Effects of recess on the classroom behavior of children with and without attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder

The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects, of a traditional recess on the subsequent classroom behavior of children with a diagnosis of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). In addition, the time of recess was matched to the behavior of the individual children diagnosed with ADHD based on prior assessment of their classroom behavior as a function of time of confinement in the classroom. All results were evaluated using single-case designs. Results showed that levels of inappropriate behavior were consistently higher on days when participants did not have recess, compared with days when they did have recess. Results also showed that the level of inappropriate behavior for all participants progressively increased over time on days when they did not have recess. However, this progressive increase did not occur on days when the participants had recess.