Optimizing Learning Environments: Exploring Seating Options for Students with ADHD
For many children, movement and fidgeting while seated is essential for their focus and well-being. Kids with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) seem to need more movement than others. Let's explore why movement matters and discover a range of flexible seating options that can benefit children with ADHD.
The Importance of Movement and Fidgeting
Movement is a natural way for children to engage with the world, helping them release excess energy, improve circulation, and maintain alertness. When kids are confined to rigid seating, their ability to move freely can be restricted, leading to restlessness and decreased concentration. Children with ADHD often experience heightened sensory needs and a stronger urge to fidget or shift positions. This is because their brains are wired differently, making it harder for them to sustain attention without some form of physical activity. Incorporating controlled movement can actually enhance their focus and engagement by providing the necessary sensory input.
Understanding the Needs of Children with ADHD
Traditional seating arrangements can be challenging for kids with ADHD, who may struggle to stay seated for long periods of time, leading to disruptions and discomfort. When a child with ADHD is banging their feet against the chair legs or rocking back and forth in their seat, they are often trying to find the sensory input that they need. By acknowledging their need for movement and providing appropriate seating options, we foster environments where all children can succeed and flourish.
Flexible Seating: Empowering Students with Choice and Movement
Flexible seating allows students to choose where they work and with whom during work time, empowering them with some degree of choice and control over their environment. It also allows students to wobble, rock, bounce, lean, or stand, which increases oxygen flow to the brain, blood flow, and core strength. An uncomfortable student is a distracted and unproductive student. Traditional desks can make students territorial or possessive over their space and supplies. Flexible seating encourages students to share both. Many flexible seating options stimulate students’ proprioceptive system and sense of touch. This type of stimulation can help children focus and process information better. Sensory input is especially helpful for students with ADHD, ADD, and Autism.
Implementing Flexible Seating with Clear Expectations
Flexible seating comes with clear rules and expectations for our students. As parents and educators, we recognize that children aren't always able to sit perfectly still, nor are they meant to!
Read also: Understanding Special Education
Choice and Control
Students feel empowered by having some degree of choice and control over their environment. Flexible seating allows students to choose where they work and with whom during work time.
Physical Health
Students need to move. Flexible seating allows them to wobble, rock, bounce, lean, or stand, which increases oxygen flow to the brain, blood flow and core strength.
Comfort
An uncomfortable student is a distracted and unproductive student.
Community
Traditional desks can make students territorial or possessive over their space and supplies. Flexible seating encourages students to share both.
Sensory Input
Many flexible seating options stimulate students’ proprioceptive system and sense of touch. This type of stimulation can help children focus and process information better. Sensory input is especially helpful for students with ADHD, ADD and Autism.
Read also: Delving into Student's t-Tests
Flexible Seating Options for Kids with ADHD
Here are some innovative ways to allow kids to move while in their seats.
Wiggle Cushions
These inflatable cushions provide a dynamic surface that encourages subtle movement while seated. They promote active sitting by engaging kids’ core muscles and can help improve posture and focus.
Chair Fidgets
Attached discreetly to chair legs, the Stretch Me Chair Fidgets allow children to quietly bounce their feet while seated. This can reduce restlessness, promoting a calmer learning environment.
Wobble Seats
Wobble Chairs are stools that have a rounded base, allowing for 360-degree movement. They engage core muscles and offer a controlled way to fidget without leaving the seat.
Bean Bag Chairs
Bean bags provide a cozy flexible seating option where children can shift positions comfortably and find one that works best for them.
Read also: Student Learning Styles
Squeezie Seats
Our SensasoftTM Squeezie Seat incorporates deep pressure input to calm children with ADHD, so that their minds can be free for learning. Children can also sit in the Squeezie Seat various ways depending on their needs.
