May
27
A natural therapy
Filed Under Misc
Studies show that children with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder greatly benefit from spending time in natural environments. Any natural environment, be it a forest or a backyard, can help with problems of inattention, impulsivity, or hyperactivity, and improve focus, creativity, social skills and self-esteem.
ADHD is an umbrella term that encompasses attention deficit disorder and symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity defined as greatly interfering with daily functioning. Children with ADHD also frequently exhibit underdeveloped social skills, poor self-concept, negative self-image, and high levels of clinical depression.
Amy Ritter, a researcher at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign specializing in children with ADHD and nature, presented new interpretations of research at the Notebaert Nature Museum on Thursday, showing just why it is that nature is such an effective therapy for children with ADHD.
Nature offers “a place to recover from attention fatigue,” and this is especially important for children with ADHD. Refuge areas occur naturally in the outdoors, and if there are none, children tend to build them, said Ritter. Examples include tree houses, forts and hiding spaces.
Plasticity, which refers to an environment that has loose parts, is also very important. In natural settings, there are leaves, sticks and stones which children are free to handle, create with and destroy, she said.
Kids with ADD show tendency toward kinesthetic and tactile learning styles, which nature provides. It also encourages creativity. “No one tells you what this stick is for. It could be a phone, it could be a sword,” Ritter said.
Ritter believes spending time in nature is critical for helping children to develop necessary social skills. “They [Educators] think social development will just naturally happen. But we have programs to develop physical skills and academic skills –what about social skills?”
“We have had a lot of interest from all over the world, but as of yet I am not sure of any therapists who have started using natural environments as a therapy technique,” Ritter said.
“One problem that I see with medications is the idea of changing the child more than changing the way we view the child. It’s really important and to think about how we can change the environment to support them.”
Ritter works at the Landscape and Human Health Laboratory that has documented many connections between nature and human health. Studies show, for example, that trees near home boost your concentration and ability to cope, as well as reducing domestic violence, and certain residential landscaping can decrease crime.
For more information on these and other studies, please visit http://www.lhhl.uiuc.edu. To see what other lectures and exhibits are happening at the Nature Museum, visit www.naturemuseum.org.