Evidence Based Research Study Supports Value of Stability Balls as Academic Seating
Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder pay more attention and are better at remaining on task
when their classroom chairs are replaced by stability balls, according to research conducted by a team from the University of Kentucky.
“Stability Balls and Students With Attention and Hyperactivity Concerns: Implications for On-Task and In-Seat Behavior,” published in The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, reports marked improvement in the observed behaviors of children identified with ADHD, and clinically significant decline in scores on the Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Test (ADHDT).
Teachers in classrooms where stability balls have been tried claim better attention and improved behavior of ADHD students. The Kentucky investigators set out to test the validity of those reports. They also wanted to expand on a 2003 research paper that looked at the effectiveness of stability balls. The study focused on 4th and 5th graders at an elementary school in central Kentucky. While all the students in the selected classrooms swapped their regular chairs for stability balls and all received the ADHDT, students classified as having a “high” or “very high” probability of ADHD were also the subjects of behavioral observation in school by graduate students.
“This study supports what we have been finding in classrooms that use the AlertSeat™, said Howard Newman, president of Newman Adaptive. “We make the AlertSeats available for testing by schools because we believe that the benefits can be observed. The AJOT article supports that view.”
To find out if your classroom or therapy setting qualifies as a test site for Newman Adaptive products, send your request to info@alertseat.com.
To read the entire American Journal of Occupational Therapy article, click here.
