Monday, March 13, 2006

ADHD treatment: Video games

Well this is an interesting article and something that's near and dear to my heart. My nephew suffers from Autism. ADHD isn't Autism, but they both sometimes run hand in hand. It wouldn't surprise my sister or I if they told us he also has ADHD.

I worried a lot about my nephew, believe it or not, in regards to playing video games. I know it seems like a stupid thing to think about in relation to his disorder, but the one thing I think I felt the most grief about when we were told he was Autistic was the fact that we would probably never get to enjoy a video game together. You know, the way you do when your friends come over to hang out and finish a game. He just can't sit still long enough. I did think that maybe in time it would change, but you can never know so I don't have high hopes.

He does game mind you. My sister bought a system called the V-tech. It's a great learning tool even if it does prompt you your answers. My sister thought my nephew was really adding and subtracting numbers. I observed him for 5 min and saw nothing but a hit and miss strategy... but it was a strategy non the less.

As far as having a neuro-feedback component in a videogame is concerned I don't honestly believe it would make a difference in a child’s focus. I mean, how does a videogame that is specifically designed not to respond if a child loses focus going to help any. Video games already on the market won't "respond" if you don't do anything with them. I don't understand what they mean by "respond"

Any ideas???

ADHD treatment: Video games

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