How a children's game proves ADHD really is all in the mind By Oona Mashta
Last updated at 10:10 PM on 16th January 2010
The news will infuriate millions of parents who have children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). A new British study has proved that children suffering from the behavioural disorder can control their symptoms - simply by learning self-discipline.
Researchers from the University of Hertfordshire's School of Psychology in Hatfield have been studying the effects of a thought-controlled computer game that requires the player to concentrate in order to win.
Ten children, who were either diagnosed with ADHD or identified by their teachers as having attention problems, were asked to play the game three times a week for 12 weeks.
Game plan: Justis Wintz has made steady progress since taking part in the study and his mother Suzanne says he is much calmer
Each session lasted for half an hour with the children tested to measure their attention before and after the experiment. At the end of the study, the researchers found that the children's impulsive behaviour had improved by at least 25 per cent.
The results are being hailed by experts as a major breakthrough in the treatment of ADHD, which is estimated to affect between three and nine per cent of children in the UK.
'The game trains children who have problems with attention to concentrate,' explains Professor Karen Pine, who led the study.
'Children with ADHD can't sit still and find it hard to stick at any task. They never seem to listen and appear unruly or badly behaved. The condition makes it hard for them to curb their impulsiveness.
'Traditionally, drug treatment has been the only real option. But these findings show that ADHD can be tackled simply by teaching self-control.'
ADHD is defined by two broad groups of behavioural problems: inattentiveness, and a combination of hyperactivity and impulsiveness. Common symptoms also include a short attention span, restlessness and constant fidgeting.
It was first described by physiologists in the late Eighties, and boys are three times more likely to be diagnosed. The condition is usually managed, if at all, with medication including powerful amphetamine-like stimulant drugs, which work by affecting levels of brain chemicals known as neurotransmitters, aiding concentration and reducing hyperactivity.
However, these carry serious side effects when taken long-term, including damage to the cardiovascular and nervous systems - and many parents are reluctant to medicate their children. Around 60 per cent of children diagnosed with ADHD continue to suffer from the condition as adults.
The Hertfordshire researchers were investigating the effects of a learning strategy known as electroencephalography (EEG) biofeedback, now used in a number of American schools for children with attention problems.
The games system, called Play Attention, uses a helmet lined with electrodes, to monitor brain activity, which is connected to a computer.
'The helmet picks up brain rhythms associated with concentration,' explains Prof Pine. 'This sends messages to what is effectively a computer games console, so the player can control the game with their mind.
'The games are designed so that if the player concentrates for long enough they win. However, if their attention is broken the game freezes.
'In one game the children had to get a deep-sea diver to descend to the seabed and retrieve treasure. To get him to dive, they had to focus their attention - he stopped moving if their mind wandered. It is a fun and very effective way of teaching these children to control their attention.'
One child who took part was eight-year-old Justis Wintz, from Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire.
'When Justis first started school, it quickly became obvious he had problems concentrating,' says his mother Suzanne Delaney, 39, a mature student. 'His teachers told us that he wouldn't sit still and that he'd often blurt out inappropriate questions.
'This didn't surprise us - at home his temper was volatile. One minute he'd be playing, the next he was angry and throwing things at us. He was impossible to discipline.'
Suzanne and her partner Joseph Wintz, 41, a supervisor for London Underground, eventually had to move their son to a local special school. But since participating in the Play Attention study, they are delighted with his progress.
'He is calmer and he doesn't fidget as much,' says Suzanne. 'He now gets dressed with less prompting, gets his own juice and even washes up the odd saucepan, which he never did before. Since he's changed so much in a relatively short time, our aim is for him to go into a mainstream secondary school.'
In US studies, EEG feedback was found to be effective in controlling symptoms of ADHD in 75 per cent of patients. The games makers, educational charity Games For Life, hope the systems - which cost around £2,500 - will eventually become commonplace.
Prof Pine believes the results of the study are promising but says that more research is needed.
'We don't know how long the effect lasts but we expect three months of sessions would be a minimum length of time needed to see a significant lasting difference in behaviour,' she says.
