The effects of play therapy based on sensory integration (SI) on executive functioning and social adjustment of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is one of the childhood disorders with a fixed pattern of attention deficit and hyperactivity that about 3 to 7 percent of primary school children suffer from in the pre-puberty stage. One of the therapeutic interventions that can be performed in a group is the sensory integration therapy model, so the purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of play therapy based on sensory integration on the executive function and social adjustment of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, which was used as a semi-experimental research method with a pre-test-post-test design. The statistical population consisted of 8-10-year-old children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in 2018, who had referred to medical centers in Tehran. 30 people were divided into two groups of 15 people using the targeted sampling method. In this research, from two questionnaires for the behavioral rating of executive functions (Parent Form) (Guy& et al, 2000) and children's social adjustment questionnaire (Dokhanchi, 1998) and the play therapy course based on the plan (Horwitz & Roset, 2007; Tabrizi & Esteki, 2012; Babaei, 2014) has been used. Data analysis was done using analysis of covariance test. The findings showed that the effect of play therapy based on sensory integration on the executive function and social adaptation of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder was significant. Therefore, play therapy based on sensory integration can be used to improve the executive function and social adaptation of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.