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ADHD, Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, B4Peace, Developmental psychology, Dominic Crehan, Michelle Ellefson, Mindfulness, Science News, Stillness Speaks
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Science News
A short training course in mindfulness improves children’s ability to ignore distractions and concentrate better.
These are the findings of a study carried out by Dominic Crehan and Dr Michelle Ellefson at the University of Cambridge being presented today, 6 September 2013, at the British Psychological Society’s Cognitive Developmental Psychology Annual Conference at the University of Reading.
Dominic explained: “Mindfulness involves paying attention in a particular way — on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgementally. It has been shown to reduce levels of stress and depression, and to improve feelings of well-being, but to date researchers have not established a link between mindfulness and attention skills in children.”
The researchers recruited thirty children (girls and boys aged 10 to 11 years old) to take part in a mindfulness course as part of their school curriculum. The children took part in the mindfulness course in two groups at different times, and so the researchers were able to compare the groups and see the effects of the course. To do this, they measured the children’s levels of mindfulness using a questionnaire. They also measured their attention skills, using a computer game designed specifically for this purpose. They made these measurements on three occasions, at three month intervals, so that they could measure changes in attention skills over time as a result of the mindfulness course.
The results indicated that an improvement in the children’s ability to focus and deal with distractions was associated with the mindfulness course.
Dominic said: “The ability to pay attention in class is crucial for success at school. Mindfulness appears to have an effect after only a short training course, which the children thoroughly enjoyed! Through their training, the children actually learn to watch their minds working and learn to control their attention. These findings could be particularly important for helping children with attention difficulties such as ADHD. Further research on the effects of mindfulness on children’s attention is very much needed.”
source: ScienceDaily
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additional videos at Mindfueld.org
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the Hunt for Truth 
Mindfulness ought only be used for promoting awareness, deepening concentration and focus, and for improving responsiveness – NOT for repressing feelings. I read a criticism that indicates that the sessions may in some places be used to deal with feelings – this is NOT what is needed for school children in their classrooms – I think. This movement can continue to provide guidance towards each student making progress for deepening awareness and concentration. Its a skill building tool. Its not for counseling in classrooms – Its NOT a religious practice and ought NOT be used as religious. . .
Program Description
This film shows how kindergarteners in Oxford Elementary School in Berkeley, San Francisco are introduced to mindfulness in school. They practice mindful listening, mindful eating, mindful movement and yoga. Mindfulness is a way of being and one of the benefits is that it teaches how to pay attention. As a kindergartener your attention is required in order to learn how to read and write – often in an environment with a lot of external stimuli. Starting early with practicing these healthy habits of mind is a very good idea. Like learning to play an instrument it is much easier early on in life than later on in life. Includes interviews with Neuroscientist Richard Davidson and Mindful Schools Program Director Megan Cowan. Mindful Schools offers courses for educators, psychologists, and parents to learn mindfulness and use it with children and adolescents. Learn more at http://www.mindfulschools.org. NOTE: online training is available too.
I work at a Community Health Service and we have several mindfulness programs on offer, they are very beneficial especially with substance abuse recovery. I can definitely see they would help children with their ability to concentrate.
Helping to get the word around … mindfulness training is an absolute help.
🙂
mindfulness for children
is slowly becoming integrated
into classrooms. a good connection
is http://www.mindfuled.org 🙂
Thank you. Mindfuled is an excellent additional resource. I hope that teachers, school administrators, parents, and even students will be looking at how helpful mindfulness is == apparently, it can make all the difference in the world for some children and its always a benefit it seems for any child.
http://www.mindfuled.org/conferences/2013-conference-videos/
glad you found them. full of science, skill and compassion. I produced those videos 🙂
THANK YOU !!!
I’d say more but you probably already see more than I’ve seen – its astounding what can happen when children’s minds are set free.
you are very kind!
as a retired public health officer, mindfulness in schools offers me a sense of hope for a future. I wrote about that conference in my post “the heart of education.” i’ll be producing the videos for this years conference in DC. may you be well 🙂
Thank you for your service. I applaud the work I’ve had a bit of time to see. I’ll want to blog more about it too. 🙂
~ Eric