Gamble against the Fidget: In the USA there is now an officially licensed game against ADHD Knowledge

Many of the parents will RUB in this message, the eyes: The US FDA has just officially a computer game approved for the treatment, of all things, for the attention deficit hyperactivity syndrome ADHD.

And in a time to depend to the children, of necessity, a lot of home “” and it is for parents and guardians is particularly difficult to limit the use of electronic media. A time in which even the education part online needs to take place.

Also the is now Therapy on the screen moved?

348 children: Daddeln for the research

The fact is that the video game has been tested-like application with the unspectacular name of AKL-T01 (trade name EndeavorRX) in a study as a therapy and the results was Recently published in the journal “The Lancet Digital Health”.

STARS-ADHD-study (for: “Software Treatment for Actively Reducing Severity of ADHD”) had participated in 20 centers in the United States of 348 children aged 8 to 12 years. A prerequisite for participation in the study, which was conducted by the Duke University Medical Center, was in addition to the diagnosis of ADHD, the Adolescent took no medications or prior to the start of the study discontinuation, and that other psychiatric diagnoses have been made.

The majority of children suffering from ADHD: you show at the same time, social behaviour disorders, suffer from developmental disorders or depression. With around five percent of the affected children and adolescents is ADHD is one of the world’s most important psychiatric disorders in childhood and adolescence.

Five Times a week 25 minutes of play

The 348 children from twenty treatment centres were commissioned in the following four weeks, five days for 25 minutes on a Tablet with the App played play. In the case of a group, the App contained elements, which is the ability to deliberately attract the attention, to Cope with multiple requests at a time and to impulse control training.

[Wenn Sie alle aktuellen Entwicklungen zur Coronavirus-Krise live auf Ihr Handy haben wollen, empfehlen wir Ihnen unsere runderneuerte App, die Sie hier für Apple- und Android-Geräte herunterladen können.]

In addition to a task, in order to Perceive and Decide is, must be managed in a navigation task, the motor skill requires. If the players cope with the double demands well, rewards and an individual adjustment of the difficulty level of the game.

In the control group, the children were playing with an App that was not designed in such a way refined. The families lived in the Belief that all children played for therapeutic reasons.

Before and after the four weeks of the treatment phase, the children were evaluated according to the digital Assessment program TOVA (“test Of Variables of Attention”), the various elements of the attention taken into account. In fact, the study participants who had trained for four weeks with the specifically designed App to cut, afterwards in the Tests considerably better.

The training plan alone was already a positive effect

However, interviews showed that the parents and the children of the control group had trained for four weeks with the “wrong” App, had the feeling, the attention had improved as a result. The child and youth psychiatrists who conducted the study, believe that it is very likely that only the disciplined adherence to a daily training plan has helped the children to more structure, regardless of the intelligent Design of therapeutic App.

Further reports to ADHD:

You have to confess also, that, in fact, also studies of brain function would be important, for example, by EEG. A month is also too short a period for such a therapy, further observations over longer time periods are therefore important.

The two important pillars of the treatment of ADHD, behavioral therapy, and medication, are to replace not safe for the foreseeable future through a workout on the Tablet. After all, the young patients tested the digital remedy complained of unpleasant side-effects of treatment, such as occur in the case of medicinal products.

Not the first digital ADHD-Training

Although there are already a number of studies for the digital Training for children with ADHD. However, in the least-tested program to be tested against a “dummy program”, and in hardly any of the groups were rolled randomly together. That AKL-T01 has been proven in a randomized study, so as Progress apply.

“Basically, you will have no alternative but to make digital therapy offers“ the verdict of Hans Willner, chief physician of the clinic for mental health in the children and youth of the St. Joseph hospital in Berlin-Tempelhof.

The life-world of young people was not present, of course, that the chances would have to be in the psychiatric and psycho-therapeutic work and picked up perceived. “Apps could, in particular, foster self-efficacythey are accessible at any time, reward features may be incorporated.“ The biggest challenge for Willner sees it, to transfer what they have Learned and Experienced in everyday life.

This difficulty, however, in the case of the psycho-therapies for the Clinician and patient can meet in person. “And it could even be that the exercise effects will be better, due to the more frequent Practice, and because the digital Medium for the children has a greater appeal,” says child and adolescent psychiatrist. However, the need to ensure that the Families, guides to continually and the results are then evaluated.

The digital agent has a clear objective, it should more attention and focus of children ensure that need, according to your practitioner especially. It but no remedy against the other component of the disease is, the strong agitation and motor activity.

Recommendations for limiting screen time is not advised by the new therapy option to falter: After 25 minutes must the motion to sit on the iPad and the urge to come to his right.

–