The Benefits of Music For Students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

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Improving concentration among students is a well thought about topic, distractions in classroom are endless; from phones to friends, students have a superfluous number of thoughts on their minds’. Improving concentration of students with a condition like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), is however more challenging. “Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a chronic condition that affects millions of children and often persists into adulthood. ADHD includes a combination of problems, such as difficulty sustaining attention, hyperactivity and impulsive behavior.” (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2013) With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, students have more of a challenge themselves trying to concentrate; there are a variety of strategies that students can use to keep themselves on track. The most common “fix” is turning to medication, students, teachers and parents want a quick and effortless solution. The students who do not receive medication are often seen as a problem child, they are just a source of bad behavior in the classroom. A more recent strategy that has appeared on a larger scale is listening to music while working. Throughout studies done in the past few years it has become apparent that music can be just as, if not more, effective than medication. (Pelham Jr., 2012)

Many professionals such as, William E. Pelham Jr., the director of the Center for Children and Families at the Florida International University, previously believed that music was an inhibitor to concentration in children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and set out to prove so in his test. However the results showed that listening to music has a greater or equivalent effect on concentration as compared to medicatio...

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