Experts with the University of Hertfordshire have developed a video game that they believe may be able to help ADHD children gain greater control over their behaviors. Nicky Broyd of WebMD Health News profiled the game in a Dec. 8, 2010, article:

Researchers from the University of Hertfordshires School of Psychology have been testing the game called Play Attention which uses EEG (Electroencephalography) biofeedback by detecting brain waves.

Researchers got 10 children with an attention deficit from Hertfordshire schools to use it three times a week for twelve weeks.

Children have to wear what looks like a cycle helmet, but is really a set of brain wave sensors linked to a computer. As long as the child concentrates, they stay in control of the games; but if their attention waivers the game stops.

The researchers found that, at the end of the study, the childrens impulsive behaviour was reduced, compared to a control group who had not used the system.

Labels: brain_activity, video_games, concentration

Posted By: Aspen/CRC 0 Comments

Keep "screen time" down to two hours a day if you want your children to stay physically fit, advises a new study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Researchers from the University of Sydney in Australia studied 2,750 children to evaluate their physical activity and the time they spent on e-mail, text messaging, television, video games, and surfing the Internet. They then measured the children's scores on physical fitness tests.

As "screen time" increased, fitness levels decreased. This effect was stronger for girls.

Dr. Louise Hardy, author of the study, said that two hours a day appears to be the tipping point. Children who spend more than that amount of time staring at a screen are less likely to stay in shape.

Labels: video_games, physical-fitness, screen-time

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

A recent survey of 1,100 teenagers found that 99 percent of boys and 94 percent of girls play video games.

To many, the most surprising result of the survey was that video gaming is not an isolated pursuit. About 75 percent said that they play games with friends at least some of the time, while 65 percent play with others in the same room, with players helping each other.

A third of the teens, including those in the younger group (ages 12 to 14 years old), play games with mature content recommended for adults only. However, 52 percent said the games made them think about moral and ethical issues.

The Pew Institute performed the survey with support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Labels: video_games, studies

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

A survey of 3473 children ages two to 17 years old found that playing video games is more popular than ever and has predictable patterns of usage.

Children of both sexes start playing child-oriented games between ages two and five. At six years old, children move into games on personal computers and use gaming systems such as Nintendo and Playstation. Between six and eight years, children become more serious about gaming, and the time they spend on it increases dramatically. By age ten, they play games on cell phones.

Children ages ten to 17 years spend an average of ten hours a week gaming. About half are light users (less than five hours a week).

Boys tend to play video games more than girls do, and they also tend to use gaming systems more often. Girls tend to play on cell phones.

The NPD Group conducted the survey for industry use.

Read more in our full length article Internet Addiction: Escapism or Psychological Disorder?.

Labels: video_games, addictions, internet

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

A new study from Iowa State University found that playing video games and watching television is linked to a child's inability to pay attention.

• Researchers studied 1,323 children and found a link between "teacher-report reported attention problems" and increased exposure to television and video games.
• The children were in middle childhood and late adolescence. When earlier attention problems and gender were statistically controlled, the association between entertainment and attention problems remained significant.
• The authors said that their study does not mean video gaming causes Attention Deficit Disorder.

The study appears in the journal Pediatrics.
 

Labels: video_games, screen-time

Posted By: 4ADHD.com 1 Comment