Memory games kept children with ADHD training longer and helped memory

The study

1. 01

   Who took part

   51 children with ADHD, aged 7 to 12 (average 9.5), from three clinics in the Netherlands. Most were boys: 42 boys and 9 girls.

2. 02

   What they did

   Each child had three weekly sessions of about 30 minutes of computer memory training. The game group had robot stories, levels and bonuses; the other group had none.

3. 03

   What happened

   Game-group children finished about 200 sequences, against about 134, and were off the training 9% of the time, against 42%. Their memory went up from about 5 to about 5.4, while the other group's did not go up. The paper's text and tables give different figures for the extra sequences, so the exact gap is uncertain.

What the study found

1. HelpedGoals

   Children on the game version spent less time away from training and finished more sequences than children on plain training.

   • Rule: Make it enjoyabletested
   • Action: Train attention and memory with exercisesused

   Small randomised trial of 51 children with ADHD aged 7 to 12 · vs the same training with no game elements · behaviour was recorded · ⚠ numbers unreliable

2. HelpedMotivation

   Children on the game version more often said they liked the task and wanted it at home.

   • Rule: Make it enjoyabletested
   • Action: Train attention and memory with exercisesused

   Small randomised trial of 51 children with ADHD aged 7 to 12 · vs the same training with no game elements · behaviour was recorded · ⚠ numbers unreliable

3. HelpedFocus

   Children with the game improved on a separate memory test; children on plain training did not.

   • Rule: Make it enjoyabletested
   • Action: Train attention and memory with exercisesused

   Small randomised trial of 51 children with ADHD aged 7 to 12 · vs the same training with no game elements · behaviour was recorded · ⚠ numbers unreliable

Source