Addressing Challenging Behavior with Alternative Seating
One possible antecedent manipulation, alternative seating, may reduce challenging behavior and involves exchanging the typical seating in classrooms for different types of seating options. Students with or at risk for an emotional and behavioral disorder (EBD) have difficulty adjusting to classroom expectations and often engage in challenging behavior in the classroom. They may have difficulties attending to classroom instructions and complying with group directions and engage in higher out-of-seat behavior and lower on-task behavior. Additional characteristics and behaviors seen in children classified with or at risk for EBD include hyperactivity, aggression or self-injurious behavior, withdrawal, immaturity, and learning difficulties. Over 40% of students who have an EBD classification are educated in segregated settings because teachers have difficulty addressing these students’ behavioral and academic needs. Unfortunately, a high rate of suspension and expulsion is also common for students with EBD. In addition, students with EBD report having negative experiences in school, which could diminish their motivation to succeed in the classroom and result in poor academic outcomes.
Alternative Seating as a Behavioral Intervention
From a behavioral perspective, one might conceptualize alternative seating and the mechanisms that might account for behavior change in a couple of ways. First, alternative seating, such as stability balls or stools, might alter the reinforcing value (abolishing operation) of out of seat behavior by allowing students to move in more socially appropriate and less disruptive ways while seated, which may provide continuous access to reinforcement that in turn results in decreases in out-of-seat behavior. Second, the hard plastic or wood standard desk chair may be uncomfortable to sit on, resulting in squirming around and elopement (i.e., getting up and leaving the chair).
Teacher Perspectives on Alternative Seating
Teachers are often open to trying alternative seating in their classrooms, and they consistently report its implementation as easy. In addition, alternative seating options have typically been shown to improve attending for students with attention difficulties. A wide range of alternative seating options exist, including commercial and do-it-yourself (DIY) options, all which range in price. Alternative seating can be as simple as modifying the tables (i.e., raised or lowered) or introducing standing desks.
The Role of Therapy Balls
The use of therapy balls has been extensively evaluated. Therapy balls, also known as yoga balls or exercise balls, are large inflatable balls which allow students to gently bounce while seated and encourage good posture. Schilling et al. (2003) used therapy balls in a classroom with three elementary school students with ADHD. Their findings showed an increase on in-seat behavior and legible word productivity when the students were sitting on therapy balls compared to typical desk chairs. Although results for therapy balls in classrooms have been mostly positive, social validity results have been mixed. Responses from teachers and therapists indicated dissatisfaction with therapy balls; in particular, stakeholders found the bouncing to be distracting, difficult to use, and dangerous. Schoolcraft (2018) conducted interviews, observations, and surveys to understand the viewpoints of students and teachers regarding the use of therapy balls instead of desk chairs. Relative to the students’ viewpoints, some students believed moving while seated was helpful, whereas others found the movement distracting.
Therapy Ball Chairs: A Modified Approach
As a potential solution to the concerns related to the use of therapy balls as a seating option, therapy ball chairs include a base for the ball to sit on with wheels that lock; thus, the ball remains stationary while still allowing students to bounce while seated. This modification to the therapy ball was evaluated by Brennan and Crosland (2021) in a clinic setting with three children diagnosed with ASD. Results showed that both on-task behavior and in-seat behavior increased for all three participants, with the greatest increase in on-task behavior.
Stability Stools: Encouraging Movement and Balance
Therapy stools have also been growing in popularity as a form of alternative classroom seating. Also known as wobble stools or stability stools, this alternative seating option allows children to rock, sway, tilt, and fidget. The stool’s base allows movement while preventing tipping. Hoofman (2018) evaluated the effects of therapy balls versus stability stools on in-seat and on-task behavior for children with a variety of disabilities. For one of the three participants in this study, in-seat behavior was higher when seated on the stability stool compared to the therapy ball. For the other two participants, both therapy balls and stability stools resulted in similar improvements on in-seat and on-task behavior compared to the traditional chair. When provided a choice between seating options, teachers in this study preferred the stability stools over the balls, and the students also picked the stools more often.
Scoop Rocking Chairs: Flexibility and Comfort on the Floor
Finally, another type of alternative seating, scoop rocking chairs allow children to sit on the floor with the flexibility to rock and recline as they work.
Research on Alternative Seating
Alternative seating has been evaluated mostly with typically developing children, children with ASD, and children with ADHD. Research on alternative seating with children with or at risk for EBD is needed as many of these children struggle to remain seated and attend to classroom instruction.
Case Studies: Implementing Alternative Seating in Kindergarten Classrooms
This study was conducted in three general education classrooms in a large, metropolitan public-school district in the southeast. Participants were three male kindergarten students nominated by their classroom teachers due to concerns with them being out of their seats and not engaged in academic tasks.
