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Treating ADHD With Games
Mana Knight writes "The Escapist has an article called 'Gaming the Brain' about video games being used to treat ADHD. Quoting: 'One of the more promising therapies is neurofeedback, which involves continually monitoring patients' brainwaves. Subjects attempt to change their brainwaves to a set pattern and receive an auditory signal that tells them whether they were successful. With enough repetition, neurofeedback can rewire a person's brain. A study published in 2005 examines how patients diagnosed with ADHD can learn to better maintain their concentration through neurofeedback. Depending on how individuals respond to this type of treatment, it can even be used as a replacement for medication.'"
You can train concentration through games, but violent games don't train violence.
Will be ecstatic at this news. And he'll try to use it against his parents. He's always looking for an excuse to play games instead of go outside. heh.
First pos... oh, a pretty sound. I should do something else.
UTF-8: There and Back Again
This will only treat misdiagnosed ADHD. Someone's brain just gets used to not giving anything full attention so it jumps around. Train it to work normally again and you're good to go but that's because it originally had the capability to run normally. But if your brain isn't capable of paying attention to things because of an actual deficit in ability to pay attention, then it's impossible to train with something so simple. You need the entire nervous system to run faster with powerful stimulants like Ridalin so that along with everything, the part of your brain that handles attention and focus accelerates to a point that it functions normally. When that happens, you can focus. In other words, this will fix a "software" problem but not a "hardware" problem in your brain. But most supposed ADHD is misdiagnosed anyway so I guess it'll help plenty of people.
Google's Super Secret Search Algorithm: SELECT @search_results FROM internet WHERE @search_results = 'good'
I wonder if the appearance of more and better EEG controllers like OCZ's NIA or Emotiv's EPOC will be followed by games directly oriented to the control of those brainwaves.
I then wonder how much experience we have regarding the effect it may have on a little kid to learn to control his brainwaves like some control a plastic guitar.
Will they develop new mental illnesses like mental carpal tunnel or will they develop other skills like the ability to fall asleep at will in less than a second.
This is a good example of the potential benefits to using EEG-enhanced biofeedback. Unfortunately, due to the expense of decently sensitive EEG gear, it won't be common for home use. Maybe someone can crank out some cheap SQUIDs?
Job? I don't have time to get a job! Who will sit around and bitch about being broke and unemployed then?
Are you Frikken kidding me?! If you are going to hook someone up to a machine designed to encourage the participant to rework neural pathways, then the "reward" oughta be better than audio feedback! If you ask me, (and yes, that was rhetorical because no one is asking me) the feedback should be something a little more rewarding. How about something like a quick jolt to the pleasure centers of the brain?
Imagine it. Sitting there in a chair that resembles an execution device "thinking" your way from "wrrrr....wrrrr....wrreee.....wrrreeeeeee... wrooooooo.....wooooooo......" to "wooohoooo!!" Another recommendation for augmentation of the process is a change of underwear.
If we're going to do computer analogies...
the brain is more akin to an FPGA than a CPU. A CPU brain would be genetically programmed from the ground up, forever rigid.
An FPGA brain is a highly adaptable circuit, more-so when its young rather than old. If part of it isn't working, it can be reprogrammed. May not be easy, but it can be done.
Sigh, more ADHD/ADD. This isn't a rant at the game/article but more just the whole idea of ADHD/ADD. Overconcerned mommies wondering why their child would rather be at recess playing outside, living an adventure in the woods than sitting on his butt from 8-3 every day with 2 minute breaks in between classes where he gets to stand up from his desk, go get his textbook from the shelf, and sit back down...
HELLO! He's a kid! And he's a boy! We've always known girls are naturally predisposed to sitting still in class learning. Why don't we medicate the girls for no interest in proving themselves manly like the boys like to prove themselves worthy? Girls play the relational games, boys like to play competitive games, see if they have what it takes, if they stack up against the odds.
I'm telling you this is a war against men. The ladies then ask "Where have all the men gone, why doesn't my man sweep me off my feet with emotion?" Well, you asked them to be "nice". If all a man can aspire to in his life is to be a "nice" guy who sits down for his wife when he pees, is it any wonder where they've all gone?
