10-04-2009, 10:08 PM
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Administrator
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Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 108
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Can Playing Video Games Improve ADHD?
If your child has attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), video games can be a tricky issue. Kids with ADHD tend to love them, while parents worry that gaming can make a bad condition worse. With their fast pace and tendency toward sensory overload, video games seem sure to exacerbate attention problems, pushing schoolwork and "real life" into the background.
Game proponents make the opposite claim. They say that video games provide a sense of accomplishment that can be rare in the lives of kids suffering from this disorder. And now, some research suggests that certain video games may even treat ADHD.
Neurofeedback, not Super Mario
Sadly, there's no evidence that Super Mario Galaxy or other mass market video games improve ADHD. But a growing body of research suggests that neurofeedback—in this case, using a technique that involves a video game–like computer interface—may be helpful.
Ute Strehl, Ph.D., of the University of Tübingen in Germany, who has published several studies on neurofeedback, says, "There is growing evidence from good scientific data that neurofeedback is a viable option for ... therapy [for] ADHD."
Most studies so far have been small. Many also lack the random assignment to treatment needed to definitively prove an effect, but they do suggest that neurofeedback could have some positive effects on both IQ and attention span, as measured in the laboratory. One study even found that it was as effective as medication.
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Read more at Can Playing Video Games Improve ADHD? - MSN Health & Fitness - ADHD/ADD
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