Western CEDAR

The Benefits of a Therapeutic Nature Education for Children with ADHD

ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) diagnoses are on the rise in children in the United States due to multiple reasons (NIMH, 2016), however early work on the subject notates a positive correlation between exposure of children to experience-based nature therapy and the reduction of ADHD symptoms (Taylor & Kuo 2011). I hypothesize that using a setting in or near nature that is experience-based and centered on an environmental engagement learning objective as an intervention will be correlated with a reduction of ADHD behaviors in elementary aged children. I will measure the data using applied behavior analysis, which is a “systematic application of behavioral principles to change socially significant behavior to a meaningful degree” (Alberto & Troutman 2012). I will also follow Keith Russell’s (2012) theoretical framework for nature therapy, as well as lessons from Project Learning Tree Environmental Education curriculum that have shown promise in raising subsequent engagement in the classroom, to create an intervention model that is 45 minutes long (Russell, 2012, Kuo et al 2018). I will then test the intervention model using a single subject design protocol of applied behavior analysis which is defined as “experimental investigations in which each child serves as his or her own control” (Alberto & Troutman 2012). I will measure the number of ADHD behaviors exhibited directly before and after the 45 minute intervention which will be run four times in two consecutive weeks, as well as using surveys completed by the child’s teachers a week before the start of the intervention and the week following the termination of the intervention. These measures will either confirm or reject the hypothesis.