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«Game» and «therapy» — it would seem, what connects these two words? The game is: entertainment, recreation; therapy — on the contrary, treatment, load. And yet they are united, firmly united by many years of practice, which in many cases gives very good results. According to psychologists, specially selected games are the most effective, and sometimes the only method of corrective work with young children. For the first time, Z. Freud began to use play therapy. Developing his method, M. Klein began to use a special material for the treatment of children: small toys that the child could identify with family members. She argued that «in free play, the child symbolically expresses his unconscious hopes, fears, pleasures, worries and conflicts.»
In addition, an adult in the game with a child can discover a completely unfamiliar world of the baby, establish a more trusting relationship with him and understand what help he needs most. It is in the game that the child reflects what happens to him in real life. Here, his conflicts with the outside world, problems of contacts with peers, his reactions and feelings immediately become noticeable. You need to play a lot with a hyperactive child: at home, in kindergarten, but it is best to start with special classes in the psychologist’s office, where parents and their child learn to do it correctly. In some centers, so-called lecotheques have even opened — libraries of toys for children with special needs, which also employ psychologists, teachers, and music therapists. The kids play here, relax and are treated at the same time, and adults are always nearby (better not even one mother, but also a grandmother, older brother or sister), so that they can repeat and consolidate at home later. Here is one example of such an activity (it is held in a circle on rugs).
The adult sits behind the child. Calm music sounds. Participants of the exercise greet each other in the following way. The adult takes the child’s arms and legs alternately and performs any smooth movements with them, imitating greeting gestures. Then the circle becomes tighter (participants shift). A ball or any other toy is passed around in a circle. The parent behind the child can pass the ball with the child by holding the child’s hands in theirs. Since the circle is so small, the ball returns to the baby very soon, and he learns to give it away without regret. Moreover, behind his back he feels the support of an adult who can comment on everything that the child does, while stroking the baby on the back, on the head.
Then the parents, together with their children, lie down on the carpet and continue to move to the music (roll, crawl, fight). If the children are small, then parents can put them on their stomach and perform arbitrary movements and strokes. As a rule, children quickly calm down, feel safe, relax, trust themselves to an adult.
However, everyone has different opportunities, and not every family has access to regular visits to such centers (both in terms of time and finances). Then play at home. It is known that in any game there are rules that each participant must obey. And even throwing the ball to each other, if it is done for a reason, but according to the conditions you have invented and taking into account some commands, can serve the goal. The first step towards overcoming difficulties will be the assimilation by the child of the program of action that the adult will offer him. The task of the latter is to follow the actions of the baby, prevent random movements and subordinate them to some kind of sequence. After you get past this stage, invite your child to plan the game and come up with some rules. However, don’t be too pushy. Wait until the baby «ripens» to this himself. The main thing is that the game captivates him. Then he will definitely learn how to plan it and come up with simple rules. Do not forget: when the baby learns to regulate his own activity, it will be much easier for him to communicate with his peers. After all, if children do not know how to follow the rules and constantly break them, there will be few who want to play with them.
Try to create a positive emotional mood at the beginning of the game and maintain it throughout the interaction with the child. Sit next to each other, do not forget to look into each other’s eyes, sincerely be surprised, rejoice, use affectionate touches. What should be the content of games?
First of all, these are games that are directly aimed at enriching emotional sensations, designed to make you laugh, surprise, calm, etc.
For example, you can use the game “Tell poems with your hands”, when mother and child take turns and together try to show the content of the poem with various hand movements using facial expressions. Or games for the coordination of joint movements — «Firewood Sawing», «Pump», «Forge». You can use game exercises such as “Try to show, try to guess”, the main content of which is the image of various objects and actions with them (for example, eat a sour lemon, melt ice cream, lift a heavy suitcase, etc.).
These exercises will not only enrich the child with a variety of emotional sensations, but will also contribute to the development of imagination. The joint composition of fairy tales, poems, stories is also very useful. Since hyperactive children are also characterized by impaired attention and self-control, it is important to conduct simple games with them to develop these functions, for example, “Labyrinth”, “What has changed”, “How similar, how different”, “Find the odd one”, etc.
To streamline reactions, games such as «Good luck» are suitable. The content of the game comes down to the fact that the adult agrees with the child that he will call different numbers, except for one, for example, seven, and the child must follow and say “Stop” if it is pronounced. You can complicate the rules: «Stop» to say only if the number «7» was called before the number «6». You can support the child’s interest in this game by replacing auditory material with visual. The games “Do not imitate”, “Yes” and “No”, do not say”, “Gender, nose, ceiling” are built on the same principle, which provide rules for restricting certain actions of the child.
All these recommendations are very important, as they help relieve tension in both the child and the adult, bring them closer to each other, feel the desire and needs of each other — in other words, establish a normal emotionally rich life for the child in the family.
The article Games for Children with ADHD gives several options for games developed by psychologists specifically for children suffering from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. They are suitable for both homework and kindergarten. Just remember that such a baby feels less protected than usual, and needs a special play space. It, firstly, should be as safe as possible (exclude sharp corners, unstable objects, close electrical outlets, etc.), secondly, cause a feeling of comfort, and thirdly, have a special “privacy corner”. We have already said that a hyperactive child, although it gives the impression of a perpetual motion machine, is actually very tired. And excessive emotional stress in him can cause an even greater surge of overexcitation. Therefore, when you see that the child is tired, be sure to go to the “corner of solitude”. Sit together, pet him, talk quietly. In addition, a special set of furniture and toys is needed for games, for example, cabinets with open and closed shelves, sets of doll furniture and utensils, a container with sand, a container with water, etc.
It is extremely useful for hyperactive children to work with sand, grains, water, clay, drawing with fingers. All of this helps relieve stress. In general, according to psychologists, work here should be built in several directions: relieve tension and excessive physical activity, train attention and follow the interests of the child, that is, try to penetrate into his world and analyze it together. For example, if a child is looking at something on the street, an adult should definitely follow his gaze and find this object, then try to keep the baby’s attention on it, ask what interested him, and ask him to describe in detail the details of the object, comment on them somehow. As W. Oaklander wrote: “When such children are paid attention, listened to, and they begin to feel that they are taken seriously, they are able to somehow minimize the symptoms of their hyperactivity.”
Games for kids with ADHD
The article gives several variants of games developed by psychologists specifically for children suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. They are suitable for both homework and kindergarten. See →
Corrective games for hyperactive children
To help hyperactive children be effective, it is better to take it «all over the world.» This means that every specialist working with a child can contribute. So, the neurologist will prescribe medication support, educators and teachers can take care to adapt the requirements to the child’s capabilities, apply the right methods to encourage and suppress some behavioral manifestations. But in addition to the above, the child needs to train the skills of managing his attention and behavior. This is where the game can best help! See →
Family psychotherapy for hyperactivity
In the syndrome of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, treatment of only the child is probably not worth it. After all, no matter how much the specialist does with the baby, if you do not change the situation, the world around you, the result will still not be achieved. That is why modern medicine for the rehabilitation of children with ADHD provides for mandatory family psychotherapy, during the sessions of which parents begin to understand that the health of their child largely depends on the kind, calm and consistent attitude of adults towards him. See →