title: Effects of weighted vests on attention, impulse control, and on-task behavior in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
abstract: OBJECTIVE. In this study, we examined the effectiveness of using weighted vests for improving attention, impulse control, and on-task behavior in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). METHOD. In a randomized, two-period crossover design, 110 children with ADHD were measured using the Conners' Continuous Performance Test-II (CPT-II) task. RESULTS. In the weighted vest condition, the participants did show significant improvement in all three attentional variables of the CPT-II task, including inattention; speed of processing and responding; consistency of executive management; and three of four on-task behaviors, including off task, out of seat, and fidgets. No significant improvements in impulse control and automatic vocalizations were found. CONCLUSION. Although wearing a weighted vest is not a cure-all strategy, our findings support the use of the weighted vest to remedy attentional and on-task behavioral problems of children with ADHD.
authors.affiliation: Hung-Yu Lin, PhD, OTR, is Assistant Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hung-Yu
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Posen Lee, PhD, OTR, is Assistant Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy, I-Shou University, No. 8 Yida Road, Jiau-Shu Village, Yanchao District, Kaohsiung City 824, Taiwan; posenlee@isu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Posen
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Wen-Dien Chang, PhD, is Assistant Professor, Department of Sports Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wen-Dien
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Fu-Yuan Hong, PhD, is Associate Professor, Center for General Education, Taipei College of Maritime Technology, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Fu-Yuan
authors.initials: FY
authors.lastname: Hong
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D002648:Child; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000534:rehabilitation; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009788:Occupational Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011930:Reaction Time; D013624:Taiwan