Effects of play therapy on reducing mental and physical symptoms in children with ADHD: A systematic review

Poster Presentation
Paper ID : 1226-SSRC
Authors
1کارشناسی ارشد آسیب شناسی و حرکات اصلاحی، دانشگاه علامه طباطبائی، تهران، ایران
2دانشیار گروه رفتار حرکتی دانشگاه علامه طباطبائی، تهران، ایران
3دانشجوی کارشناسی ارشد کنترل و یادگیری حرکتی، دانشگاه علامه طباطبائی، تهران، ایران
4دانشجوی کارشناسی ارشد آسیب شناسی و حرکات اصلاحی، دانشگاه علامه طباطبائی، تهران، ایران
Abstract
Attention deficit‑hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurobehavioral disorder that negatively affects children lives. Play therapy and gamification can be seen as engaging, stimulating, and more compatible with children’s developmental needs. The purpose of this review is to investigate the effects of play therapy on reducing mental and physical symptoms in children with ADHD. PubMed, Scopus, web of science and Google Scholar databases were used to access scientific articles with the keywords play therapy, game therapy, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, mental and physical disorders and ADHD. In the initial search, 499 articles were found, which 278 duplicate articles were removed. In the second part of screening, based on the inclusion criteria, 192 articles unrelated to the subject were also excluded from the scope of the review, and finally, based on the standard principles and the title of the present study, the current study was done with 29 articles. According to the research findings, play therapy can have a positive effect in reducing the physical and mental symptoms of children with ADHD. Play therapy and video game-based therapeutic interventions were well accepted and generally effective in improving mental and physical areas and decreasing ADHD symptoms. Gamification and cognitive training could be the main mechanisms underlying the usefulness and effectiveness of video game-based assessment tools and interventions. In general, the results of this review revealed that play therapy might positively affect the mental and physical symptoms of children with ADHD and might be used as a therapeutic or complementary method of treatment, even in combination with other treatment regimes.
Keywords