Managing ADHD Symptoms in Children Through the Use of Various Technology-Driven Serious Games: A Systematic Review
Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) frequently experience impairments in a range of abilities. Due to their poor attention and concentration, they find it challenging to stay focused when learning. They need help to retain the directions given by teachers and are very anima...
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MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2414-4088/9/1/8 |
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| author | Aikaterini Doulou Pantelis Pergantis Athanasios Drigas Charalampos Skianis |
| author_facet | Aikaterini Doulou Pantelis Pergantis Athanasios Drigas Charalampos Skianis |
| author_sort | Aikaterini Doulou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) frequently experience impairments in a range of abilities. Due to their poor attention and concentration, they find it challenging to stay focused when learning. They need help to retain the directions given by teachers and are very animated. Focus issues, hyperactivity, and attention problems may hamper learning. The needs and challenges of children with ADHD have been addressed by numerous digital solutions over the years. These solutions support a variety of needs (e.g., diagnosing versus treating), aim to address a variety of goals (e.g., addressing inattention, impulsivity, working memory, executive functions, emotion regulation), and employ a wide range of technologies, including video games, PC, mobile, web, AR, VR, tangible interfaces, wearables, robots, and BCI/neurofeedback, occasionally even in tandem. According to studies on the psychological impacts of serious games, immersive games can potentially be valuable tools for treating ADHD. This research investigates using PC, mobile/tablet applications, augmented reality, virtual reality, and brain–computer interfaces to develop executive functions and metacognitive and emotional competencies in children with ADHD through serious games. Following PRISMA 2020 criteria, this systematic review includes a comprehensive search of the PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases. The database search provided 784 records, and 30 studies met the inclusion criteria. The results showed that serious games assisted by multiple technologies could significantly improve a wide range of cognitive and socioemotional meta-competencies among children with ADHD, including visuospatial working memory, attention, inhibition control, cognitive flexibility, planning/organizing, problem-solving, social communication, and emotional regulation. The results of this review may provide positive feedback for creating more inclusive digital training environments for the treatment of ADHD children. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-dcef366a0daf49f1b7625a684df6ab01 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2414-4088 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Multimodal Technologies and Interaction |
| spelling | doaj-art-dcef366a0daf49f1b7625a684df6ab012025-01-24T13:44:03ZengMDPI AGMultimodal Technologies and Interaction2414-40882025-01-0191810.3390/mti9010008Managing ADHD Symptoms in Children Through the Use of Various Technology-Driven Serious Games: A Systematic ReviewAikaterini Doulou0Pantelis Pergantis1Athanasios Drigas2Charalampos Skianis3Net Media Lab and Mind and Brain R&D, Institute of Informatics and Telecommunications, National Centre of Scientific Research ‘Demokritos’, 153 41 Agia Paraskevi, GreeceNet Media Lab and Mind and Brain R&D, Institute of Informatics and Telecommunications, National Centre of Scientific Research ‘Demokritos’, 153 41 Agia Paraskevi, GreeceNet Media Lab and Mind and Brain R&D, Institute of Informatics and Telecommunications, National Centre of Scientific Research ‘Demokritos’, 153 41 Agia Paraskevi, GreeceDepartment of Information and Communication Systems Engineering, University of the Aegean, 832 00 Karlovasi, GreeceChildren with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) frequently experience impairments in a range of abilities. Due to their poor attention and concentration, they find it challenging to stay focused when learning. They need help to retain the directions given by teachers and are very animated. Focus issues, hyperactivity, and attention problems may hamper learning. The needs and challenges of children with ADHD have been addressed by numerous digital solutions over the years. These solutions support a variety of needs (e.g., diagnosing versus treating), aim to address a variety of goals (e.g., addressing inattention, impulsivity, working memory, executive functions, emotion regulation), and employ a wide range of technologies, including video games, PC, mobile, web, AR, VR, tangible interfaces, wearables, robots, and BCI/neurofeedback, occasionally even in tandem. According to studies on the psychological impacts of serious games, immersive games can potentially be valuable tools for treating ADHD. This research investigates using PC, mobile/tablet applications, augmented reality, virtual reality, and brain–computer interfaces to develop executive functions and metacognitive and emotional competencies in children with ADHD through serious games. Following PRISMA 2020 criteria, this systematic review includes a comprehensive search of the PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases. The database search provided 784 records, and 30 studies met the inclusion criteria. The results showed that serious games assisted by multiple technologies could significantly improve a wide range of cognitive and socioemotional meta-competencies among children with ADHD, including visuospatial working memory, attention, inhibition control, cognitive flexibility, planning/organizing, problem-solving, social communication, and emotional regulation. The results of this review may provide positive feedback for creating more inclusive digital training environments for the treatment of ADHD children.https://www.mdpi.com/2414-4088/9/1/8attention deficit hyperactivity disorderserious gamesvirtual realityaugmented realitycomputersmobile applications |
| spellingShingle | Aikaterini Doulou Pantelis Pergantis Athanasios Drigas Charalampos Skianis Managing ADHD Symptoms in Children Through the Use of Various Technology-Driven Serious Games: A Systematic Review Multimodal Technologies and Interaction attention deficit hyperactivity disorder serious games virtual reality augmented reality computers mobile applications |
| title | Managing ADHD Symptoms in Children Through the Use of Various Technology-Driven Serious Games: A Systematic Review |
| title_full | Managing ADHD Symptoms in Children Through the Use of Various Technology-Driven Serious Games: A Systematic Review |
| title_fullStr | Managing ADHD Symptoms in Children Through the Use of Various Technology-Driven Serious Games: A Systematic Review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Managing ADHD Symptoms in Children Through the Use of Various Technology-Driven Serious Games: A Systematic Review |
| title_short | Managing ADHD Symptoms in Children Through the Use of Various Technology-Driven Serious Games: A Systematic Review |
| title_sort | managing adhd symptoms in children through the use of various technology driven serious games a systematic review |
| topic | attention deficit hyperactivity disorder serious games virtual reality augmented reality computers mobile applications |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2414-4088/9/1/8 |
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