Will children with ADHD be able to sit still enough to learn how to be mindful? It almost seems like an oxymoron to ask children with focus issues to pay attention to what is going on in their minds for a moment in time. Recent research, however, is proving evidence otherwise. Results of these studies are showing that mindfulness training can be adapted for children with this disorder and that it can actually improve concentration.
What is Mindfulness?
Simply stated, mindfulness is the practice of being present in the moment and experiencing things. It is “paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally," states Jon Kabat Zin, founder of the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Program (MBSR) at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center.
What is ADHD?
The National Institute for Mental Health defines Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) as, “ one of the most common childhood disorders and can continue through adolescence and adulthood. Symptoms include difficulty staying focused and paying attention, difficulty controlling behavior, and hyperactivity (over-activity”).
Recent Findings
In their report, Teaching Mindfulness to Children, Karen E. Hooker, PsyD and Iris E. Fodor, PhD, successfully presented their argument for adapting Mindfulness Based Meditation for children, including those who demonstrate symptoms of ADHD.
At UCLA's Mindful Awareness Research Center (MARC), Lidia Zylowska and Susan Smalley, Ph. found, “that it is feasible to teach people with ADHD mindfulness. On the surface it looks like a contradiction, but if you look at it, if you look at the nature of self-regulation, it’s not,” said Zylowska. Zylowski and Smalley recorded significant improvements with participants satisfied with the program. Additionally, research results do suggest that brain activity and dopamine levels may vary between those who meditate regularly and those who do not. Most importantly, they concurred that mindfulness training can be adapted for children with this disorder and that it can actually improve concentration.
Teaching Children Mindfulness
Children are first asked to sit quietly and pay attention to their breath and to feel themselves breathing in and out. Then they are asked to pay attention to their thoughts and feelings. As children practice this form of meditation, it will hopefully become a habit and give them a calmer sense and a still place to “check in” and ground themselves.
Five Suggested Mindfulness Exercises for Children with ADHD
In their report, Teaching Mindfulness to Children, Karen E. Hooker, PsyD and Iris E. Fodor, PhD, successfully presented their argument for adapting Mindfulness Based Meditation for children, including those who demonstrate symptoms of ADHD. They suggest several exercises for introducing mindfulness to children. Listed below, are exercises found to be effective with children who have ADHD:
- Start by briefly explaining mindfulness and discuss. Begin with a simple and brief exercise. For example, ask children to sit quietly and pay attention to their breathing as they breathe in and out.
- Ask students to pay attention to things in their environment. Ask each child to select one object and draw a picture. Then ask the child to spend time paying very close attention to the same object and find additional details.
- Give three raisins to each child. Ask children to pay attention to how each raisin feels, its textures and flexibility. Then have them study how it looks, colors, size etc. Children can notice if the raisins make a sound when squeezed. They can smell their aroma. Finally, children are allowed to very slowly chew each raisin and report on the experience.
- Ask children to move about the room very softly as if trying not to "Wake the baby". Ask them to pay attention to every single movement they make.
- Ask children to bring in a jelly jar. Fill it with water and sprinkle colored glitter inside the jar. Explain that the colored glitter is like their happy thoughts, angry thoughts, sad thoughts and worried thoughts. Then have them sprinkle white sand inside the jar to show their plain old ordinary thoughts. Stir the the sand and explain that this is the mind thinking about things like school work, the bus, your shoes. When you stop stirring explain that it is your mind letting go of these thoughts.
Parents and teachers may also enjoy this article: Teaching Mindfulness to Children: Tools for Learning and Living
