Remedial Therapy Products

Therapy Dough for children with ADD or ADHD

Children with ADD or ADHD tend to be restless and fiddle with either their fingers or something from their environment. They tend to tap their feet, drum their fingers or even wring their hands in an attempt to wake up their brain. Sadly this fiddling can be distracting not only for a teacher but also the other children in the class and often tends to land the child in trouble.

It is recommended that children with ADD or ADHD be given a small amount of Therapy Dough to ‘fiddle’ with as the essential oils help to ‘wake up’ the brain and stimulate the nervous system of the body. Added to this, the medium of dough is quiet and not distracting to class mates. The use of a ‘fiddle’ toy helps the child to sit still and concentrate for longer periods. I would recommend that teachers monitor children with ADD or ADHD in their classes and the moment that they start to fiddle and become distracted, they are given a small piece of dough to fiddle with. The amount of dough should not be big enough for the child to mould into an object, as this too can then become a distraction rather than an aid. The action of giving a child Therapy Dough to fiddle with also has a positive impact on the child’s self esteem, as they are not being punished but rather rewarded for needing to fiddle.

Bibliography: The concentration clinic: ADHD and learning by Jane Jarvis, Educational Psychologist