Fidget to Focus

If you’ve read Fidget to Focus, you know we’ve been telling people for years that listening to  music while you do your homework really can help.

A newly published study examined this phenomenon in a controlled experiment. The results were most revealing.

In this study, inattentive schoolchildren performed significantly better when so-called white noise was played during class. However, the background noise had the opposite effect on normally attentive children, whose classroom performance deteriorated.

This may explain why it’s so hard for others to believe that some of us really can study better with our music on!

The citation for the study is:

Söderlund G, et al “The effects of background white noise on memory performance in inattentive school children.” Behav Brain Funct 2010; DOI: 10.1186/1744-9081-6-55.

You can find it here: http://www.behavioralandbrainfunctions.com/
And a summary here: http://www.medpagetoday.com/Pediatrics/ADHD-ADD/22481

So, what do you think? Can you study better when there’s background noise?

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in adults is often a hidden and overlooked disorder even among the most skilled clinicians. While professionals believed that children and adolescents would outgrow their symptoms of ADHD by puberty, recent research has shown that as many as 67% of children with ADHD continue to have symptoms as an adult that significantly interfere with education, careers, and relationships. Despite increasing awareness and education, many adults with ADHD remain unidentified and untreated. The prevailing symptoms of inattention, impulsivity, hyperactivity and emotional ability are often obscured by difficulties with relationships, organization, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, substance abuse, employment, learning disabilities or other comorbid psychological problems. Although ADHD is a complex disorder to differentially diagnose, it is possible when given a more thorough understanding of the etiology, prevalence, and neurochemistry of ADHD. An accurate diagnosis is necessary for effective treatment. While there is no cure for ADHD, many adults learn to manage it quite successfully. For those who struggle with their symptoms, a multimodal approach to treatment is most helpful. Education is an important first step as self-knowledge is necessary in order to learn coping skills and develop mastery. Cognitive behavioral interventions often incorporate building a personal structure that is different from previous efforts. Time management and planning are essential skills that must incorporate a daily planner and task lists. Taking consistent and reliable actions are day-to-day strategies that not only improve the practical but also heal the grief of broken promises. Many collaborative interventions are also available when therapy calls for additional strategies. Interventions include working memory training, neurofeedback, coaching, meditation, support/training groups, career counseling, and medication. While adults with ADHD cannot be cured, they can remove the curse of broken promises. Their new lives can be built around the gifts of ADHD, like inspiration, intensity and immediacy.
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The powerpoint presentation Dr. Rotz used at the Education Minnesota Teachers Conference, explaining how activity in our sensory system impacts ADHD and executive functions, is available in the previous post.  The presentation blended with the unveiling of the AlphaBetter Desk or “stand up desk” with the swinging footrest.  The desk, which was originated by Abby Brown, is an outstanding alternative for ADHD children, teens and adults  to allow them to be ADHD invisible in the classroom!  To learn more about the desk, you can contact Dr. Rotz, or go online at www.safco.com or www.standupforlearning.com.

One thing Dr. Rotz and I dream of is that Fidget to Focus one day will be required reading for every elementary and high school teacher. Imagine how the school experience would change for all children if teachers understood the neuro-biological reason for fidgeting and and used fidgeting to enhance learning rather than trying to eliminate it! This month we got one step closer to that dream.

The Education Minnesota Professional Conference is Minnesota’s largest professional development event for educators. This year, Dr. Rotz was the keynote speaker. His presentation was well received by the hundreds of educators there, and at the bookstore Fidget to Focus sold out! For those who are interested, here’s the PowerPoint from his presentation: Fidget to Focus-Sensory System Impact on ADHD Minnesota

We were pleased to find out about this article by , staff writer for the Orlando Sentinel. She is also reporting on the new research out of the University of Central Florida that documents what so many of us have known for so long: fidgeting helps you stay focused (see the article in Time Magazine that we blogged on earlier).

In her article from May 25, 2009, Linda writes:

If you’ve got a kid with ADHD, you’ve probably spent countless hours pleading with him to sit still.

Well, stop it.

Fidgeting, as it turns out, helps kids with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder focus. So just like grown-ups need a cup of coffee before tackling a problem, kids with ADHD may tap their feet, swivel in their chairs or bounce in their seats while their brains are busily figuring out that math test.

That’s the conclusion of a groundbreaking study conducted by a team at the University of Central Florida, led by Dr. Mark Rapport.

You can read the rest of the article HERE.

(Thanks, Linda!)