The ADHD Child Can Play
Toys for Children with
ADHD*
by Sid Berger and Gwynn Torres
Creativity Institute Owners
Childhood should be playful.
Play is said to be the work of children. But, sometimes, the ability
to play becomes strained when children have conditions such as
Attention Deficit Disorder, with or without hyperactivity (ADD/ADHD).
Part of living
with a child with ADHD is to understand the special needs of these
children in order to maintain a happy and healthy balance. This
includes the necessity of selecting the right playthingsß
so playtime activities do not become more stressful by conflicting
with what these children can comfortably manage and enjoy. One
way we've heard ADHD described is that it's a performance disorder
and not a deficiency of knowledge or skill. It is primarily manifested
as a set of symptoms that interfere with the ability to focus
on a task and get it completed.
Child psychologists and psychiatrists
value the importance of play in therapy for children with ADHD.
The right types of play allow children to express themselves in
ways they can't do otherwise. Play within the right context and
with the right supervision can also improve a child's focusing
abilities and help him or her to learn the basics of getting along
more cooperatively with other children. Medical attention for
proper diagnosis and consideration of medication are certainly
the core of treatment of ADHD. But in many situations, proper
managing of a child's environment and activities can do a lot
to keep the symptomatic behavior under control.
A toy doesn't have to be full
of moving or electronic parts to stimulate a child's imagination.
Children with ADHD often have difficulty with multi-step instructions
and have an inability to stay focused on the task at hand. They
frequently become frustrated with themselves in these situations.
Toys can be very simple and still do a better job of keeping a
child focused and entertained as well as giving them an outlet
to express their feelings. Two such toy categories are pretend
play and art supplies.
The flexibility of these traditional
play activities can be as simple or involved as the opportunity
permits. So, because these types of play are events of totally
variable lengths, a child can complete the activity and feel a
sense of accomplishment and build confidence.
Another advantage of pretend play
and artistic activities for children with ADHD is that these categories
of play allow parents and caregivers to provide positive feedback
and reinforcement that is invaluable in keeping the child focused...and
invaluable for the child's self esteem.
Pretend Play
Children of almost every
age enjoy pretend play and benefit from the exploration of feelings
that it affords. Dolls and action figures, puppets, costumes and
even blocks are all toy categories that allow a child to fantasize
and act out situations. Under the right supervision, children
with ADHD can learn the value of considering the consequences
of their actions. As they decide what happens next in their fantasy,
they can get a better understanding of how others react to certain
actions. In situations where you can encourage them to finish
their story line, you also can help them to get used to following
through on a task.
Drama. Dramatic activities such as skits, recitations,
puppet shows and simple story telling can let a child concentrate
on being a different character for a short time. Put a costume
on them and watch how quickly they start getting into character.
However, it may take direction from you to keep them focused and
enjoying the event.
Costumes need not be elaborate
to let a child be another character. 
It
only need be representational. A single feather in a headband,
a necktie, scrubs or even just a sign or patch fastened to clothing
is enough to let a child jump into another role. Let the child
use his or her imagination to help find costume pieces as part
of the dramatic play process. And don't restrict them to the costume
box. Colanders make great space helmets.
When Sid's children were growing
up, they had a "costume closet" with an assortment of
coats, brightly colored shirts, hats and accessories such as scarves,
belts, wigs and, of course, masks. If an article of clothing became
outdated, before disposing of it, they'd consider its costume
potential. Putting together a costume for Halloween was always
a big event. On top of that, living in New Orleans gives us Mardi
Gras as a second costuming event each year.
Playhouses and play tents. Giving a child a space of his or her
own is a great way to encourage imaginative pretend play. Whether
it's stretching a sheet over dining room chairs to make a house
or a purchased indoor or outdoor playhouse or play tent with a
theme, a child is free to role play and make up scenarios that
could happen in the space.
At The Creativity Institute, we
carry several types of playhouses,
play tents and tunnels in themes that include a teepee,
theater
tent, castle
and military camouflage.
We also carry puppet
theaters that can double as play stores and other types of
play spaces. Our big
foam blocks are large enough to make make-believe buildings
and tunnels a child can climb over and under. We also have play
panels that can be moved around to create an everchanging
mix of play environments. This type of pretend play is also conducive
to playing with others, offering an opportunity for a child to
develop those all-important socialization skills.
Puppet shows. Puppets
allow a child to act out many different roles and have fun with character voices. 
There
are many sources for skits that can be adapted to the puppet stage
and even ready-to-perform scripts in your library and on the Web.
At The Creativity Institute, we have a section
devoted to puppetry with puppets
and puppet
theaters. You'll find links
to script resources on the Internet, puppeteer
tips and even a free
sample script we adapted for the puppet stage. To make it
easier to get started, we've bundled together puppets and puppet
theater packages and even grouped puppet casts with accompanying
scripts, ready to perform. There's an Aesop's
Fables Puppet Starter Set with five puppets and four fables
adapted to the puppet stage. There's also an Old
MacDonald Puppet Starter Set with Farmer MacDonald and seven
barnyard animal puppets and an accompanying script of the song.