I didn't read the article, but it's clearly stupid. I'm bored, I'm gonna go play games now.
It might be simpler to just get them an account on some game that demands long login times, like Evercrack or World of Warcraft. If they stay on for hours at a time, they don't really have a serious ADHD problem. They're probably just bored with school. See The Trouble with Boys", from Newsweek. "Very well-meaning people have created a biologically disrespectful model of education."
In fact, games might be a good tool for sorting out students with serious disorders from the merely bored.
I'm sorry, were you saying something?
US Patent 5377100: Method of encouraging attention by correlating video game difficulty with attention level
European Patent Application EP1219233: Using image modification and temperature biofeedback to diagnose and treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
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US Patent 5678571: Method for treating medical conditions using a microprocessor-based video game
US Patent 5913310: Method for diagnosis and treatment of psychological and emotional disorders using a microprocessor-based video game
US Patent 6450820: Method and apparatus for encouraging physiological self-regulation through modulation of an operator's control input to a video game or training simulator
WIPO Patent WO/2001/004864: Method and apparatus for encouraging physiological self-regulation through modulation of an operators control input to a video game or training simulator
(Unknown): Method and Apparatus for Encouraging Physiological Change Through Physiological Control of Video Devices
IPC8 Class: AA61B50482FI
USPC Class: 600545
Inventors: Devon Greco, Domenic Greco
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US Patent 5722418: Method for mediating social and behavioral processes in medicine and business through an interactive telecommunications guidance system
(Self-help system, not video game system)
US Patent 5938531: Information reproducing apparatus for use with a psychological game machine
... and they told me I was wasting my time. I knew it! I knew it all along!!
Yes, give me more games!!
MOORE GAMES YES!
Fast paced first person shooters like www.nexuiz.com or www.warsow.net work for me :)
For best results I would hook it to a game set in the middle of some city full of innocent pedestrians and a large assortment of melee weapons.
I realized an irony. If an ADHD treatment calms the person down (thus increasing concentration), but video games increase the person's aggression...
Example:
This NEW Video Game can help your children:
Health Warning: Excessive exposure to violent video games ... aggressive behavior...
Well it's good to know that bright colors and flashing lights mixed with objectives would finally cure ADHD. I was beginning to think that proper replies on slashdot would benefit us in a way where we
ooooo blinky LEDs....
I don't know why people like you try to destroy slashdot. Every time I come here, the comments page is crapflooded with "n*gger" and other offensive remarks. Please get a life.
..as long as movies, television and broadcast and purchased music all carry the very same warning.
Anyone who has experienced a child after watching Mighty Morphin Power Rangers will attest to this.
They only thing that other sites don't have is Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw. This guy's video reviews are hilarious. I love this guy when he bash RPG's and ohhh I really do. MGS4 review was pretty good too.
I'm not a hopeless shut-in, I'm just self medicating.
I had regular biofeedback sessions for many of my teenage years. I experienced many different sorts of protocols, including some games.
While it does work great, it was found that many kids, once returned to the classroom - would just zone out again.
Back then, the aim of the most detailed 3D game was to keep control of space crafts, quite easy and entertaining. I don't know if today problem solving games exist for treatment, but believe they would be much more beneficial.
This is a very intriguing treatment. The "games" aren't exactly Counter-Strike or WoW, though. In fact, they're very similar to this toy. The presentation I saw had kids with electrodes on their heads looking at a monitor that had a dude hanging on a red balloon. The object was to keep the balloon at a specified altitude based on input from the electrodes. Supposedly, after a few months of these types of exercises, someone in this program will be able to keep the balloon steady at will. This is supposed to build concentration skills that can be transferred over to help on things like studying and professional work. The doctor giving the presentation said that only about 60% of people who enter the program are able to successfully develop these skills.
