The Effect of Neurofeedback Instruction and Play Therapy on symptoms of children with Attention Deficit -Hyperactivity Disorder

The aim of this research was the effect of neurofeedback instruction and play therapy on symptoms of children with attention deficit -hyperactivity disorder. In terms of objectives the research method is functional, and in terms of its nature and method it is a quasi-experimental pre-test and post-test which has a control group. To this end 45 children suffering from attention deficit- hyperactivity disorder who visited the counseling center and psychological services of Refah, aged between 5 to 12, were selected randomly. And according to the objectives of research, participants were randomly put into three groups (15 individuals were selected for neurofeedback instruction group; 15 children were assigned to play therapy group; and 15 subjects were put in control group). After pre-test, the intervention program was administered for 20 sessions, then, post-test was given. To perform pre-test and post-test, we used Child Symptom Inventory-4: parent checklist; and for analyzing data Shapiro Wilk test, one way variance analysis and paired t- test were used. The results showed that regarding ADHD there is significant difference between neurofeedback training with play therapy groups (P = 0.0001) and control group, also significant difference was observed between play therapy group and the control group (P = 0.0001). in order, neurofeedback instruction had the greatest impact then play therapy in reducing symptoms of ADHD. According to the findings, it can be concluded that the two methods of neurofeedback training and play therapy might be used to decrease the symptoms of ADHA