Exergames to study psychomotor factors of children with ADHD: Preliminary findings

Abstract

Exergaming is considered an effective way to promote physical exercising for young children. Previous work has argued in favor of using exergaming to help with health problems such as obesity, or to contribute with brain maturation, which may affect motor and cognitive abilities. In this work, we describe the preliminary results of a study focused on observing the psychomotor factors exposed by a child with ADHD attending a public primary school. The case of study is an eleven-year-old girl who attends a public primary school but who receives academic support from special education therapists. An off-the-shelf exergame was selected based on its instructional and physical activation features, which the child played with for six weeks. The exergame meets its aim to stimulate psychomotor factors. Attention, speed of reaction, body posture, temporospatial and dissociation skills are categories used for video analysis. Preliminary results seem to indicate that the child’s interaction with the game has produced positive outcomes for reading comprehension, writing, memory, and visuomotor skills. CUMANES and MABC-2 are the batteries used for PRE and POST tests.  Exergaming is considered an effective way to promote physical exercising for young children. Previous work has argued in favor of using exergaming to help with health problems such as obesity, or to contribute with brain maturation, which may affect motor and cognitive abilities. In this work, we describe the preliminary results of a study focused on observing the psychomotor factors exposed by a child with ADHD attending a public primary school. The case of study is an eleven-year-old girl who attends a public primary school but who receives academic support from special education therapists. An off-the-shelf exergame was selected based on its instructional and physical activation features, which the child played with for six weeks. The exergame meets its aim to stimulate psychomotor factors. Attention, speed of reaction, body posture, temporospatial and dissociation skills are categories used for video analysis. Preliminary results seem to indicate that the child’s interaction with the game has produced positive outcomes for reading comprehension, writing, memory, and visuomotor skills. CUMANES and MABC-2 are the batteries used for PRE and POST tests.