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A recent study links simple ‘green time’ (time spent outdoors in nature; and for the purposes of this particular study expansive green fields or lawns) to milder symptoms for children with Attention Deficit and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders (ADD, ADHD).
Some complain that we over-diagnose and over- medicate children with ADD or ADHD; some doubt that it is even real. Ask a parent whose child is challenged with these disorders – it’s very real and, thankfully, treatable. Medications, therapies, and modifying approaches to learning all help.
Scouting takes advantage of the joy of getting outdoors to go camping; of reducing life to its essentials, of communing with the natural world. While we have always known this is beneficial there’s a growing body of scientific evidence that getting outdoors has a direct effect on the symptoms of ADD and ADHD.
From Science Daily:
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 9.5 percent of children aged 4-17 had been diagnosed with ADHD as of 2007. Symptoms include severe difficulty concentrating, hyperactivity and poor impulse control.
… the researchers examined parents’ descriptions of their child’s daily play setting and overall symptom severity. They also looked at the children’s age, sex, formal diagnosis (ADD or ADHD) and total household income.
The analyses revealed an association between routine play in green, outdoor settings and milder ADHD symptoms.
“On the whole, the green settings were related to milder overall symptoms than either the ‘built outdoors’ or ‘indoors’ settings,” Taylor said.
The researchers also found that children who were high in hyperactivity (diagnosed with ADHD rather than ADD) tended to have milder symptoms if they regularly played in a green and open environment (such as a soccer field or expansive lawn) rather than in a green space with lots of trees or an indoor or built outdoor setting.
Kuo noted that the findings don’t by themselves prove that routine playtime in green space reduces symptom severity in children with ADHD. But in light of all the previous studies showing a cause-and-effect relationship between exposure to nature and improved concentration and impulse control, she said, “it is reasonably safe to guess that that’s true here as well.”
The study was authored by University of Illinois natural resources and environmental sciences professor Frances (Ming) Kuo and crop sciences visiting teaching associate Andrea Faber Taylor appears in the journal Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being.
Being dyslexic myself i have figured out how to do with what i have
i go about thing differently but just as many times my dyslexic could be blamed
for something i don’t do well there are almost as many times as i can “blame” dyslexic for how i excell at other things
i have a few ADD ADHD cubs in my pack and we all work well with them and one of our new cubs has autisum and it would be said that it is not a mild case but as we told the mom
with her particpation he will be able TO HIS BEST and do something that his brother does the smile on her face was indeed priceless.
Everyone is somewhat dyslexic. Sometime. If you know someone long enough they will exhibit at least some slight dyslexic tendency. Some people maybe only 2%. Maybe some more.
Did you know ADHD makes for a great Scoutmaster, expecially if his Committee Chair is OCD. We keep each other in check and enjoy working with the scouts together in our roles. But even more so, since I was diagnosed this past Spring, it has given me a greater understanding of those scouts with ADHD and working with them. Keep in mind that people with ADD/ADHD tend to think outside the box more (and more reckless), so you can image how many crazy ideas I can come up with in working with the scouts.
But we need to state one thing up front, ADHD or ADD (the same) is not a disease, but a disorder. It is genenic based like Diabeties. There is not cure. I was talking to one of my past parents, who was asking about my son. His view was that kids grow out of ADHD, but this is incorrect as both my son (adult now) and I have it. He looked at me with a strange shock, and I added, “that’s what made me such a good scoutmaster”, and he then understood.
One of the biggest issues I have is how adult volunteers handle scouts with ADHD. It is almost a topic in of itself with scouting. Parents have a hard enough challenge working with their childern, and since it is genetic, often the parent also struggles with it. It is a topic for training that could be greatly welcomed for better leadership from adults.
I suspect I am somewhere on the ADD side of things myself. You note that ADD is a disorder that one lives with rather than a disease that can be cured is important .
My approach is slightly different. ADD, ADHD and autism are, to me at least, simply differences in the way that people look at the world. These differences provide varying points of view and these variances often result in some creative approaches that others may not see. Much has been said about historic figures (artists, writers, politicians, scientists, inventors) that indicates they exhibited behavior indicating they probably would be diagnosed with some perceptual disorder today.
I actually suffer from ADD and have my whole life. My sister has a much worse case than I do along with some other issues. I did a study up at the University of Utah at age 22 and was placed on a medication for the first time in my life. Shortly after my divorce, I decided it is time for me to control my ADD without medication through being more organized, learning how to study with my disorder and learning to “control myself”. I don’t tell people I have ADD. I am who I am. My diangosis doesn’t define me.
Scouting has done nothing but help me. I still have my moments where I am “wound up inside” and can’t find the outlet to get rid of it. Exercise helps though. Scouting is great for ADD and ADHD!