Comparison the Effects of Brain Gym and Aerobic Exercise on Attention in Children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Abstract

Introduction and Aim: Attention deficit is one of the common disorders in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, which has many negative consequences for learning. Therefore, the present present research was conducted with the aim of comparison the effects of brain gym and aerobic exercise on attention in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Methodology: This research was applied in terms of purpose and quasi-experimental with a pre-test and post-test design with two experimental groups and a control group in terms of implementation method. The research population was girl students with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder of Tehran city, which number of 45 children were selected using availble sampling method and randomly assigned to three groups of 15 people. The first experimental group received 24 sessions of 60-minute the brain gym and the second experimental group received 25 sessions of 45-60-minute the aerobic exercise, and the control group remained on the waiting list for training. The research instruments included the Parent Rating Scale for Symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder-4 (Swanson et al., 1981), Revised Coloured Progressive Matrices Test (Raven, 1965), and Color-Word Test (Stroop, 1935). The data of the present study were analyzed using univariate analysis of covariance and Bonferroni post hoc test in SPSS version 25.

Findings: The results of this study showed that there was a significant difference between children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder in the experimental and control groups in terms of attention (P<0.001). Also, both brain gym and aerobic exercise compared to the control group increased attention in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (P<0.01). In addition, the effect of brain gym compared to aerobic exercise in increasing attention in them was greater (P<0.01).

Conclusion: According to the results of this research, it is better for specialists and therapists to use brain gym to increase attention in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.