- Roman: A 6-year-old Caucasian boy diagnosed with ADHD and was considered at risk for a diagnosis of EBD due to reported aggression and impulsivity.
- Juan: A 5-year-old Hispanic boy with no formal diagnosis, but was reported to engage in challenging behavior that included impulsivity and aggression, which placed him in the at risk for an EBD classification category.
- Paul: A 6-year-old Caucasian boy diagnosed with a communication/ speech disorder, and he received Exceptional Student Education (ESE) services for this diagnosis. Paul was at risk for an EBD due to exhibiting challenging behavior that included impulsivity, inability to focus, and inability to stay on task.
All three participants used vocal-verbal communication, were in general education classrooms, and were reported to struggle to attend to classroom instruction and remain in their seats.
Seating Options Used in the Study
Data were collected in each participant’s normal classroom during morning independent desk work, which was the time of day when all three participants were reported by their teachers to have difficulty staying in their seat and staying on-task. Academic subjects and topics for morning work varied, ranging from writing, reading, and math. Standard desk chairs, stability stools, and scoop rocker chairs were the three seating options utilized in this study.
- Standard Chair: The typical desk chair already in the classroom with four legs and was appropriate for the size of a typical kindergartener.
- Stability Stool (Kore Wobble Chair): An oblong stool with a gentle-rounded base to prevent tipping over.
- Scoop Rocker: A small rocker that sat on the floor. When using the scoop rocker chair, the participants were also provided a clip board for completing work given the height discrepancy to a desk with the rocker sitting on the floor.
All sessions were 5-min because teachers indicated that students were expected to work for 5 min before taking a brief break followed by working again for 5 min during the morning independent work time routine in which data were collected. The morning independent work time routine lasted between 10 and 15 min each day. Data were collected using duration of on-task and in-seat behavior.
Flexible Seating in the Classroom: Benefits and Considerations
Many teachers are wary of flexible seating for the classroom as they posit it will cause more disruption, but studies have shown that giving students a choice of how they learn can increase engagement and improve grades. Flexible seating allows students to quietly wiggle, wobble, and fidget, increasing focus and attention, as well as improving core strength- a key component in good seating posture. Kids develop a sense of agency over their environment when they get to choose a chair that suits them, leading to greater participation. Teachers also report more collaborative learning. Introducing small areas with different seating arrangements allow for more interaction between students.
Optimizing the Learning Environment: Beyond Seating
Setting Up a Good Learning Environment
The best way to accommodate children with ADHD is to optimize the classroom! Teachers are often frustrated with ADHD children because they tend to disrupt class more often than not. Preparation and planning can help you avoid these interruptions.
Change Your Seating Arrangements
Location can make or break a student's success! First, I recommend ADHD kids are positioned away from any doors and windows in the classroom. This seating arrangement will keep the child from getting distracted by people walking in the hallways or the birds flying outside! You also want to make sure ADHD children are seated away from high-traffic areas, such as the pencil sharpener or the table where students hand in assignments! One of the best seats for ADHD kids is right in front of the teacher! If your ADHD student is talkative, I recommend increasing the space between desks and work tables!
Designate Space for Work and Play
One of the biggest mistakes I see in younger classes is teachers having work and playtime in the same area of the classroom. Children with ADHD often need assistance with separating when they should focus on schoolwork and when they're allowed to run around and play! I recommend separating your classroom as much as you can. Keep all of the toys and play items in one area, and all of the desks and work items in another. Once these two areas are separated, your students can focus on the task at hand much easier!
Create a Schedule and Routine
Developing a routine for your students can help your children mentally prepare for the day ahead. From what I've seen in the past, children with ADHD thrive on routines and schedules! Create a daily schedule and write it up on the board before your students arrive at school. Then your students will know what to expect, and they'll know exactly when they can get those wiggles out during playtime!
Giving Clear Instructions
Over the years, I'm sure you've had students who couldn't follow instructions. Unfortunately, this is a common problem with ADHD kids. You can set your students up for success by giving them instructions that are detailed, clear, and easy to understand. When applicable, try using images and graphs to help your visual learners understand the task at hand! I highly recommend giving students directions out loud and in writing. Have your students repeat the instructions back to you to ensure they understood the assignment!
