Mindfulness and Martial Arts

Mindful vs. traditional martial arts toward improved academic grades in children diagnosed with ADHD

While medication and psychotherapy are the current best practice in treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), their benefits and aim are too peripheral and topical -- neither resolving the neurological origin of deficits.

Moreover, many are opposed to these treatments and there are few substantiated and readily accepted alternatives. The consequences of ADHD have a ripple effect -- as does the lack of more palatable, efficacious, and proactive interventions for children with the disorder. Research has reported wide-ranging benefits for mindfulness and martial arts, independent of one another, yet research addressing the potential academic benefits of integrating these disciplines for ADHD children has not been found. Based on Siegel's neurological theory of mindfulness, the executive dysfunction model of ADHD, and research on mindfulness and traditional martial arts, it is proposed that a clinical application of mindfulness-based martial arts will improve the academic performance of children diagnosed with ADHD by strengthening attention and behavioral control. I propose a 4-1/2-week intervention coupled with a 4-1/2-week post intervention observation period, where pre and post student report card grades and teacher ratings on the Brown ADD Scales will be collected to compare the differential impact between two martial arts interventions, differing only on the presence or absence of mindfulness training.