Intervention Proposal for Children with ADHD

In this article, occupational therapist and University of Burgos professor Olalla Saiz, together with several of her students, shares an intervention proposal for children with ADHD.

The group chosen for the intervention is made up of children aged 8 to 12 with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Symptoms of ADHD

It is defined by the ICD-10, whose diagnostic criteria specify that the person must have at least six persistent symptoms of inattention, three of hyperactivity, and one of impulsivity.

The DSM-5, meanwhile, defines ADHD more broadly. It states that the person must have at least six symptoms of inattention and six of hyperactivity or impulsivity.

In addition, symptoms must appear before age 12 in at least two settings of life and for at least 6 months.

Characteristics of ADHD

First, ADHD can present in three ways depending on the clinical picture; in this case, it is the combined presentation (hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattention).

• These children have trouble doing the same activity for a sustained period and forget routine actions;
• they often have oppositional defiant behavior problems;
• difficulty inhibiting or modulating their responses or immediate reactions to situations;
• keep in mind that they don’t reflect on the consequences of their actions, since they respond without thinking things through or make inappropriate comments without considering how others will react;
• they lack inner dialogue before acting: they answer without weighing the possibilities and effects of their responses, and by the time they realize the consequences of their actions it’s too late, which makes the action inappropriate;
• Their impulsivity makes it hard for them to wait their turn.

In short, the intervention is carried out first individually and then in a group, so Occupational Therapy must take all this information into account.

Intervention proposal for children with ADHD

Goals

The general goal is to carry out an intervention focused on attention using the NeuronUP platform.

Specific goals

There are also specific goals:

• Stimulate sustained attention,
• promote focused attention,
• encourage divided attention,
• boost alternating attention.

Structure of the intervention session

• The session for this intervention proposal for children with ADHD is designed for a 10-year-old boy with ADHD.
• The intervention will be carried out using the NeuronUP platform.
• It lasts between 30 and 40 minutes because this group has sustained attention problems, which makes longer sessions difficult.

NeuronUP activities for this intervention proposal for children with ADHD

Below, we explain in detail the activities chosen for this intervention proposal for children with ADHD:

1. Let the Games Begin!

What does it involve?

In this game, children have to sort the balls: the soccer balls on one side and the basketballs on the other, all while the balls keep moving.

What does this activity work on?

It’s an ideal activity for working on planning, selective attention, sustained attention, hemineglect, and processing speed.

Play by levels

The game is divided into 9 phases, with phase 1 being the easiest and phase 9 the hardest. The child moves up or down a level automatically based on their correct answers and mistakes, with three lives per phase.

2. Waiter in Action

What does it consist of?

In this activity, the child has to wait until the dish on the waiter’s arm matches one of the dishes around it, and then click on that dish.

What does this activity do?

Waiter in Action works on:

• Alternating attention,
• selective attention,
• sustained attention,
• inhibition.

Play by levels

The game is divided into 9 phases, with phase 1 being the easiest and phase 9 the hardest. The user moves up or down a level automatically based on their correct answers and mistakes.

What does this activity work on?

Waiter in Action works on:

• Alternating attention,
• inhibition,
• sustained attention,
• selective attention,

Play by levels

The game is divided into 9 phases, with phase 1 being the easiest and phase 9 the hardest. The user moves up or down a level automatically based on their correct answers and mistakes.

3. Discover the Missing Piece

What does it consist of?

Discover the Missing Piece involves identifying the part of the drawing that is shown.

In this activity, a part of the image that the person has to find appears at the top, as shown in the following image.

This activity will be done in person, and while it is being done, music the child likes will be played to work on divided attention.

What does this activity do?

This activity works on:

• Selective attention,
• visual gnosis.

Play by levels

The game is divided into 12 phases, with phase 1 being the easiest and phase 12 the hardest. The user moves up or down a level automatically based on their correct answers and mistakes.

4. Trap the Mice

The last exercise in this intervention proposal for children with ADHD is Trap the Mice.

What does it consist of?

In this activity, the user has to count each of the mice in the circus.

They can enter the total number of mice in two different ways: with the device’s keyboard or with the keypad provided in the activity.

What does this activity do?

This exercise is designed to work on:

• Processing speed,
• sustained attention,
• working memory,
• planning.

Customizing the activity

You can adapt the activity to fit each user’s needs. You can edit:

Parameters

• Number range.

General settings

You can also configure general settings, such as the mode of operation (correction or free mode and maximum number of errors allowed), the maximum time, whether or not to show a visible timer for the activity, and an inactivity alert. You can also edit the instructions.

In addition to Olalla Saiz, Laura Alonso, Miriam García, Luján Maestro, and Sara Martínez contributed to this article.

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“This article has been translated. Link to the original article in Spanish:”
Propuesta de intervención para niños con ADHD