Video Games Used to Treat ADHD
Video Games Used to Treat ADHD
November 2, 2006
Would you believe that video games can help patients suffering from Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)?ABC-12 (Flint, Michigan) reports that an alternative to drugs like Ritalin can be found in certain types of games.
Dr. Margaret MacDonald uses Smart BrainGames, a feedback system which monitors brainwaves through a hat full of sensors. The system then adjusts video game performance in order to "train" the player into emitting certain brain patterns. Dr. MacDonald explains how the feedback works:
If they don't do the right thing, then they can't steer and they'll crash, and eventually, the brain will keep trying to do what it has to do to succeed in the game."
Does it work? Results so far seem positive.
In a review of supervised game sessions, test subjects experienced results varying from reduction of medication to being completely med-free. Changes to lifestyle, diet, and nutrition are often mandated as additional components of the treatment process.
"Janelle," one of Dr. MacDonald's patients, reported that she used to be distracted by small noises when trying to study, but can now concentrate better:
If I'm taking a test, I can think about the problem, not the sounds.
According to the Smart BrainGames website, the biofeedback system can be hooked up to the PSone and PS2, Xbox, or a DVD-equipped PC. The PS2 version of SmartBrainGames costs $595, and that does not include the system or games. Racing or "jumping" games which feature a single controller button press are recommended.
-Reporting from Canada, GP Correspondent Colin "Jabrwock" McInnes
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Posted 07/04/09 at 03:48am
Michael Chandra: I missed out on Jack? =(
Michael Chandra: I missed out on Jack? =(
Posted 07/04/09 at 01:52am
Escanor94: hmm, looks like when someone gets banned all their comments are automaticly deleted
Escanor94: hmm, looks like when someone gets banned all their comments are automaticly deleted
Posted 07/03/09 at 11:46pm
Arcanagos: aww, did i miss the JT party? :(
Arcanagos: aww, did i miss the JT party? :(
Posted 07/03/09 at 11:00pm
Leet Gamer Jargon: Where's the recent JT bullcrap? Which comments section has he vomited on? EDIT: Nevermind; it's in the "Radio" thread.
Leet Gamer Jargon: Where's the recent JT bullcrap? Which comments section has he vomited on? EDIT: Nevermind; it's in the "Radio" thread.
Posted 07/03/09 at 09:17pm
BearDogg-X: I wonder what the Metropolitian Moron of Miami said in response to my comment saying that he got a dose of his medicine on the SGC09 Debate thread?
BearDogg-X: I wonder what the Metropolitian Moron of Miami said in response to my comment saying that he got a dose of his medicine on the SGC09 Debate thread?
Posted 07/03/09 at 06:51pm
Rodrigo Ybáñez García: He gets offended with a bunch of flowers.
Rodrigo Ybáñez García: He gets offended with a bunch of flowers.
Posted 07/03/09 at 06:49pm
GoodRobotUs: LOL He takes offence at the fact he might have *chosen* to be crazy?
GoodRobotUs: LOL He takes offence at the fact he might have *chosen* to be crazy?
Posted 07/03/09 at 06:47pm
Rodrigo Ybáñez García: He warned me to get a lawyer after I called him "crazy by his own choice"... that´s libel for him
Rodrigo Ybáñez García: He warned me to get a lawyer after I called him "crazy by his own choice"... that´s libel for him
Posted 07/03/09 at 06:45pm
HilaryDuffGta: "libel" what did he threaten now?
HilaryDuffGta: "libel" what did he threaten now?
Posted 07/03/09 at 06:44pm
Rodrigo Ybáñez García: Was fun to be threatened for "libel" again.
Rodrigo Ybáñez García: Was fun to be threatened for "libel" again.
Posted 07/03/09 at 06:26pm
HilaryDuffGta: hey so what did i miss??? the usual spam of "crap"
HilaryDuffGta: hey so what did i miss??? the usual spam of "crap"
Posted 07/03/09 at 06:15pm
FlakAttack: Jack ruined his chance to have civil debates with us here. Glad you banned him (again).
FlakAttack: Jack ruined his chance to have civil debates with us here. Glad you banned him (again).
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Krono: Unexpected is probably the best word to describe it. Particularly as no decent reason is given.
Krono: Unexpected is probably the best word to describe it. Particularly as no decent reason is given.
Posted 07/03/09 at 03:59pm
GoodRobotUs: Just heard about that myself... kinda unexpected
GoodRobotUs: Just heard about that myself... kinda unexpected
Posted 07/03/09 at 03:58pm
Krono: Huh, apparently Sarah Palin is resigning.
Krono: Huh, apparently Sarah Palin is resigning.
Posted 07/03/09 at 03:34pm
GoodRobotUs: Sounds like he's been mainlining the Angel Dust again
GoodRobotUs: Sounds like he's been mainlining the Angel Dust again
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ezbiker555: I'm back. Just in time too, my Jack Thompson sense were going wild
ezbiker555: I'm back. Just in time too, my Jack Thompson sense were going wild
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DarkSaber: You mean "playing with himself"? :-P
DarkSaber: You mean "playing with himself"? :-P
Posted 07/03/09 at 01:16pm
Matthew: Oh, Jack's back? I guess he got bored of playing single-player.
Matthew: Oh, Jack's back? I guess he got bored of playing single-player.
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Andrew Eisen: I'm leaving most of his comments up but he'll be banned again shortly.
Andrew Eisen: I'm leaving most of his comments up but he'll be banned again shortly.
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Comments
/b
*SMACK* "SHUT UP AND STUDY!!!!"
/I keed, I keed
I mean, what kind of sick and twisted 11 year old would rather read comic books than do long division? Thats the devils work, I tell yea!
Now if only they could develop a piece of technology that would make MMO grinding not feel like grinding.
Couldn't this same idea be simulated with standard racing games, or even a fighter? You have to pay attention quite heavily in both to maintain the lead. I'm sure that a few bout of Dead or Alive 3 would keep someone's attention for a while :)
The manufacturer recommends standard racing games, as long as you push a button to accelerate, and use another part of the controller to "steer". Generally racing or "jumping" games are acceptable. They have a list on their site.
Maybe this works because it uses something that interest kids?
This treatment is not verified by research. Biofeedback and other such "brainwave training" have not been proven to work. Science doesn't understand brainwaves that well yet.
People with ADHD report being able to concentrate better when engaged in activities that they like or are interested in, so i wouldn't give this machine too much credit. Kids enjoying video games? Amazing!
Also, diet and nutrition modification haven't been validated by research either. On top of that, the test subjects might not even be properly diagnosed with ADHD.
Crap like this has been around for many years, and there still isn't enough research to recommend it, even when you look at the very journal that they tout on their website.
Maybe I'm not understanding the terminology right. Isn't this study part of the process of verifying by research?
And you're missing the point of this study. I'm ADD (thankfully not ADHD), myself. I was diagnosed with it about twenty years ago and I've lived with it ever since. I used medication to help me focus on schoolwork, and now I use it to focus on work. I've never needed any help focusing on video games. That's not the point. The point is to use the video games to help teach the children to use their brains properly.
And that's basically it.
First, they put wet electrodes all over your head, particularly I remember behind the ears. The game they chose was Gran Turismo 4. What it does is back off the gas and perturb the steering when you are not "concentrating".
It works on concentration levels, and as such, you can't really be good enough at the game to get "in the zone". I've played the hell out of GT4, and knew the track well. So I lined myself up for an easy corner, knowing no effort would need take place until I hit the apex, so of course I was in a state of relaxedness. Then my car slowed down and veered off road. Of course this is frustrating, but frustration is not relaxed concentration, so you continue to veer offroad.
Extremely annoying appliance, and if video games can be used as some sort of stress relief, then this is not the way to go.
On a side note, I found the game progressed better when I concentrated on the booth babes walking by then when I tried to think of the game.
On a side note, I found the game progressed better when I concentrated on the booth babes walking by then when I tried to think of the game.
Well, that's the point of the tool, to teach you how to concentrate if you don't know how.
Imagine if you were being pestered constantly by a gaggle of shrieking 9 year olds while playing. I imagine you'd have to concentrate on your driving a lot more. That's what ADHD kids feel like.
A friend of mine alluded to it being like a constant buzzing/dizzyness in his head, like he was always stuck in "light booze buzz", but all the time, so he couldn't study at all.
Although in his case it turned out to be an inner-ear balance issue, and taking gravol before studying solved his problems.
Extremely annoying appliance, and if video games can be used as some sort of stress relief, then this is not the way to go.
In this application, it's not meant to be a source of stress relief, but a lesson in concentration. The theory is if the kid can learn to focus, they can learn to focus on other tasks as well.
I have the same condition, and although no psychiatrist I've been to has recommended video games (and I've been to a lot), I FEEL that playing helps me concentrate and prioritize. Of course, my feelings alone aren't conclusive scientific proof, and Starchy has a good point. A lot of it sounds like the same "research" used by anti-game pundits to "prove" a link between games and violence.
Still, the idea sounds like it has potential. It should at least be tested throughly to see if it pans out. This method would be a hell of a lot better than cramming psychiatric drugs into young people considering the long-term side-effects.
Like Jabrwock said, it's not about stress relief, it's about giving people with ADD (and other similar conditions) a reason to concentrate. Everyone plays games to try and reach the conclusion, especially racing games, this kind of feedback is something that the players will want to overcome to progress. I just wonder whether concentrating on a video game is going to help so much with say, studying, as racing games particularly are reflex and instinct based. I've yet to see a doctorate essay that requires some 1337 flick-rail skills. :)
Yay! Finnaly someone said this! When something crops up often enough, I get suspicious. ADD and ADHD makes me suspicious. It just appearers too often to be a neural-chemical 'deviancy'...and deviancy on the scale that it needs to be treated with medication is supposed to be rare. Doesn't anyone think that maybe, just maybe...the kids are bored?
While the video games are equally effective as biofeedback techniques, kids are more likely to stick with the video games.
They still somehow seem to twist it around that video games are still doing some minor harm to children.
@Beacon
It's pretty clear from visiting the Smart Brain Games website that this isn't a study as much as it is a product and franchise available for sale. This implies that it is proven and that it works right now-- I'm saying that this isn't verified based on the research provided.
Until proven by research, it's hard to give this product any credibility.
My point in bringing up kids being able to focus better on video games earlier was that some of the benefits of this product may not be coming from the product itself, but from the kid focusing on something that he/she enjoys anyway.
I do understand that the point is not to help kids focus on video games, but to "train their brain" to focus better in general. That would be great if it works, but it hasn't been backed up by the research yet.
As an aside, Monica and john probably work for Smart Brain games and/or Play Attention.
I my counseling practice I have seen success with younger clients who have normally had difficulty in a counselling setting become more attentive during the session if they play a video game prior to or during the start of the session. The effect can be seen deteriorating during longer sessions.
I'm a little worried about the blanket generalizations about video games: I have ADD and have discovered that, while some video games do help me focus, others can overload my senses to the point of provoking panic attacks if I play them without my medication.
Would you believe that video games can help patients suffering from Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)? ABC-12 (Flint, Michigan) reports that an alternative to drugs like Ritalin can be found in certain types of games. Dr. Margaret MacDona...
Meanwhile, no amount of money or resources seems to reduce the rate of preterm births. Take prevention: Of numerous strategies, an inexhaustive list includes enhanced prenatal care, improved maternal nutrition, treatment of vaginal infections, better m...
Educational games work in that way, but working with kids with ADHD is something quite different.
Excellent article.
First point: any time something claims to rid the body of "toxins", run in the other direction. The concept doesn't exist. There are no 10 year old steaks sitting in your digestive system. And "pulling out toxins from the soles of your feet" sounds like REAL hooey to me. And Consumer Reports.
Second point: It's easy to tell if someone "needs" or "doesn't need" a stimulant to treat ADD or ADHD; Normal people, when they TAKE a stimulant BECOME hyperactive. If you take Ritalin and BECOME hyperactive, you probably don't need it (tho' I am no doctor.) However if taking a stimulant doesn't MAKE you more hyperactive, nervous, anxious, distractable, but actually IMPROVES those tendencies, you probably need it (tho' again, no doctor here.)
People who say that the way to treat ADD or ADHD is to hit, yell at or punish the child are saying "Broken leg? I don't believe in broken legs. You are just lazy! Get up now or I will hit you!" Maybe you can get them up by threatening them with a stick, but you aren't helping their broken leg. Would you yell at a kid with asthma "You need to buckle down and concentrate on BREATHING more! I don't believe in asthma! You are just a LAZY BREATHER."
Anyone who says that ADD/ADHD are not medical problems are ignorant and need to investigate before spouting off about something they don't understand. Studies? Yeah, boatloads of them. It is a problem that (right now, anyhow) requires a doctor, not taunting.
You may not agree that medication is the correct answer for your child, (some parents with ADD/ADHD children change their whole lives in dramatic ways to avoid medication, like only home-schooling their child or children) but anyone who argues that there is no such thing as ADD or ADHD probably also believes there is no proven link between smoking and emphaesema and the concept of human-created climate change "needs more study." Some people would rather believe anecdote and "tell all" exposes that just look up the actual valid medical studies and research on the issue of ADHD. This is a case where the popular media has generally botched their objectivity in service of "SHOUTING HEADLINES."