Empathy in the Play of Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health

AOTF: The American Occupational Therapy Foundation

Interventions, Effects, and Outcomes in Occupational Therapy: Adults and Older Adults

Feature Article
Empathy in the Play of Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health
Vol. 30, No. 3 Summer 2010

By Reinie Cordier, BSocSc Hons (Clin Psych), MoccTher; Anita Bundy, ScD, OTR, FAOTA; Clare Hocking, PhD, MHSc(OT); Stewart Einfeld, MD, DCH, FRANZCP

ABSTRACT

Many children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have serious social and peer difficulties that can lead to adverse outcomes in adolescence and adulthood. Play provides a natural context to explore those interactional problems. This study aimed to examine the similarities and differences in play behavior of children as having ADHD and typically developing children. Participants were children (aged 5 to 11 years) diagnosed as having ADHD (n = 112) and typically developing peers (n = 126) who were matched based on age, ethnicity, and gender. The Test of Playfulness (ToP) was used to measure play. Children with ADHD performed similarly to typically developing peers on ToP items that related most directly to the primary symptoms of ADHD but scored significantly lower on several ToP social items; however, they also scored higher on one difficult social item and no differently on two others, suggesting that the problems may be developmentally inappropriate lack of empathy rather than simply poor social skills.

AUTHORS

Reinie Cordier, BSocSc Hons (Clin Psych), MoccTher, is PhD Candidate, and Anita Bundy, ScD, OTR, FAOTA, is Chair of Occupation and Leisure Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia. Clare Hocking, PhD, MHSc(OT), is Associate Professor, School of Rehabilitation and Occupation Studies, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand. Stewart Einfeld, MD, DCH, FRANZCP, is Chair of Mental Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, and Senior Scientist, Brain and Mind Research Institute, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.

Originally submitted September 10, 2008. Accepted for publication February 18, 2009. Posted online May 25, 2009.

Address correspondence to Anita Bundy at a.bundy@usyd.edu.au.

doi: 10.3928/15394492-20090518-02

OTJR Copyright and Fair Use Policy

To prevent copyright infringement, we request that authors, subscribers, and those who purchase PDFs through the full-text web site not share the PDFs with outside sources via e-mail. Content of the articles, whether in print or electronic format, remains the property of The American Occupational Therapy Foundation.