I have moderate ADD (no H) myself and have had great success using the drug Adderall. I went from getting C's and D's in school to getting nearly straight A's as a result of using the medication. However, the drugs make me feel a bit subdued and this is not always desirable. There's also a psychological factor in that I'm somewhat bothered by the idea of having to rely on a chemical stimulant to be able to sit and do the things that other people can do without drugs. I was highly interested by this treatment, but it's quite costly and time-consuming (several thousand USD over about 2 years). My insurance company would not cover any of it and I doubt most companies would since it's largely experimental at this point. This coupled with a low-ish success rate have deterred me thus far. Are there any 'dotters out there that have tried this? The idea seems sound, in theory, but I never actually have spoken with someone who underwent the treatment.
I read about this in CHADD almost ten years ago.
Credentials: ADD from back when it was hyperactivity. Been on the Feingold Diet (worked for me, not for everybody), various drugs (works for me, not for everybody), and a lot of forced practice courtesy of mom (would probably work on everybody, since she's a force of nature).
I"ve heard various things about this, over the years, and the question that occurs to me: what happens when they've re-trained the brain this way, to the *good* aspects of ADHD?
I can zip through solving problems in a way that a lot of other people can't. I can 'see' the solution when working at fixing something mechanical. I can also spot discrepancies - visual, aural, logical - much quicker than my friends.
How much of this goes away? That would be a very interesting followup research project, IMHO.
stored on computers from birth to the grave
I wasn't wasting my life, I was self-medicating!
I guess if it worked for Angry German Kid...
It'd ADD, not ADHD. ADD has +H (with hyperactivity) and -H (without) variants.
Neurofeedback, like any other form of biofeedback, is a form of operant conditioning. It does not rewire anything beyond the obvious changes in strengths of synaptic associations within Hebbian cellular assemblies.
There's a fatal flaw in using games-like neurofeedback software to treat ADD. If you really have it (as about 5% of those diagnosed do) then you can't sit still to play. Being able to play shows you don't have it.
Many people have an attentional strategy that's been forced into inclusion in the diagnosis, who do not have a disorder, in that it does not cause significant life problems. Having teachers complain that certain children do not adhere to the enforced learning reinforcement processes is a teacher's problem. Teachers who insist on doping kids for their learning style should be investigated for child abuse, as should parents who fall for having an educator diagnose and prescribe.
"When Children Don't Learn", Dianne McGuinness, chapters 9 and 10, sets forth the single most accurate history of ADD and the most damning evidence against those who seek to usurp psychiatric medicine for their own ends. When the APA was devising the DSM IV, they took the unheard of step of asking Dr. McGuinness to write an 'opposing opinion' addendum to the ADD entry.
There's major flaw in the idea of using neurofeedback. if it can be used to treat in a matter of weeks in the few who really have it and would benefit, then just living with it over a matter of years one would happen upon instances which offered similar opportunities for practicing overcoming, and they should train themselves right out of it. My research turned up individuals who still exhibited some outward symptoms but under go-nogo-reaction time testing showed fewer errors than non-ADD people and showed reaction times to rival fighter pilots.
Through my research I turned up many times what I've come to believe is the one best treatment for ADD: Montessori schools. It does nothing to inhibit the beneficial aspects of the common attentional condition that's been forced under the ADD umbrella. For that matter neurofeedback does nothing to inhibit those either, so at least it does no harm. For that matter, anyone who gets neurofeedback is less likely to take addictive and brain altering drugs for years, and that's a good thing too.
I cannot find a reason why TFA is noteworthy. It is one of many review articles on the subject produced over the last two decades. It is just like the others in that it comes to the same conclusions yet fails to address the internal logical flaw of 'those that can don't need it' or the external evidence that those that it would change would change anyway.
"I may be synthetic, but I'm not stupid." -- Bishop 341-B
I happen to have a son who had ADD symptoms, and I have been aware of neurofeedback for quite a few years (from before some US idiots got hold of it and started to make all sorts of unwarranted claims which gave it a bad reputation).
It was initially EXTREMELY hard to get him to sit still, but the fact that it was a screen appeared to have helped. About 2 sessions further we were seeing extremely significant changes, in 6 sessions he appears to have learned enough control to do without it (circumstances meant we had to stop - we moved).
The neurofeedback concept is simple: it treats brain zones as "muscles" which you must learn to control. There is no worry my son would have faked the progress - at age 6 you don't have the required skills nor inclination.