Again, your direction will be invaluable in providing enough structure
for the event that will let the children have a greater sense
of accomplishment and stay interested longer.
Record it. Getting the performances down on tape
gives everyone more opportunities to laugh and enjoy it all over
again. There's a difference between taping the children playing
at creating the performance and "making a movie" of
the show, and both are wonderful to watch again and again. Taping
the children at play shows their performance, as well as the behind-the-scenes
preparation. Making a movie is just a matter of trying to capture
what the audience would see. All you have to do is prepare the
children for the scene and start and stop the camera at the right
times - and move on. You can even start with a title card the
children can make for the show - using their own artistic skills.
Dollhouses and activity sets. Playing with dolls and action figures
is another valuable opportunity for pretend play. Dollhouses,
toy pirate
ships, castles,
firehouses, farms and other traditional activity sets have the
magic to let children get lost in their imaginations. Even the
more popular activity sets based on movies and TV shows allow
the same opportunities. And don't forget what imaginations can
do with boxes, blocks and anything that can become the setting
for a creative play session.
Blocks. Toys for children with ADHD should be
simple and encourage the use of their imaginations, and one of
the most basic toys is blocks.
Block play can be great for many ages. From simple stack-up and
knock-over fun to imaginative building. Blocks teach problem-solving
skills, because a child discovers how stacking and matching can
produce different results. They can also become components of
pretend play, because a child can fantasize what the structures
are. There are also big
foam blocks that are almost "life size" and let
children create their own fantasy playhouses. These lightweight
blocks are so versatile, they can be climbed on or tunneled under.
Magnetic
block and construction sets have pieces that connect in more
ways than can conventional plastic snap-together blocks and allow
even more imaginative opportunities. We also carry a selection
of traditional
and colorful wooden blocks.
Blocks, like many traditional
toys, have other educational advantages for a child with ADHD.
The number of positive outcomes is limitless, so children can
continue playing until they've reached a level of personal satisfaction.
Art Activities
Any medium such as crayons, markers, chalk, paint and clay can
give a child a wealth of expressive opportunities. Sometimes you
may want to suggest a subject idea to get them started. Art
supplies are some of the least expensive educational toys
you can provide. Gwynn used to bring home old stationery and unused
printed samples to give her children a virtually unlimited supply
of art paper. And here's something you can try on a big scale.
Sid used to get unused paper billboards from the local outdoor
company and tack them on his backyard fence, backside out, to
give the children blank giant-size panels for murals. The change
in scale of their artist's canvas gets them thinking of possibilities
in a different perspective and keeps them intrigued for hours.
Another way to give structure to art activities is with their
own easel. We carry a selection of folding, double-sided and adjustable
easels
that provide a convenient supply of paper and drawing surfaces.
Books
There are many books
that can hold a child's attention. The public library is a great
start and your librarian can help you. Garage sales and community
book fairs are a great way to build a library of your own.
The Oppenheim
Toy Portfolio listed the top toys for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD) and included, among other things, a magnetic construction
set, a tree-house-theme dollhouse play set, a decorate-it-yourself
birdfeeder, board games and a simple, basic rubber ball. Oppenheim
also suggested the toy general categories of dramatic play and
artistic activities.
_______________
*The National Institute of Mental
Health recommends that if ADHD is suspected, the diagnosis should
be made by a professional with training in ADHD. This includes
child psychiatrists, psychologists, developmental/behavioral pediatricians,
behavioral neurologists and clinical social workers. After ruling
out other possible reasons for the child's behavior, the specialist
checks the child's school and medical records and talks to teachers
and parents who have filled out a behavior rating scale for the
child. A diagnosis is made only after all this information has
been considered.
© 2005 The Creativity Institute,
Inc. Please credit authors Gwynn Torres and Sid Berger of The Creativity Institute,
creativityinstitute.com.
MORE ON CHILD CREATIVITY
Make
your child
more creative for life.
Every child has creative
ability just waiting to be tapped. Even infants have budding creative
potential. The right educational toys can bring it out. and let
children enjoy the benefits of creative pursuits at many levels.
Infants,
toddlers,
preschoolers,
early
school age and older
school age children all delight in opportunities for creative
expression through colors, shapes and sounds.
At The Creativity Institute, we handpick each infant educational
toy, every creative plaything, each piece of furniture and every
toy musical instrument based on its potential for developing vital
creative resources in your child.
Toy
pianos, oversized
foam building blocks, puppet
theaters and puppet stages and people
and animal hand puppets, art
supplies and children's
easels, play
tents and more. The scale and durability of many of these
toys make them perfect for classrooms, homeschool,
day care centers and waiting rooms, too. The benefits of nurturing
creativity can be profound, offering children tools for success
in all endeavors athletic, artistic or academic. Let your baby
begin now.