• www.gamesforlife.co.uk
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Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1243739/How-childrens-game-proves-ADHD-really-mind.html#ixzz0dAOst5cF
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1243739/How-childrens-game-proves-ADHD-really-mind.html
records, sworn statements, & other Certified/Certifiable evidence revealed a home with an AGGRAVATED SEXUAL ASSAULT FELON, wrist CUTTING, daily VIOLENCE, runaway teen, destruction, criminals, drug abuse (METH, COCAINE, XANAX, OXYCOTIN, etc), frequent police visits & a SEARCH WARRANT confiscated drug paraphernalia, probation violations, multiple sex partners, suspensions for drugs & violence, burglary, vandalism, shootings, disease, fighting, screaming, profanity, pornography (incl BEASTIALITY), boys & men sleeping over, my daughter sleeping at men’s homes, being taught obscene language & gestures, & so much more.
ReplyDeleteAggravated perjury, forged letters, falsified evidence, unsupported, inconsistent, & unchallenged false accusations, by the mother, CPS, et al., outweighed exhaustive undisputed facts, certified evidence, sworn statements, & objective/testable/verifiable documentation, disproving the accusations, & proving neglect & abuse by the mother.
With the knowledge &/or support of Dr Edward G Silverman, Lynn T Coleman, Theresa Burbank, & Elaine Baggerley, the mother has so thwarted my daughter’s education that, in Kindergarten, at 6½ years old, she is below District Guidelines.
At 4 years old my daughter could count to 29, count to 100 by tens, write her name, recognize most letters, could tie her shoes, play checkers, had her own computer with games, play card games, & much more.
At 6+ years old, she could do none of those, & now she requires special attention, & is a behavioral problem.
Well known to Dr Edward G Silverman, Lynn Coleman, & Theresa Burbank, the mother provided & reared her young children on GRAPHICALLY SEXUALLY VIOLENT entertainment & since infancy has repeatedly exposed my daughter to the same.
Well known to Dr Edward G Silverman, Theresa Burbank, Lynn Coleman, & several Montgomery County Courts & Juvenile Probation, the mother’s other children became violent, drug abusing criminals, who attended alternative high schools & exposed my daughter to drugs & diseases.
On their first meeting, Elaine Baggerley of CPS began diagnosing my daughter as ADHD, & more.
20 months of Theresa Burbank’s therapy & the mother’s sole parenting have resulted in my daughter being referred to a psychiatrist.
http://local.yahoo.com/info-19096883-teresa-burbank-pc-conroe
The mother’s family & friends have threatened me at my home & away, & my property has been vandalized.
I have received harassing, obscene, & middle of the night phone calls.
The well paid, well insured mother has lived rent & utilities free for 3½ years, but claims to be deep in debt from undisclosed medical expenses.
The mother has committed tax, CHIPs, Medicaid, & insurance fraud at least since 2003.
I have neither a history of, nor is there any evidence that I have ever been violent, destructive, abusive, hostile, etc.
My debt exceeds twice my gross annual income & is increasing.
Fees & expenses have exceeded 4 times my gross annual income & are increasing.
I have recorded nearly every contact with the mother, CPS, ad litem, & many others.
I will be presenting this case to the Texas: Bar, Commission on Judicial Conduct, Attorneys General, Appellate Courts, Supreme Court, Board of Examiners of Psychologists, TDFPS, etc. & will include:
medical & doctors records of years of mistreatment
CPS reports of violence, drugs, medical mistreatment, etc
psychological evaluations include lying, abuse, etc
depositions of lying, violence, drug abuse, sex, etc
CISD records of violence, drugs, sex, etc
police reports of violence, drugs, shootings, etc
myspace of violence, drug abuse, sex, pornography, etc
emails to/from the: ad litem, psychologist, therapist
I have always loved & wanted my daughter & always will, & I will never, ever, ever give up trying to rescue her.
Judge Stovall of 221st State District Court of Montgomery County, TX: Please right this injustice & return my daughter.
In July, 2009, I was massacred in a 3¼ year custody battle for my, now, 6½ y/o daughter.