I refuse to declare ANY treatment as a miracle cure, but the basics are sound, and I had the pleasure of working with UK's leading lights on this (who also refrain from anything that isn't hard science).
What's more, if you as a parent or an individual are facing the choice of either a life on speed (which is really what Ritalin is) which actually only "works" in 50% of cases, and makes more or a mess of the patient and their life than helps or try a treatment where it's very quickly clear that it helps or not (i.e. you won't spend a lifetime paying for something that doesn't work) it's very clear to me that trying is a must-do. Having said that, in the process of researching who would treat him I have come across a number of unqualified quacks who should be locked up instead of allowed to practice - it does need some form of quality control which is what a proper regulated approach could bring.
Sadly, all of that does rather sharply cut into pharma profits. And we wouldn't want to ruin that, would we? Ruining a child's future is a small price to pay, no? (in case you missed this, this is sarcasm).
If health services were REALLY interested in saving money they would fund more research - but that
would cut the government handouts in some countries. I have SEEN neurofeedback work, or I wouldn't have believed it either (and I most certainly would not have exposed my own son to it), and I have both a security and a scientific background. I believe only what I see, and I prefer proper scientific methodology for proof. And the proof is there. Denying this to kids is IMHO almost criminal - especially since it proves so quickly if you're on the right track.
I actually developed a model to commercialize this too (after the research) but I'm busy doing other stuff so I'm short of time right now :-(. It's not hard, but you MUST commit to funding further research or it'll have a short shelf life. And I never set up a business to run for just a few years, especially if it can help so many children.
Insert
Well said and accurate, which is important since nearly everyone else commenting on this story has the picture wrong.
Brain Workshop is a free open-source version of the Dual N-Back mental exercise.
What if a simple mental exercise could improve your memory and intelligence?
A recent study published in PNAS, an important scientific journal, shows that a particular memory task called Dual N-Back actually improves working memory (short term memory) and fluid intelligence. This finding is important because fluid intelligence was previously thought to be unchangeable. The game involves remembering a sequence of spoken letters and a sequence of positions of a square at the same time.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that the dual n-back task also enhances focus and attention and may help improve the symptoms of ADHD/ADD.
I worked in an extremely High stress environment, and I'd have to say this article opened up conversation that really overwhelms me with a sense of community. I am not alone.
You described me perfectly when you stated these things:
"It's not that students aren't interested in getting along in school, it's that they can't even if they want to."
I wasn't lucky enough to have a teacher who picked up on it. I found out in my mid 20's when hope of going to a good 4yr school was long gone. My father was like, you don't think you have that do you? then I reminded him of how many times we got into a fights because my teacher called again. Or how I scored the 3rd highest grade on my AP Bio final, but got a C- in the class
When I worked in healthcare, and a truama came in, I felt like, and have been told by peers that this describes me.
"because in emergency, high stress situations, people with ADHD may feel calm, focused, and normal, and show unusual presence of mind."
My wife would agree that this describes me:
" They don't need to try harder, they need to relax. It's like ADHD brains work in a different stimulation band than average brains; the effect of stimulant medications is to shift the band towards the normal spectrum."
I don't like spending time doing nothing. I love her to death, but can't cuddle for more than 1/2 hour w/o it leading to something offtopic, and that 1/2 hour is extremely difficult for me (though this could be just that I am a man).
I struggle to complete a task even during "hyperfocusing" because I forget common steps. For instance installing ceiling fan, but forgetting to connect the wires, requiring me to take it all apart and start over., or when building a PC, I'll be so excited about getting it done, that I'll fire it up only to find that I didn't plug in 1/2 the cables, or forgot to screw in the mobo. I cope now by using lots of checklists. Some mental, some physical, but it doesn't help w/ impromptu projects.
When you said this,
"I believe your point is that ADHD is part of natural human population variation; if so, you'd be right. "
It reminded me of how I found out... My boss at a Data Entry job w/ ADHD asked me if I was. My reply? I dunno. I didn't last long at that job for obvious reasons. It took me years to see someone about it. I am now 30, and was only diagnosed about 4-5 years ago when my ex-wife left me and my life was litterally rock bottom, short of doing crack, though the thought tempted me at the time. The doc put me on meds, but I don't take them daily. It's like I have ADHDdar now that I have a name for it. I can tell if someone is ADD and not on med's in minutes when I recognize my behaviors and impulsivity in them.
