Author/Authors :
Mirzaie, Hooshang Department of Occupational Therapy - University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran , Hassani Mehraban, Afsoon Department of Occupational Therapy - School of Rehabilitation Sciences - Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran , Hosseini, Ali Department of Occupational Therapy - University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran , Ghasemi Fard, Fatemeh Department of Occupational Therapy - University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran , Jafari Oori, Mehdi Department of Nursing - University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran
Abstract :
Objectives: For children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), different types of
play therapy may have different effects. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of two types
of play therapy intervention methods, including a child-parents therapy named Filial Therapy (FT)
and a child-therapist therapy known as Adlerian Therapy (AT) on the attention and hyperactivity
of these children.
Methods: In this randomized clinical trial, which lasted from February 20 to May 5, 2014, 51
boys and girls aged 6-12 years with ADHD were randomly selected and allocated to 3 groups by
blocked method (17 subjects in each group). Two of the groups received FT and AT intervention
and one group remained as a control group. Participation’s parents in the FT group received one
session of training play therapy per week for 10 weeks and played with their children at home
every day during this time. The AT group received 3 sessions of play therapy for 10 weeks in
the clinics. The data of attention and hyperactivity of the subjects were collected in the pre-test,
post-test, and a 3-month follow-up by Child Symptom Inventory-4 (CSI-4) and Test of Everyday
Attention for Children (TEA-Ch). The Mean, Standard Deviation (SD), and frequency were used
as descriptive statistics and the Chi-squared, one-way ANOVA, Man-Whitney, and Kruskal-Wallis
tests, as well as Generalized Estimating Equation, were used as analytical statistics in the SPSS V.
22. The P-value of 0.05 was considered significant.
Results: Half of the subjects were male and the Mean±SD age of the subjects was 8±2 years
old. The Mean±SD of hyperactivity was 23.94±13.44, 20.82±11.64, and 20.76±11.13 in the FT
group, 17.70±3.70, 15.20±3.33, and 15±3.50 in the AT group, and 24.25±10.32, 25.38±11.48,
and 24.81±11.96 in the control group. The Mean±SD of attention was 8.47±5.33, 15.60±2.79,
and 15.80±2.50 in the FT group, 6.71±5.31, 12.24±3.33, and 12.90±3.12 in the AT group, and
9.71±5.36, 10.41±3.24, and 9.92±4.89 in control group. As the result showed, the hyperactivity
of the subjects had significantly decreased in the intervention groups (P<0.05) compared with the
control group. Also, the attention of the subjects had significantly increased in the intervention
groups (P<0.05) compared with the control group.
Discussion: Although both methods reduced the severity of hyperactivity and increased the
attentional performance of the subjects, the effectiveness of the FT method was more enormous.
The finding indicated that the participation of parents in the treatment process could increase the
rehabilitation procedure of children with ADHD.
