Art therapy and children with ADHD: a survey of art therapists

Abstract

Several studies suggest art therapy’s (AT) effectiveness with children diagnosed with ADHD. Yet the specific AT techniques used, symptoms alleviated, and efficacy estimates are entirely lacking in the literature. As such, a survey was developed for art therapists nationwide; 31 responded. Most respondents, 87%, had read a chapter or article about AT with ADHD; 68% had attended conferences on this topic. Only 20% marketed to ADHD clients, but 91% had treated at least one ADHD child, with 102 children treated on average per therapist. Most common AT techniques for ADHD included painting, 93%; form drawing, 89%; collage, 81%; and sculpting, 78%. These 4 were also rated most valuable with ADHD. Many therapists had also used mask making, oil pastels, tissue arts, and beadwork. Few had used fiber or digital arts. Therapists differentiated which ADHD symptoms AT effectively treats. All believed AT effective with attentional problems and follow through; most believed AT effective with avoidance of sustained efforts, listening problems, organizational difficulties, distraction by extraneous stimuli, running around/climbing, and carelessness; many believed AT effective with difficulty taking turns, getting out of seat, restlessness, fidgeting, noisiness, talkativeness, and interrupting others. Few found AT effective with blurting out answers/comments, forgetfulness, and misplacing things. Overall, 81% rated AT effective with ADHD; 11%, reported AT effective enough to use without medication, but most reported AT as effective adjunctively with medication. Since more art therapists appear to use AT with ADHD than the sparse peer-reviewed literature suggests, further research into AT’s efficacy with ADHD seems warranted.