Yoga for the Management of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Yoga has been shown to play a role in reducing the symptoms associated with the inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive forms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The medical history and clinical findings for a nine-year-old patient presenting with difficulty paying attention and impulsive speech and actions at home and school are presented. After the diagnosis of combination type ADHD by assessment of DSM-5 criteria, both at home and school and through parent and teacher evaluations using National Institute for Children’s Health Quality (NICHQ) Vanderbilt Assessment Scales, the patient initiated a yoga training regimen. Six months after initiating the yoga training regimen, follow-up parent and teacher questionnaires revealed improvement in both the inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive symptoms. Literature sourced from the PubMed database to explore the efficacy of yoga for ADHD was used to support the research hypothesis that a structured yoga training regimen improves the symptoms associated with the inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive forms of ADHD, and thus, yoga is recommended as a management technique for individuals with ADHD.