Playing Smarter in a Digital World:

Improving Attention and Executive

Functioning Through Technology

Randy Kulman, Ph.D

President LearningWorks for Kids

Gary Stoner, Ph.D.

University of Rhode Island

Disclaimer

Randy Kulman is President of LearningWorks for

Kids, Inc. and a Cogmed provider.

Introduction

• Terminology- Games, Apps, Digital media,

screen time, technologies- interchangeable

• Making the best of technology--with concern

• Research-based, practical approaches

• Games, Tech, media are forms of digital play-

and play=learning for children

• We want you to have fun and learn today

Finding Angry Birds and Amazing Alex

• How to find Angry Birds on your device:

• iPhone, iPad: Go to App store, search on

bottom of screen, type Angry Birds on top of

screen, go to Free version, tap and download

• Android Phone/ Tablets: Go to Google Play,

search Angry Birds go to Free version, tap free

and then download

• Do the same for Amazing Alex

Children with ADHD and academics, continued:

• As many as 80% of students with ADHD exhibit academic difficulties, including lower than expected work completion rates

• Approximately 20-30% are identified with learning difficulties due to problems with acquisition of academic skills

• Recent studies show literacy/reading skill acquisition problems relative to matched peers as early as Kindergarten

• These risks and outcomes suggest need for effective educational interventions

ADHD in School Contexts: Reasons for Concern

• School success is both critical and potentially elusive for students with ADHD

• Increasing numbers of children who are “difficult-to-teach” and “difficult-to-manage”

• Need to expand the range of intervention “agents” and strategies

Children with ADHD are at higher than average risk for:

• As many as 80% of students with ADHD exhibit academic difficulties, including lower than expected work completion rates

• Approximately 20-30% are identified with learning difficulties due to problems with acquisition of academic skills

• Recent studies show literacy/reading skill acquisition problems relative to matched peers as early as Kindergarten

• These risks and outcomes suggest need for effective educational interventions

How Much Do They Play?

• 10- to 12-year-olds in France are exactly like their peers (Bioulac 2008)

• Milwaukee study of teens, same amounts with more variability (Fischer and Barkley 2006)

• More video-game play than music, in contrast to peers (LearningWorks for Kids 2011)

• 90% of ADHD rather than 80% of TD kids spend more than one hour a day on computer (Linginerni, 2012)

Do children with ADHD play video games

the same amount as their TD peers?

• Clinical and anecdotal observations -

too much!

• No evidence of difference concerning

frequency or duration of play between

ADHD and typically-developing children

ages 10 to 12.

• Similar enjoyment for the same types of

games (Bioulac 2008).

• South County Child and Family

Consultants Data

How Much Do They Play?

Activity Mean (N = 65) Standard Deviation

Watching TV 2.8 .96

Reading or doing homework 1.37 .96

Playing outdoors or sports 2.31 1.34

Talking/texting on cell phone .63 1.10

Doing homework on the computer .51 .83

Listening to music 1.86 1.26

Using the Internet 1.49 1.31

Playinng organized sports 1.05 1.32

Playing video games 2.05 1.27

Playing with toys/board games 2.14 1.40

On a typical weekend or vacation, about how much time does your child

spent with the following technologies and activities:

LearningWorks for Kids 2013 Study

0

None1

<30

2

30-60

3

60-120

4

>120 minutes

Approach Percentage

1. No access to games or the Internet 3.1

2. Only on weekends and vacations 10.9

3. After homework is completed 40.6

4. Limited number of hours a day 14.1

5. Do well in school and play games 14.1

6. No specific rules 17.2

Parenting strategies with children with ADHD:

1. Do you monitor the length of time your child plays with video games and is on the

computer?

Never Sometimes Often Always

6.2% 18.8% 28.1% 46.9%

2. What best describes your approach to setting limits for your child with digital

media?

LearningWorks for Kids 2013 Study

Activity Mean SD

1. Playing video games 1.59, N = 64 1.87

2. Doing homework 5.89, N = 64 2.24

3. Having a conversation with you or other 4.14, N = 64 2.16

4. Doing chores 5.51, N = 64 2.42

5. Watching TV 2.32, N = 64 1.96

6. Reading 3.67, N = 64 2.34

7. Playing with Legos or blocks 2.23, N = 62 2.12

8. Playing with action figures/dolls 2.30, N = 63 2.16

9. Playing on the Internet/computer 1.94, N = 64 1.76

LearningWorks for Kids 2013 StudyHow often does your child show signs of ADHD such as loss of focus, fidgeting, and disorganization while: (Scale 0 to 9 with 0 meaning never, 9 always)

• May not always perform as well as their typically-developing

peers (Lawrence, et al 2002)

• May process information somewhat slowly on video games.

