Multimodal Behavior Program for ADHD Incorporating Yoga and Implemented by High School Volunteers: A Pilot Study

Abstract

A low-cost resource approach to ADHD therapy would be a practical approach to treating children in developing countries. Research has shown that ADHD is prevalent in all areas of the world, and yet treatment for children in more impoverished countries is still lacking. The approach taken was to combine yoga and meditation combined with multimodal behavioral therapy program for children ageing 6 to 11. The program was kept low cost by using trained high school volunteers and integrating the program within the public school. After 6 weeks of the program, 90.5% of children showed improvement as measured by their performance impairment score, a measurement of academic performance. Parent and Teacher evaluations of behavior also found improvement as 25 of the 64 children (39.1%) improved into the normal range as measured by the Vanderbilt questionnaire. Moreover, children could successfully learn both yoga and meditation from high school students irrespective of their age, ADHD type, or initial performance impairment. The results demonstrate efficacy of a multimodal behavioral program incorporating yoga and meditation. The use of high school volunteers from schools in the area demonstrates an effective low-cost and universally applicable approach.

Mindfulness Meditation Training for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Adulthood: Current Empirical Support, Treatment Overview, and Future Directions

“… 1 Additional studies have also considered treatments that are included within the category of or overlap with meditation-based interventions, including transcendental meditation and yoga-based interventions (Abadi, Madgaonkar, & Venkatesan, 2008; Grosswald, Stixrud, Travis, & Bateh, 2008; Haffner, Roos, Goldstein, Parzer, & Resch, 2006; Harrison, Manocha, & Rubia, 2004; Jensen & Kenny, 2004; Mehta et al, 2011; Mehta et al, 2012). Although there are similarities, these interventions differentiate from mindfulness meditation training programs.…”

Peer-Mediated Multimodal Intervention Program for the Treatment of Children with ADHD in India: One-Year Followup

“…Multimodal behavioral programs integrating play therapy, exercise, and reward systems using psychologists have been shown to help the majority of children with ADHD [14]. We established a pilot project incorporating yoga and meditation in a multimodal behavioral program called Climb-Up, and reported our 6 week intervention findings recently [15]. We noted similar global improvement irrespective of the type of ADHD.…”

“…All 910 children ageing 6 to 11 were screened for ADHD using the Initial Teacher Vanderbilt Assessment. As reported previously, 80 children were identified, using Vanderbilt questionnaires as the assessment tool and a specific diagnosis made by a neurodevelopment pediatrician using DSM IV criteria [15] (see Appendix). Parents of 76 of these children signed informed consent forms and agreed to have their child enroll, 70 had completed initial teacher evaluations, and 69 stayed in the program consistently for 12 months.…”

Can The Cognitive Parameters Of College Students With Learning Disabilities Benefit From Using Mahapraan, A Breathing Based Preksha Meditation?

“…In addition, the studies had been poorly designed with few randomized controlled trials (Serwacki & Cook-Cottone, 2012). Recently, Mahapraan and yoga as part of a multimodal approach was found effective in a longitudinal study in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (Mehta et al, 2011;Mehta et al, 2012), suggesting that a possible benefit in college-age students may also be determined. Mahapraan is a form of Naad (Suriji Maharaja, 1997), or sound-based meditation, taught by Acharya Mahapragya as part of his Jain yoga system called Preksha Dhyana or Preksha Meditation (Mahapragya, 1994).…”

“…Indeed, such sounds or mantras centered around specific vibrations are often incorporated as the initiation of common meditation techniques. The advantages of using Mahapraan as the main method include its simplicity in practice and ability to measure progress, as well as its adherence to prescribed frequency based on changes in physiological parameters, such as increasing length of expiration or improved pulmonary function, which have proved to be a result of its consistent use (Mehta et al, 2011). Simplicity not only increases the likelihood of students with learning disabilities being able to adopt the technique, but also enables the technique to spread readily, with minimal cost incurred for training.…”