Hi, Folks! Interesting study published in the 3/12/05 issue of USA Weekend that confirms what St. Gabriel's Hall and the Chester County Juvenile Probation Office have noted about the ADHD kids they send us to do their community service -- working in the garden really does help them!
Dorene Pasekoff, Coordinator St. John's United Church of Christ Organic Community Garden and Labyrinth A mission of St. John's United Church of Christ, 315 Gay Street, Phoenixville, PA 19460 http://www.usaweekend.com/05_issues/050313/050313healthbriefs.html#adhd ADHD: Nature therapy helps kids ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nature helps the 10% of ADHD kids who don't respond to medicine. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Green therapy -- exposure to natural settings -- appears to help reduce symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, say researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Their study of about 400 boys and girls, ages 5 to 18, assessed the effects of 49 common after-school and weekend activities on ADHD symptoms. In the study, kids who participated in "green outdoor activities" had significantly reduced symptoms, regardless of geography, urban or rural environment, diagnosis, age, sex or income group. Simple "exposure to ordinary natural settings in the course of common after-school and weekend activities may be widely effective" for kids who don't respond to medicine, says Frances E. Kuo, assistant professor of environmental sciences and lead author of the study, which was published in "American Journal of Public Health." Suggestions for nature treatments: -- Find a greener route to and from school, ideally a walk down tree-lined streets or through a park. -- For play, look for green yards and ball fields. -- While doing schoolwork indoors, sit near a window that offers at least a partial nature view. ______________________________________________________ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org To post an e-mail to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden
