Nature-Deficit Disorder: How Art and Nature Help Children Focus and Succeed in School

Abstract

Nature-deficit disorder describes the human costs of being alienated from nature, including attention difficulties and higher rates of physical and emotional illnesses. This disorder was first named by Richard Louv, whose book “Last Child in the Woods” began an international movement to increase the time children spend outdoors. There is also a direct connection between art and nature with regard to environmental protection. This paper, written for the Psychological Coordinates of Personality Development: Realities and Perspectives 3rd All-Ukrainian Scientific and Practical Conference hosted by Poltava V.G. Korolenko National Pedagogical University in Poltava, Ukraine, introduces these topics.