Effects of Therapy Putty Usage on Academic Performance and Perceived Attention to Task in Students with ADHD

Background: Therapy putty (TP) has been promoted as an effective self-regulation tool for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Putty manufacturers claim that manipulating TP provides "heavy sensory input" allowing ADHD children to take focus off sensory needs and onto tasks at hand. To date, however, no studies have examined the validity of these claims pertaining to the efficacy of TP on student academic performance. Objective: To assess the impact of TP usage on task completion and accuracy of students with/without ADHD, and examine student perceptions regarding the effect of TP on focus and performance estimates. Design/Methods: Students (n=81) aged 8-18 years (43 with ADHD [AS], 38 without ADHD [CS]) completed a 3-minute timed modified Permanent Product Measure of Performance (mPERMP), a skill-adjusted math test, and a Forward Digit Span Test (FDST), a listening test measuring recall ability, with/without TP. Parents reported demographics and rated their child's academic performance. Subjects were randomized into 2 cohorts, which differed in the order of the tasks completed. Following successful completion of each task, subjects evaluated their focus and performance on a 10-point Likert Scale. A paired t-test was used to analyze the effects of TP. Results: Of the 81 subjects, 70% identified as male; 52% White, 28% Asian, 10% Black, and 10% other; 90% Non-Hispanic/Latino. Mean age of AS was 11.7 years (SD: 2.5); mean age of CS was 10.8 years (SD: 2.3). 62% of parents believed their children were academically performing in the "average" range. Table 1 depicts performance on the mPERMP and FDST with/without TP usage. Table 2 shows participants' mean focus and performance scores for both tests with/without TP usage. All p-values correspond to a 95% confidence interval. Conclusions: For all subjects, TP usage was significantly associated with lower mPERMP completion and accuracy scores as well as lower mean perceived focus and performance ratings. While students with ADHD showed significant FDST accuracy score improvement with TP, there was no significant impact on mean perceived FDST focus or performance ratings. Our study suggests that ADHD students may benefit from TP usage with listening tasks only although more research is needed to support this finding. All therapies that are intended for classroom use by ADHD students should be thoroughly studied prior to implementation as these intended therapy tools may actually pose a dis