indicated that perceptual–motor games training is beneficial for improving social adjustment and motor skills, and reducing the total ADHD symptoms scores. Thus, this method can be implemented for the empowerment of children with ADHD.