Children with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) can benefit greatly from fun and educational activities specially adapted to their needs. These activities offer a fun approach to developing key skills while taking into account the particularities and challenges these children face. In this article, we will explore in detail different ideas for fun and educational activities that promote attention, focus, emotional management and overall development for children with ADHD.
Activities for concentration and attention
The ability to focus and maintain attention is often a challenge for children with ADHD. Here are some activities that can help them develop these essential skills:
Strategic board games
Board games that require planning, strategy and focus are excellent for developing attentional skills in children with ADHD. Chess, for example, is a game that requires careful strategic thinking, the ability to anticipate the opponent’s moves and to focus on several aspects of the game at the same time. Children can also play board games such as checkers, Mastermind or Tangram to challenge their strategic thinking, stimulate their concentration and improve their problem-solving skills.
Construction and manipulation activities
Construction activities, such as building blocks, Lego or puzzles, allow children to focus on manipulative and problem-solving tasks. When building with blocks, children need to focus on shapes, sizes and colors to assemble structures. This develops their ability to focus on a specific task and to have patience and perseverance to complete their creation. Jigsaw puzzles, on the other hand, require prolonged concentration to assemble the different pieces and form the complete picture.
Mindfulness and relaxation exercises
Mindfulness is a practice that allows you to focus on the present moment without judgment. Child-friendly mindfulness exercises, such as deep breathing, guided meditation or yoga, can help them calm down, focus their attention and manage distractions. For example, the practice of deep breathing involves taking slow, deep breaths, focusing on the sensation of air entering and leaving the lungs. This allows children to refocus and return to the present moment, freeing themselves from scattered thoughts. Guided meditation also offers a way to relax the mind and focus on positive images or affirmations, thus promoting concentration and stress management.
Attention and memory games
Attention and memory games are a great way to stimulate and improve attentional skills in children with ADHD. Games such as the memory game where children must turn over cards to find pairs are both attention and memory stimulating. Deduction games, where children must find clues to solve a mystery, are also beneficial for developing concentration and logical thinking.
Activities for managing emotions
Managing emotions is another important aspect for children with ADHD. Here are some activities that can help them recognize, understand and manage their emotions in a healthy and constructive way:
Art therapy and creative expression
Art therapy offers a powerful way to express emotions and to promote their understanding and management. Children can engage in art activities such as painting, drawing, sculpting or collage to express how they feel. This allows them to develop their emotional awareness, to learn to identify and regulate their emotions in a constructive way. They can create artworks that represent their emotions or use creative expression techniques to release their inner feelings.
Role playing and theater
Role-playing and drama allow children to act out situations and explore different emotions. They can play different characters and scenarios that help them understand and manage emotions. For example, by role-playing a character facing a difficult situation, they can experience different emotional reactions and think of constructive ways to deal with those emotions. These activities also strengthen social and communication skills, helping them to interact with others and express their emotions appropriately.
Physical and sports activities
Physical activities and sports provide an excellent opportunity for ADHD children to release energy, relax and manage stress. Regular physical activity, such as swimming, cycling, soccer or dancing, helps regulate emotions, improve concentration and build confidence. When children are engaged in physical activity, their brains release endorphins, the feel-good neurotransmitters, which can help reduce stress and anxiety.
Play and educational activities tailored to children with ADHD play a vital role in their overall development. By promoting focus, attention and emotional management, these activities help children overcome the challenges associated with ADHD and develop key skills. Strategic board games, building activities, mindfulness exercises, art therapy, role playing, physical activities and sports are all options that offer multiple benefits. By incorporating these activities into the daily routine of children with ADHD, parents and educators can help them thrive and succeed.
Supporting ADHD children with the COCO THINK and COCO MOVE application
COCO THINKS and COCO MOVES is a program of educational and physical games for elementary school, from CP to CM2 in order to implement universal learning.
Children with ADHD have difficulty staying focused. It is therefore important to use games that work on theactivation or inhibition of movement, as well as games that require a specific response time.
Adaptations of COCO THINKS and COCO MOVES for ADHD children
- Adapted physical exercises
- A personalized interface (possibility to hide games)
- Activities to teach body movement in space
- Activities for relaxation
- Activities that can be done sitting down
The mole invasion
In this game the child will see 3 different moles, and therefore 3 different stimuli. A normal mole he has to tap once, a mole with a helmet to tap twice and a mole with the glasses not to touch.
In this game we stimulate the activation and inhibition of the movement according to the stimulus. The child can learn to adapt to his environment, to take external information to choose which movement to make.
Balloon drill
In this game the child has to shoot arrows and reach the balloons according to the instructions.
In this game, there is no question of speed, but the child must watch the movement of the balloons and wait for the right moment to shoot. He must therefore stop his movement and wait for the best moment to shoot. The child must blow up only the balloons of one color, so it is very important to read the instructions carefully before starting to play.
Snowball effect
In this game the child must press a single arrow to launch a snowball that must reach all the arrows on the screen. The child cannot quickly press the first arrow he sees, but must think carefully before acting. This game stimulates cause and effect, i.e. thinking about the consequences of an action.
A follow-up of the evolution over time
In the application COCO THINKS and COCO MOVES there is a general score indicative of the performance, to know the level of competence. In addition, there are details on performance (time used to complete the activity, correct answers, movements needed and movements performed).
Children can see their strengths and areas for improvement:
if they need to improve their response time, strategy or skill, for example.
Discover the application
COCO THINKS and COCO MOVES ©.
Supporting children with ADHD
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