Teachers saw kids with ADHD get more organised with memory games than self-control games

The study

1. 01

   Who took part

   73 children aged 8 to 13 with ADHD, sent to a university clinic in Florida, USA. They were about 10 years old on average, and 20 were girls. 39 trained working memory and 34 trained self-control.

2. 02

   What they did

   Both groups played nine computer games that got harder as they improved, for 10 weeks. Each week they had a 1-hour session at the clinic plus 15 minutes a day at home on 2 to 3 days. One group's games trained working memory and the other's trained holding back actions.

3. 03

   What happened

   Teachers, who didn't know which games each child played, rated the working-memory group as more organised 1 to 2 months later. Parents saw improvement in both groups, with no difference right after or 2 to 4 months later. Some numbers in the paper's table don't match its text, and the games' developer holds a patent on them.

What the study found

1. Helped

   Teachers saw kids who played working memory games get more organised than kids on self-control games.

   • Action: Train attention and memory with exercisestested

   Small randomised trial of 73 children aged 8 to 13 with ADHD · vs matched games that trained self-control · they rated themselves · ⚠ numbers unreliable

2. No difference

   Parents saw kids get more organised with either kind of game, and the two games did not differ.

   • Action: Train attention and memory with exercisestested

   Small randomised trial of 73 children aged 8 to 13 with ADHD · vs matched games that trained self-control · they rated themselves · ⚠ numbers unreliable

Source