photo by outdoor-health.sportsxfitness.com
"Some states now allow students to earn P.E. credits online." (Louv 2)
I am very surprised that this is a possibility for students now. P.E. was a very fun and refreshing class for me at school. I would get to interact with other kids and enjoy the fresh outdoor air. I imagine that the online classes will still have an outdoor component, no doubt, but having it during school hours was a very fun part of my day and made me look forward to going to school. Also, after P.E. I felt more awake, so that helped me in my studies.
"But based on accumulating scientific evidence, I believe the concept--or hypothesis--of nature-deficit disorder is appropriate and useful as a layperson's description of one factor that may aggravate attentional difficulties for many children." (Louv 2)
I found it clever that Richard Louv comes up with the name "nature deficit disorder" as a way to describe ADHD. It emphasizes the powerful impact that spending time in the outdoors can have in helping a young kid with ADHD to feel better and perform better.
"Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle maintains that each hour of TV watched per day by preschoolers increases by 10 percent the likelihood that they will develop concentration problems and other symptoms of attention-deficit disorders by age seven." (Louv 4)
That's a pretty alarming statistic to read about. It just serves as good advice for raising young kids: don't let them sit in front of a TV longer than they are playing outside or even just engaging in an activity that isn't watching TV, such as dancing. The one thing I don't understand is why watching TV could have such an impact on preschoolers. Is it that it takes away from other activities which would help the preschooler do better at social situations as well as paying attention and sitting still in class?
"And, as Kuo points out, prescribing "green time" for the treatment of ADHD has other advantages: it's widely accessible, free of side effects, nonstigmatizing, and inexpensive." (Louv 11)
I think that if "green time" were added to the treatment of ADHD it would be a great tool. Just as Louv says, it would be very easy to do as it entails going outside into nature, which isn't hard to find too often. It is also "free of side effects", which is a huge benefit as many drugs used to treat mental illnesses have annoying or debilitating side effects. It also doesn't put any negative labels on the patient as he/she can look at the treatment as just having some fun outside and I imagine sometimes friends or family may be incorporated into the treatment. Finally, it would be inexpensive, as money is not much of a necessity to be able to go into nature and do things such as fish or run. If anything, comparably it would be less expensive than other types of treatments used for treating ADHD.
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