Hammocks: At-Home Occupational Therapy for ADHD Fidgets

Like therapeutic swings or rocking chairs, our new hammock has helped calm my ADD/ADHD and LD daughter's hyperactive wiggles. She loves it, or does she love our hamper? Did you hear the one about the ADD/ADHD and LD child who confuses the meaning of words?

by Kay Marner

My husband Don bought a hammock last weekend, and, once he installed the hooks and hung it up in our back yard, our 9-year-old daughter Natalie, who has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD) and learning disabilities (LD), couldn’t stay off of it. Natalie does some stereotypical wiggling, and her psychologist had mentioned that, like a rocking chair, a hammock would provide an unobtrusive outlet for Nat to experience a rocking motion; which seems to both stimulate and soothe her. A hammock also does a little “hugging”, wrapping around her body, kind of like some of the specially designed swings she’s used in occupational therapy.

Nat is so excited about the new hammock, that she’s telling everyone about it.

“We have a new hamper!” she informed her respite worker, Allie, on the phone.

A hamper? If it somehow becomes a receptacle for Natalie’s trail of dirty clothes scattered all over the house, this hammock/hamper will really be a useful tool!

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Source: Hammocks: At-Home Occupational Therapy for ADHD Fidgets