Summary and Evaluation of “Comparison of Physical Fitness Performance Between Elementary-Ages Students With and Without Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder” by Andrew M. Colombo-Dougovito
Several studies have linked attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with reduced motor skill development, coordination and athletic ability. These studies have also postured that ADHD is associated with a myriad of motor deficits which affect reaction times in children with this disorder. Because few authors have explained or looked into the fitness levels of children with ADHD and the link between these children and difficulty performing motor tasks, the author of this article chose to do just that and conducted a study to see exactly what …show more content…
The boys and girls with ADHD scored significantly better on every test item.
Explanation of Findings
There were three arguments that evolved from the ANOVA and MANOVA analyses, but one of them will not be discussed here as it lumps children with ADHD, another additional form of learning disability, decreased motor development, and reading issues together and that was not what this study was trying to prove.
The first argument, being that because there were so few differences between the two groups of children, the assertions that kids with ADHD were more likely to be lagging behind, fitness-wise, was not able to be proven. In fact, the tests revealed tremendous similarities between the two groups of children, with the children with ADHD doing a bit better than the children without. This begs to differ with the previous research claims that children with ADHD are developmentally stunted compared to their peers. Instead, it shows that it is possible that kids with ADHD have greater endurance and muscle …show more content…
It still incorporates sprints, push-ups and pull-ups, but also includes body fat and body mass measurements. There is also a change in the focus of the results. It recognizes personal gain versus competition.
I would also like to have seen a higher number of children with ADHD in the study. The number of children without ADHD was five times greater than the number of children with ADHD which leads me to question the validity and reliability of this particular study. I would like to see a study with an even distribution of children with and without ADHD, but also a larger sample of children so that the results might be extrapolated to the general population.
I feel that this particular study should be taken a step further to look at how physical activity might negate the mental aspects of ADHD, because this study demonstrated that children with ADHD could stay on task.
Several studies have linked attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with reduced motor skill development, coordination and athletic ability. These studies have also postured that ADHD is associated with a myriad of motor deficits which affect reaction times in children with this disorder. Because few authors have explained or looked into the fitness levels of children with ADHD and the link between these children and difficulty performing motor tasks, the author of this article chose to do just that and conducted a study to see exactly what …show more content…
The boys and girls with ADHD scored significantly better on every test item.
Explanation of Findings
There were three arguments that evolved from the ANOVA and MANOVA analyses, but one of them will not be discussed here as it lumps children with ADHD, another additional form of learning disability, decreased motor development, and reading issues together and that was not what this study was trying to prove.
The first argument, being that because there were so few differences between the two groups of children, the assertions that kids with ADHD were more likely to be lagging behind, fitness-wise, was not able to be proven. In fact, the tests revealed tremendous similarities between the two groups of children, with the children with ADHD doing a bit better than the children without. This begs to differ with the previous research claims that children with ADHD are developmentally stunted compared to their peers. Instead, it shows that it is possible that kids with ADHD have greater endurance and muscle …show more content…
It still incorporates sprints, push-ups and pull-ups, but also includes body fat and body mass measurements. There is also a change in the focus of the results. It recognizes personal gain versus competition.
I would also like to have seen a higher number of children with ADHD in the study. The number of children without ADHD was five times greater than the number of children with ADHD which leads me to question the validity and reliability of this particular study. I would like to see a study with an even distribution of children with and without ADHD, but also a larger sample of children so that the results might be extrapolated to the general population.
I feel that this particular study should be taken a step further to look at how physical activity might negate the mental aspects of ADHD, because this study demonstrated that children with ADHD could stay on task.