Helping Students Get Organized
There are two types of students in the classroom. Type 1 is the student who has all their assignments categorized by subject in color-coded folders tucked away in a binder neatly. And then there's type 2… These kids often shove their papers in their backpacks with little to no care, and they have trouble finding finished homework because their backpack is a mess. Children with ADHD are most likely to be type 2. Disorganization can be an obstacle for children with ADHD. Try helping your students get organized! I recommend all students have a master binder with each subject color-coded separately. Make sure there's a folder in their binder for paperwork that should be seen by their parents.
Accommodating Children with ADHD for Tests and Assignments
One of the best adjustments you can make is minimizing the number of questions and problems per worksheet. When children receive a large worksheet filled with problems, they get overwhelmed and avoid doing homework altogether. Instead, try creating more worksheets with fewer questions. This makes it easier for children to break up their homework into small sections, so they can take breaks between! I also recommend scheduling short quizzes instead of a long test at the end of each unit. If this isn't possible, make sure to give your ADHD kids more time to complete tests! In most cases, you can find a quieter space for your ADHD students to complete tests so they aren't distracted by other kids around them!
Managing Behavior
Last but not least, kids with ADHD often need assistance to stay focused on their schoolwork. Children with ADHD often feel as though they can't be successful in school because of their disorder. Their behavior is just as frustrating for them as it is for their teachers. Keep this in mind when you're helping your ADHD students stay on task. It's best to create a nonverbal signal, such as a sticky note, or a hand on their shoulder, to help get your student's attention without calling them out in front of the whole class. I also recommend talking to your ADHD students and letting them know it's okay to take a brain break. Give them a few minutes to do a quiet activity before helping them focus on schoolwork again. You can even create a behavior plan with a reward system to help give your ADHD students motivation to focus during the school day! As a teacher, it can be frustrating dealing with ADHD children who can’t control their actions. Keep in mind that these children are often frustrated with themselves too. Instead of being upset with them, try to talk to them and help them navigate these big emotions. You can make a huge difference in your students' lives by helping them find their love for learning once more!
Alternative Seating Options: A Closer Look
Rubber Band Chair
Some chairs come with these built in, but can be hard to find.
The Pipersong Meditation Chair
Designed for flexibility, it allows you to sit in whichever position makes you feel most comfortable, like cross-legged, squatting, or kneeling-all within a single chair.
The Brick Attic Criss Cross Chair
The U-shaped design hugs your back and hips, providing just the right amount of support.
The Vingli Cloud Criss Cross Legged Chair
Built for multitaskers, this chair is versatile with height adjustability and a 360° swivel for ease of movement.
The Songmics Adjustable Ergonomic Standing Stool
Offers a fun twist on traditional seating. Its height adjustment (ranging from 23.6 to 33.3 inches) means you can pair it with desks and counters of various heights.
The Trideer Wobble Chair for Kids
A fun, kid-sized option designed to meet the needs of younger individuals.
The Zhenx Spinning Chair
Designed specifically for kids with ADHD or autism, this innovative seat is perfect for little ones who need movement to stay focused.
The NYPOT Ergonomic Kneeling Chair
A dream come true for adults with ADHD who spend long hours at a desk.
The AtHope Cross-Legged Meditation Chair
Regular office chairs feel more like prisons than workspaces to you, the AtHope Cross-Legged Meditation Chair might just be the escape you’ve been looking for.
The GoSports Wobble Chair
Designed for kids eight to twelve years old, this ADHD-friendly stool encourages movement with its wiggle, wobble, and tilt functionality. The non-slip rubber base keeps everything stable while allowing for 360-degree motion, and a foam-padded seat offers endless comfort, even during long study sessions.
Maximizing the Benefits of Alternative Seating
Location Matters
Play around with positioning-some chairs, like the Pipersong Meditation Chair or the Vingli Cloud Criss Cross, allow you to sit cross-legged or kneel, so experiment with what feels best. Don’t forget to pair it with a desk at the right height.
Incorporate Movement
Try to get up and move every 30 to 60 minutes to help maintain focus and reduce discomfort from prolonged sitting.
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