Last semester, I was asked by my english teacher to write an essay. The problem is that, due to the pandemic and online classes, I had to send my essay by email to the teacher and I never received feedback on my work. So I've decided to post my essay on Journaly and I hope you will take a little of your time to correct my mistakes. Thank you in advance.

Can video games be an effective treatment for ADHD?

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common disorders which affect children. It is mainly affecting the capacity of children to stay focus for long periods of time, they are suffering from hyperactivity and impulsivity. ADHD can be hard to live with and can cause difficulty at school or at home. Due to their impulsive behaviors, people with ADHD can also have trouble forming relationships. This disorder is usually treated with medication and behavioral therapy but more recently a brand-new treatment, which is quite surprising and unexpected, came up: video games. Some studies begin to show some interest in video games to help reduce and even remove ADHD symptoms. We can therefore ask ourselves this question. Can video games be an effective treatment for ADHD? First of all, I will concentrate on the reasons why video games can be beneficial to children with ADHD. Then, I will focus on the game EndeavorRX, the first video game prescribed by doctors. And finally, I will talk about the drawbacks and limits of video games treatment.

To begin with, contrary to what people usually believe, video games are not that harmful and damaging for kids. And they, even less, provoke ADHD. There is absolutely no proof that video games are increasing the risks of developing any symptoms. Actually, they are very useful and can help treat this disorder.

Video games are challenging for the player because they require a lot of abilities that are normally lacking for people with ADHD like concentration, multitasking, etc. By playing video games children can acquire new skills such as strategy and problem-solving, hand-eye coordination, visual-spatial skills, … For instance, the globally famous game Tetris is a compelling tool that pushes children to think, decide and act in a few seconds in order to keep playing. Besides, the simplicity of the game and the clarity of the goal are its main strengths. In fact, the player has to organize different shapes in a way that makes them disappear, and this, more and more rapidly until the player loses. This game has a real impact on the attention span of children.

Another possibility is to combine video games with neurofeedback, a software that can tell how well a person is focused on the pictures she sees. An example will be a car racing system in which the car moves depending on the concentration of the player. For instance, the car moves at normal speed when the player is concentrated but slows down and then stops if the kid starts to be distracted. This approach keeps the player involved for a long period of time, it extends their capacity to remain focused in prolonged activities.

By the way, for the first time, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a video game prescription for kids with ADHD. It is unprecedented news, doctors can now prescribe video games. It can seem inappropriate, but this game successfully passed seven years of clinical trials and the results of the studies are astonishing, one-third of the children who participated in the trial noticed clear improvements in their behavior.

The game is called EndeavorRX, formerly Project EVO, and it is a multitasking game in which the player needs to avoid obstacles as well as tapping moving targets. The project included around 600 kids between 8 and 12 years old. These kids were separated into two categories, one where children played EndeavorRX and one where children played a non-specialized video game. After spending 25 minutes per day, five days per week, for four weeks playing their respective game, the children’s attention was tested. The results said that both groups improved but the ones who played EndeavorRX were 15% more successful than the other ones. Moreover, one-third of the kids had fewer troubles thanks to this video game treatment and all improvements were still in place one month later.

This shows the real impact, and the effectiveness of video games in the treatment of ADHD and opens the path for a brand-new field of research.

However, video games are not, for now, the revolutionary treatment that could replace by itself all the previous ones. In fact, video games are not enough to treat ADHD, it is a complementary help, it needs to be used in addition to medication and behavioral therapy.

There are also some contraindications for kids who cannot limit themselves. Indeed, some kids can spend too much time in front of video games and can therefore develop a form of addiction. Video games must not replace social interactions, schoolwork or sports. All these activities are fundamental for the good development of a child. That is why parents must set boundaries and carefully observe the behavior of their child. If the kid begins to get frustrated, violent or isolates himself, video games might not be a good solution for this particular kid.

Some people agree that video games can actually help with the deficit of attention of children with ADHD. But they are also saying that there are still many symptoms that video games don’t treat and also that video games can’t help children with social interactions such as learning when it is your time to speak, or to listen to others, how to behave properly in different life situations.

To conclude, video games can be an effective treatment for ADHD, but not by itself at the moment. We are only at the beginning of treatments with new technologies like video games. But we can hope that in the future more and more video games will be approved as medicine and will be used and shared by a large part of the population. For now, it is already quite good, and it has a real impact on the attention span of people with ADHD. Some studies proved that video games are effective, but we can do better and maybe one day there will be a video game that will replace current treatment and get rid of meds to treat this disorder.