Investigating the Effects of the Temporal Adaptation Approach in Children With ADHD

The research will be conducted at the Hacettepe University Faculty of Health Sciences Department of Occupational Therapy's educational and research units. Participants will be children diagnosed with ADHD by a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist. These children will then be randomly assigned to control and training groups. A total of 60 individuals, 30 for each group, will be included in the study based on power analysis. The effectiveness of the study will be shared, and should it prove effective, the same study will be replicated with the control group.

The intervention consists of activities designed to enhance temporal adaptation, adapted for ADHD from models in the literature. Over 10 weeks, the children will engage in weekly 60-minute sessions, each week focusing on different activities to improve temporal adaptation skills. Activities include teaching concepts of calendars and clocks, rhythm exercises with metronomes, time estimation games, daily and weekly planner preparation, time matching games, and exercises to improve time management and planning abilities.

Data will be collected using various tools including a demographic information form, time perception threshold measurement tasks, temporal production tasks, Child Activity Self-Assessment Scale (COSA), and Executive Functions and Occupational Routines Scale (EFORTS). The study's hypotheses test the null hypothesis that temporal adaptation intervention does not affect activity self-efficacy, time perception, daily activity routine, and executive functions in children aged 9-12 with ADHD.

This comprehensive approach aims to enhance the daily lives of children with ADHD by improving their ability to manage time effectively, thereby positively affecting their education, self-care, social relationships, and overall quality of life.