Moving Helps ADHD Kids Focus

Study shows that the tendency to fidget improves focus for ADHD children.

Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) frequently fidget when they perform challenging tasks, and a new study from the University of Central Florida reveals that this natural inclination to move around actually helps them stay alert enough to complete the tasks. The findings are published in the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology.

In studies of 8- to 12-year-old boys, study author Mark D. Rapport found that children became more active when they were required to remember and manipulate computer-generated letters, numbers and shapes for a short time. Children with ADHD became significantly more active--moving their hands and feet and swiveling in their chairs more--than their peers during those tasks.

Rapport's research indicates that children with ADHD need to move more to maintain the required level of alertness while performing tasks that challenge their working memory.

Read more about the findings of the study.