I don't take my meds honestly because I was afraid I was "over productive" I could work circles around my peers, in a very relaxed manner, and often finished w/o anything left to do in less than 1/2 the time I'd normally take to do a boring computer based task. My father instilled in me that being a hard and quality worker is important, and when I can, I do. It really freaked out my boss though...
Interestingly, I think the highstress environment of the medical field subconciously attracts people w/ OCD and ADHD.
How much is your data worth? Back it up now.
Is that I can't stop what I've started. This leads to many things, like 48hrs w/ no sleep so I could fix a computer that was worthless, but I knew I could do it w/o reformatting because a friend didn't want it formatted. The # 1 problem is achieving a certain goal through a project then stopping the project. This one gets me a lot. It's like I have no control over it, I am off to the next thing like a Ricer sitting next to an obviously superior car at the sign of a green light.
It even frustrates me, but I just enlist my wife to help me w/ these things, and it helps a bit. I'm really lucky that she understands "who I am."
How much is your data worth? Back it up now.
"Breaking someone's hyperfocus is like taking cigarettes from a smoker or coffee from a caffeine addict."
The only time I have ever "Snapped" at someone was when I was in a state of intense concentration. It's totally iritating to have someone Pop that focus bubble.
How much is your data worth? Back it up now.
There's also a psychological factor in that I'm somewhat bothered by the idea of having to rely on a chemical stimulant to be able to sit and do the things that other people can do without drugs.
That's another reason I don't take my meds. It's almost like I am afraid to be normal.
How much is your data worth? Back it up now.
Cause you could dangle cold hard cash, and it wouldn't work for me. (my favorite reward for a job well done, 2nd to the obvious male reward)
How much is your data worth? Back it up now.
It's not that a person cannot pay attention to something, it's that other things demand their attention and they can't not pay attention to that new thing.
It's like a turret's "Tic". Try reading a page of boring social studies homework when 1 million different instances of interuption are occuring.
The things that would interupt a normal person doing homework vs. AD(H)D not a phone call, a unique color in the peripheral vision. Not someone yelling, but the slightest sound in the quietest room, not a horn honking, but an intriguing thought. Now come up w/ a gazillion such analogies, and through them out rapidly, 1 right after the other, until you decide to switch to a different task. That's exactly what it's like for me.
"It's an overabundance of attention. That's why ADDers (like myself) have the unique ability to hyper-focus as well, so that if you can get sufficiently focused on a thing (difficult) you sometimes pay attention to it to the exclusion of everything else, even so far as not at all mentally hearing anything going on around you or words spoken to you."
Like Charlie brown shouting "THAT's IT!" to Lucy when she asks if he has the fear of everything!
I know my wife wants me in bed by 10:00 but if I'm working on something I can't stop 'till it's done or I've hit a substantial "checkpoint." Usually that checkpoint is "everything works but it needs to be cleaned up"
Then that project will sit for next to forever until my wife gets pissed about that project being 1/2 done.
I love my wife, I dont' want to piss her off. Who does? mad wife == celabate(sp?) husband. But my brain will find tons of things to do instead of the project needing completion.
I came up w/ coping mechanisms, and sometimes even recognize the behavior and force myself to interject, but it's not easy at all, like pushing a car up a hill. (sorry this is /. & I needed a car analogy)
How much is your data worth? Back it up now.
I was diagnosed when I was 6 and took Ritalin on and off throughout school. It was so funny when I went from never ever finishing anything on time to being done with my work faster than my classmates thought was possible. I was able to work circles around them.
Slashdot and the rest of the Internet are terribly distracting for someone with A(H)DD.
I'm afraid that doesn't seem to say much. I would assume that most people who would take speed for classwork would "work circles around" their classmates...
Video games are the cause of ADHD! The brain processes so much and so fast, simulating motion, when in fact the body doesn't experience any motion. When you're off the same, your body is still (because you become so lazy), yet your brain wants more interactive gaming, right then and now.
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