Exercise. Are we missing something big here when it comes to ADHD and other learning differences??

Get moving.  It's good for your body but what about your mind?  

Are we missing a big part of the benefits when it comes to our child's ability to learn...to cope?

As the author of Spark says. “aerobic exercise physically remodels our brains for peak performance.”

We tend to think of exercise as a method to keep off those dreaded few pounds but for a child with ADHD or learning differences exercise is a tool to support their focus and attention. Not only does it help with attention but exercise moves you out of the state of learned helplessness as mentioned in Spark — which is where I’ve seen a number of students struggle when it came to their learning.

As with so many things, one option is usually not the “end-all-be-all” — it’s about combining exercise and other tools to help your child achieve the best results with their learning and emotions.

I believe my focus on running throughout high school and college saved me in many ways. It offered me a tool to cope. It gave me space to step into my strengths, and it most likely helped me with my learning (but I was young and didn’t really see this part of it —although, my teachers might have).

Now, I know from a discussion we had in our Parent Membership Community, you might be thinking what organized sport can my child be a part of so they can get the exercise they need? It’s a great question. But do you know what came out of our talk during our Monthly Planning Call…some kids don’t want organized sports. They like to swim but they don’t want to be on the swim team. They want to ski but they don’t want to join the ski club.

Look for ways to add exercise in a fun and engaging way…it doesn’t have to be a big thing. Maybe just walking your dog is a good place to start (which reminds me….it’s time for me to get walking soon…and my Apple Watch just informed me it’s time to move as well)

So let’s see exercise as essential. A way to support our kids ..and honestly ourselves too (this is a big part of our PMC).

Before I step outside…I will leave you with a few resources you can check out for yourself:

ADDmagazine article here

Consider this book Spark

What about other facts that will helps kids with their attention

Study is here to review some research on this

Enjoy and get moving!!

Susan