Improving Selective Attention for All Students with Coordinative Bal-A-Vis-X Movement Breaks: A Pilot Study

ABSTRACT

Brief coordinative movement breaks increase student attention and should be implemented by school-based occupational therapists to support the occupational potential of all students. Inattention is one of the most common reasons for student referrals to special education. Decreased physical activity is a contributing factor, yet movement opportunities are declining in schools. Despite these trends and the call from AOTA to support health promotion and prevention for all, 1:1 occupational therapy focusing on students identified with handwriting deficits continue to be prevalent in school-based practice. To remain a relevant service and keep pace with changing trends in special education and best practice, occupational therapists must broaden their scope to address inattention. This study explored Bal-A-Vis-X as an inclusive coordinative exercise intervention and found that 10-minutes of Bal-A-Vis-X twice per week for eight weeks improved attention in sixth grade students from d2 Test of Attention pretest to posttests. Immediate posttest improvements were statistically significant for processing speed (TN, t(27) = −7.27, p <.001), focused attention (TN-E, t(27) = −9.85, p <.001), concentration performance (CP, t(27) = −7.90, p <.001), and accuracy (E%, t(27) = 1.72, p = .048). Delayed posttesting was completed 90-minutes after the intervention with statistically significant improvements in processing speed (TN, t(21) = −10.37, p <.001), focused attention (TN-E, t(21) = −12.59, p <.001), concentration performance (CP, t(21) = −11.28, p <.001), and accuracy (E%, t(21) = 2.62, p = .008).

KEYWORDS:

• Attention
• Bal-A-Vis-X
• children and adolescents
• coordinative movement breaks
• health promotion

Acknowledgments

We thank Bill Hubert, creator of Bal-A-Vis-X, for granting permission to use Bal-A-Vis-X for this pilot study. The primary author paid for and attended a 2017 Bal-A-Vis-X training with Mr. Hubert in Wichita, Kansas and would like to thank him for taking the time to speak with her to make suggestions regarding appropriate Bal-A-Vis-X exercises for use in this study. No financial incentives have been provided to the study authors or institutions by Mr. Hubert or any individual or entity affiliated with Bal-A-Vis-X.