ReplyDeleteConvicted child molesters have more access to their children than I do.
Calls, letters, & gifts are intercepted, & I have no visitation.
The mother secreted her 2 month & 14 month old babies, 1200 miles from their father, & for 15½ years, her family prevented all contact.
The mother’s 18 year history & pattern of hostility, alienation, & medical mistreatment was well known to evaluating psychologist Dr Edward G Silverman, therapist Theresa Burbank, ad litem Lynn T Coleman, the attorneys, et.al.
Despite months of exams & x-rays by pediatricians & specialists, for a real & progressing condition, & prescribing increasingly invasive treatment, the mother, Edward G Silverman, Theresa Burbank, Lynn Coleman, Elaine Baggerley of CPS, & Judge Suzanne Stovall, refused to believe the diagnosis of the medical professionals & necessity for treatment.
Even after several of them spoke with the medical professionals, & were provided the records, they all persisted in their false beliefs despite the invalidating evidence.
A specialist repeatedly requested the mother & Lynn Coleman, attend the appointments, but even with weeks of advance notice they refused.
Even with the mother’s sworn statements of medically abusing/neglecting our daughter & with the doctors corroborating records of her mistreatment, Judge Suzanne Stovall took my daughter from me & placed her into the mother’s sole custody.
Symptoms have persisted, but her condition is withheld.
Since infancy, the mother has secreted our daughter to doctors, & medically mistreated her.
For at least 15 months, the mother yo-yoed our daughter on steroids.
She has deliberately neglected her dental care.
The mother has a history & pattern of medically mistreating her other children with steroids, psychiatric drugs, numerous prescriptions, & OTC medicines, & they have had significant dental issues due to her neglect.
http://www.courthouseforum.com
Judge Suzanne Stovall signed a Final Decree to remove me from my daughter, without a trial, without my signature, without my lawyer's signature, & without compelling the mother’s (plaintiff) discovery.
Despite 3 years of Hearings, Rule 11’s, hundreds of emails, letters, & conversations, Judge Suzanne Stovall refused to compel the mother to produce discovery, yet granted the mother years of continuances because her discovery was incomplete; including continuing a preferentially set trial.
Everyone knew how devastating her discovery would be & Judge Suzanne Stovall refused to compel.
Judge Suzanne Stovall inconsistently ruled on motions, laws, or rules to favor the mother.
My lawyers complained that she favored the mother.
Judge Suzanne Stovall ignored the overwhelming certified/certifiable evidence of violence, hostility, aggression, & abuse by the mother, her family, & her friends.
Judge Suzanne Stovall disregarded over 3 years & over 300 exhibited provable charges of Contempt against the mother, including failure to pay child support, interfering with child custody, & worse.
It required my lawyer’s written threat of a Writ of Habeas Corpus for the mother to surrender my daughter to me.
I paid the jury fee, & for 3 years, pleaded, in vain, for a trial or in some way, to present a case.
Judge Suzanne Stovall punished me with over 20% plus $100, monthly child support.
Depositions, CISD records, sworn statements, & other Certified/Certifiable evidence revealed a home with an AGGRAVATED SEXUAL ASSAULT FELON, wrist CUTTING, daily VIOLENCE, runaway teen, destruction, criminals, drug abuse (METH, COCAINE, XANAX, OXYCOTIN, etc), frequent police visits & a SEARCH WARRANT confiscated drug paraphernalia, probation violations, multiple sex partners, suspensions for drugs & violence, burglary, vandalism, shootings, disease, fighting, screaming, profanity, pornography (incl BEASTIALITY
I wish you luck. Keep up this fight and don't ever give up on your daughter. CPS needs to be exposed for the monsters they are. Good parents and families are suffering needlessly. Not only is their parental alienation between parents, theres parental alienation caused by CPS. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteMy grandson is being treated for ADHD by DCYF. He was first placed on medication for his violent behavior after he tried to hang himself and tried to beat up the foster strangers. Since then, DCYF had him diagnosed with ADHD and put on different medication. Funny how other people don't have the patience or the know how to handle our children and grandchildren without drugs, but we do. What does that tell you?
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