Soccer helps fathers help their ADHD kids

Buffalo, N.Y. -- A U.S. educator suggests it pays to recruit dads in programs to help their children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity.

For his doctoral dissertation, Gregory A. Fabiano of the University of Buffalo compared two evidence-based programs to help ADHD children that were the same -- except one had a father-friendly sports hook, in this case, soccer games -- and found the father-friendly program had dads dropping out less, helping with homework more and rating the treatment as better.

Traditional treatment includes teaching parents strategies to deal with the disruptive behaviors that are associated with ADHD. The sports program added soccer, which resulted in increased participation of both fathers and children and improved relationships between the parents and their children.

"We thought for a chronic disorder like ADHD where these fathers aren't going to be dealing with these problems for a couple weeks or a couple months, but for the child's entire life, the treatment has to be well-liked, palatable and engaging," Fabiano said in a statement.

The dads seem genuinely to be enjoying the activities, perhaps because the children have struggled in other settings and are successful in the soccer program, Fabiano said.

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