Monday, October 27, 2008

Nature Deficit Disorder - No Child Left Inside




circleThe term “nature-deficit disorder” was coined by author Richard Louv in his book “Last Child in the Woods” to describe what happens to young people who become disconnected from their natural world. Louv links this lack of nature to some of the most disturbing childhood trends, such as the rises in obesity, attention disorders, and depression.

Research is also showing that getting young people outdoors is helping ease attention disorders.

ADD flyer NCLI Click the image to access the original scientific article "Coping with ADD"

Faber Taylor, A., Kuo, F.E., & Sullivan, W.C. (2001). “Coping with ADD: The surprising connection to green play settings.” Environment and Behavior, 33(1), 54-77.

Questions? Contact Frances E. Kuo (fekuo@uiuc.edu) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Landscape and Human Health Laboratory, 1103 S. Dorner Drive, Urbana, Illinois 61801.

More information is available at http://www.lhhl.uiuc.edu/adhd.htm

The No Child Left Inside Act would address this by igniting students’ interest in the outdoors and spurring them to take part in outside activities. And learning to explore the natural world and their personal connection to it, inevitably triggers an interest in spending more time in it.

No comments:

Post a Comment