Cell phone video game helping wean ADHD children off Adderall could be ... trends now
A cell phone video game that helps wean ADHD children off Adderall could be downloadable in the US in months — amid an over-prescription crisis of the drug.
StarRuckus, developed by Korean digital therapeutics company eMotiv and unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this week, is a first-of-its-kind app which not only diagnoses ADHD in children but also treats it by increasing their cognitive abilities, reducing the need for large amounts of Adderall.
The app uses video-style games to generate ADHD likelihood percentages in under half an hour with 93 percent accuracy, the company claims.
It does so using conventional visual, auditory and memory tests, which doctors use to diagnose ADHD, combined into an immersive screening game for children aged six to 12 – the app’s target market.
The app also has cognitive enhancement games to improve children’s attention, inhibitory control, processing speed and memory.
Cognitive enhancement games increase minors' attention, processing speed, inhibitory control and memory. In this particular game, children use a phone or tablet to manoeuvre a vehicle down a track, while dodging bombs and collecting shields. Three different colored carrots are also on the track, and children must control themselves by only clicking on the orange carrots and avoiding the blue and yellow ones
The games to treat the behavioral condition include different stages tailored to players' skill levels
The app has two components – checking for ADHD and then treating it.
The possibility of a child having ADHD is determined through a parental survey and four different types of games played by children which test their attention, impulsivity, processing speed and memory, all of which takes a total of 25 minutes.
Normally, getting an ADHD diagnosis can take up to weeks or months because doctors must observe children’s behaviour and go through multiple surveys and testing. The tests used
