Cognitive and Motor Development Program for Selective and Sustained Attention in Children with ADHD

The objective of this study consisted in providing cognitive-motor skills training for children ages 7-11 years-old diagnosed with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and children without ADHD as well as identify and analyze its effect on ADHD attention span. The methodology involved execution of a program consisting of six activity sessions for a one month period plus two evaluation sessions. The proposed actions increased in complexity and were based on a constructivist model to address linguistic, mathematical, spatial or visual, kinesics, corporal and musical learning styles. A Stroop Test, Selective Attention and A Test were used to perform the assessments. Cohen's D was used to determine the impact of the program, the result being an increase in cognitive skills. A score of -0.261 was obtained for the Stroop Test and 0.359 for the A Test. Qualitative results were analyzed through observation tools, consisting, mainly of attitudinal, cognitive and executive responses which were classified and analyzed with Atlas Ti Software. It was concluded that the effects of a cognitive-motor training program in children with ADHD improve cognitive abilities including selective attention and sustained attention and contributing to their feeling more confident and in control of their negative emotions and fear of making mistakes.