The Effect of Play Therapy on Symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Children Aged 6 – 9 Years

Abstract

           The purposes of this quasi-experimental research were: 1) to compare symptoms of 6 - 9 year old Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Children (ADHA), before and after received play therapy and 2) to compare symptoms of ADHA children, aged 6 - 9 years, among children received play therapy and those received usual nursing care. Research sample consisted of forty children with ADHD, age 6 - 9 years, from outpatient clinic of Yuwaprasartwaithayopathum hospital, selected according to inclusion criteria and matched pair by age and gender, then, equally assigned to an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group received play therapy with caregiver involvement, composed of simple to complex play for 2 weeks. The control group received usual nursing care. Research instruments were: 1) personal data questionnaire of children with ADHD, 2) Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham IV scale (SNAP-IV), caregiver version, 3) nurses’ manual on play therapy, 4) play ability scale.  All instruments were content validated by a panel of 6 experts. The reliability of SNAP-IV scale and play ability scale were 0.89 and 0.93, respectively. The t-test was used in data analysis. Major findings were as followed:

1. The mean score of symptoms of ADHA among children after received play therapy was significantly that before, at the .05 level (t = 13.36).


2. The mean score of symptoms of ADHA among children who received play therapy was significantly from symptoms of ADHA among children who received usual nursing care, at the .05 level (t = 4.50).