Effects of white noise on off-task behavior and academic responding for children with ADHD.
White noise headphones reduce fidgeting in ADHD students but won't improve their schoolwork.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Three elementary students with ADHD wore headphones during math class.
White noise played softly while they worked.
Researchers counted off-task behavior and correct math answers each day.
What they found
White noise cut off-task behavior for all three kids.
Their heads stayed down and pencils moved more.
But their math scores stayed the same—no extra problems got finished.
How this fits with other research
Shawler et al. (2021) showed simple posted rules reduced problem behavior without rewards.
Both studies prove antecedent tricks can work without points or tokens.
Efstratopoulou et al. (2012) reminds us ADHD kids often look different in PE class.
Their motor checklist helps you spot ADHD from ASD before trying white noise.
Why it matters
You can try white noise headphones tomorrow for fidgety kids.
It costs nothing and might buy you five extra minutes of focus.
Just don't expect better grades—use it as a calm-down tool, not a teaching fix.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
We evaluated the effects of white noise played through headphones on off-task behavior, percentage of items completed, and percentage of items completed correctly for 3 students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Headphones plus white noise were associated with decreases in off-task behavior relative to baseline and headphones-only (no white noise) control conditions. Little change in academic responding occurred across conditions for all participants.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 2014 · doi:10.1002/jaba.79