Background and Purpose: ADHD is one of the most common disorders in childhood, which causes many problems for the child and his or her family. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of sand play therapy on reduction of impulsivity and attention deficit in boys with ADHD.
Method: The present study was a semi-experimental study with a pre-test-post-test with a control group. The statistical population of the study was all children aged 5-7 years old with ADHD in Kermanshah's kindergartens in 2017. Twenty of them were selected using convenient sampling method as the sample and randomly assigned into two experimental and control groups (10 children in each group). The data collection tools were scale of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (Sprafkin & Gadow, 1984) and diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders- -IV (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). To analyze the data, multivariate analysis of covariance analysis was used.
Results: The data showed sand play therapy was effective on reducing the symptoms of attention deficit and impulsive in experimental group (P<0.001).
Conclusion: According to the results of this study, it can be concluded that the use of sand play technique with the effect on perforentural cortex development in children with attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder is effective in reducing symptoms of disorder. As a result, this method can be used as a supplementary method along with other therapies for this disorder.