Sahaja Yoga Meditation- Promising Therapy for children with ADHD

 

The results of this trial programme indicate that Sahaja Yoga Meditation has potential as a promising therapy for children with ADHD, when offered via a family treatment approach and in combination with existing medical treatment. Although results are limited by the small number of children for whom complete data were available, the consistency of the findings, which drew on different measures of child outcomes, two treatment groups, and both parent and child respondents makes a good case for the benefits of the treatment programme. The results were in keeping with the three aims ofthe study. First, core symptoms of ADHD were improved: parent ratings on the Conners Parent–Teacher Questionnaire, which assesses attention, hyperactivity and impulsivity, were significantly reduced over the course of the programme. Children also reported that they felt calmer, less panicky and more relaxed. Second, associated symptoms of ADHD, such as anxiety and poor confidence, were reduced; parent ratings of child self-esteem showed significant improvements in children’s confidence, social abilities and involvement. Third, functional benefits were noted, child–parent relationship quality improved through a significant reduction in the level of conflicted interactions. Parents reported that the children’s approach to school and homework had improved during the SYM programme, and the children themselves said that they were more able to concentrate at school. Improved sleep was another positive outcome reported by parents and children. The study design, as a clinical treatment trial, did not include a formal control group, but the ‘waiting list’ children provided a quasi-control group that provided evidence for the effectiveness of the SYM intervention, over other possible contributors. For this group, baseline ADHD scores at recruitment and at week 1 of the treatment programme (several months later) remained the same, and then decreased significantly over the 6- week SYM programme. Statistical evidence for the benefits of SYM was also demonstrated in a series of repeated measures analyses, which entered child and family factors as covariates. These tests showed that the reduction in ADHD symptoms and the improvements in self-esteem and child–parent relationship quality were not explained by child age, sex, medication status or cognitive ability, or by family structure, mothers’ age or education. This initial investigation of SYM for managing ADHD was not able to include the HARRISON ET AL.: SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION 491

design features of a clinical trial, which would allow allocation and comparison of treatment groups such as SYM in combination with pharmacological treatment and SYM alone. The children who entered the programme also varied in the severity of their ADHD symptoms and use of medication. Three-quarters of the children were receiving psycho-stimulant drugs at the commencement of the programme and combined this with the SYM treatment, whereas the non-medicated children used only SYM. Although the numbers in the latter group were very small, it was noteworthy that the observed reduction in ADHD symptoms did not differ by children’s initial medication status. Further evidence that the improvements were attributable to the SYM intervention (and not to medication) comes from the fact that over half of the children who were taking prescribed medication had been able to reduce their medication during the course of the treatment, and these children also showed significantly greater improvements in ADHDrelated behaviours than the children who maintained their initial level of medication. The fact that the SYM effects occurred regardless of concurrent medication suggests an interesting corollary to reports from the Multimodal Treatment (MTA) study of children with ADHD that ‘intensive behavioural treatments are a viable alternative to medication in treatment of ADHD’ (Pelham et al., 2000, p. 523). In the current study, the treatment was not behavioural, but it was intensive in design, involving parents and children in twice daily meditation sessions at home and regular clinic sessions with trainers. Like the MTA findings, the SYM results are encouraging for parents andcommunities seeking ways to minimize child medication

In sum, this is the first study investigating the effect of Sahaja Yoga Meditation as treatment for ADHD behaviours. The study aimed to investigate SYM as an additional familyoriented treatment, alongside any conventional medical treatment that was received by the children, and the design of the study was not meant to compete with medication treatment. Preliminary findings provide initial evidence of the benefits of SYM in alleviating HARRISON ET AL.: SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION 493 the behavioural symptoms of children diagnosed with ADHD, confirmed through parent report and children’s own evidence. According to the children, these benefits extended beyond the immediate environments of the home into the classroom. Future directions in SYM research would be well served by larger studies that involve teachers as well as parents in following children’s progress, and longer term studies with follow-up assessments to examine the longevity of the treatment method. Furthermore, the fact that confirmatory analyses provided evidence that medication did not add significantly to the changes observed with SYM, it may be of interest for the future to compare the meditation effects in medication-free and medicated children, or even to compare SYM with other behavioural treatments for ADHD. Rigorously controlled clinical trials on larger and more homogenous populations would be needed to provide the necessary rigour to assess the relative effect of SYM as an alternative or complementary treatment for ADHD. However, the indications are that SYM may offer families an effective management tool for family-oriented treatment of childhood ADHD

https://www.sahajayogaportal.org/papers/manocha.pdf