Physical Activity Intervention in Children with ADHD

Children with ADHD tend to have a more sedentary life due to motor skill deficits.The purpose of the reviewed study was to examine the effects of a physical training program combined with a simulated developmental horse riding program (SDHRP) on the motor proficiency and physical fitness of children with ADHD. Twenty four typically developing boys and 12 boys with ADHD did not receive the intervention whereas 12 boys with ADHD receive the 12 week intervention. Participants were evaluated on aerobic endurance, muscular endurance, flexibility, gross motor skills, and fine motor skills pre and post intervention. Significant improvements were reported in motor proficiency, aerobic endurance, and flexibility for the ADHD training group. The training ADHD grouped improved their motor proficiency score by 14.42 points (ES = 2.51), their PACER shuttle run by 5.33 repetitions (ES= 0.83), and their right leg flexibility by 4.58 cm (ES = 0.66), and their left leg flexibility by 4.67 cm (ES=0.57)