(Lawrence et al. 2002, 2004).

• Perform as well as their peers in simple games but problems

applying executive and problem-solving skills to complex

video games (Lawrence et al. 2004).

• Less success when navigating challenges, developing novel

problem-solving (Lawrence 2004)

• Perform poorly in neuropsychologically-based game

mechanics such as working-memory and cognitive-flexibility

tasks

How do children with ADHD perform on

video games?

• More than one hour a day is associated with short term

increased signs of inattention (Taharoglu)

• Increased difficulty in transitioning and stopping video-

game play, resulting in more oppositionalism

• More video-game time is associated with increasing signs

of inattention (Mazurek and Engelhardt 2013 study)

• Video-game play can be associated with video-game

addiction related to Dopamine release in the brain (Han

and colleagues 2009)

Problematic behavior in video-game play

in children with ADHD

• Total time spent with screen media is positively associated

with attention problems (Swing, Gentile, et al. 2010).

• Four-year-olds watching Spongebob can have an

immediate negative effect on children’s executive-

functioning skills (Lillard 2011).

• Television/Video-game use along with exposure to violent

content not predictive of attention problems or grade point

average (Ferguson 2010)

• Are digital media the cause of increasing rates of ADHD?

Do Video/Computer Games and Television Impact

Attention Span?

• ABSTRACT. Young people with developmental disorders

experience difficulties with many cognitive and perceptual

tasks, and often suffer social impairments. Yet, like typical

youth, many appear to enjoy playing videogames. …

Durkin, K. (2010). Videogames and young people with

developmental disorders, Review of General Psychology,

14(2), 122-140.

• Why should videogames appeal to children with disorders,

who often struggle with many other tasks?

• Even if the games do have attractions for these individuals,

how do their conditions affect their abilities to engage with

them?

• What is the nature of their uses and experiences with the

medium?

• Can their interactions with games help us to learn more about

their disorders, needs and potentialities?

• Is game playing advantageous to them or harmful?

• Could their interests be built upon for developmental,

cognitive, educational, social, or therapeutic benefit?

Durkin (Continued); Questions posed:

• Exploiting videogames to support and extend the development of

young people with disorders, and to enhance their leisure time, is an

attractive prospect not least because it affords means of delivering

or supplementing interventions and of stimulating play in a relatively

cost-efficient manner. It is not a substitute for other forms of

support, nor is it likely to prove a panacea for all the difficulties

that these children face. Overall, considerable evidence indicates

that videogames can be as engaging for children with disorders as

they are for other players, and several studies indicate benefits in

respect of cognitive or social functioning. There is little evidence to

indicate that children with developmental disorders are harmed by

playing videogames, though a cautious interpretation could be that

this is partly because the question has not been addressed

extensively.

Durkin (Continued) :

Cautions Solutions

Children with ADHD or attention problems may become “hyper-focused” on video games and other digital media, neglecting other important responsibilities.

Require that your child complete all of her homework, chores, or other responsibilities before being allowed some digital play time. By making him put-off these fun activities until after her work is done, he won’t be able to use digital play as a means of procrastination.

Kids with ADHD or attention problems often become so absorbed with activities they find interesting, that they may lose track of how much time they have spent on their digital play.

Use a timer if you need to limit your child with ADHD. Time management and having a sense of time are often significant deficits for children with attention problems. You can use online timers such as TabTimer.com or even an everyday kitchen timer to keep your child on track.

Kids with ADHD or attention problems may choose to engage with digital play instead of the physical activities that are part of a healthy treatment process.

Exercise has been shown to improve Focus and learning in children with attentional problems. Tell your child to go out and run around before playing video games, and to play active games such as Wii Tennis or Kinect Adventures.

• Point of performance interventions

• Immediacy of feedback

• Powerful and engaging feedback and

meaningful consequences

• Multimodal presentations and multiple

intervention agents

• Individualized to child’s capacities

• Strategic teaching principles including:

previewing, setting explicit goals,

partnering, metacognition, and

generalization strategies

What are the characteristics of interventions that work best with children With ADHD?

Why use video games and digital media to

help children with ADHD?

• Both simple and complex video games

regularly use skills such as planning,

cognitive flexibility, self-control, and time

management.

• Many games specifically tax working

memory skills and attention skills.

• Video game play requires the use of executive functioning skills.

• Other skills such as organization and metacognitive skills are

required for success.

• It is engaging and sustains attention.

• It practices a specific skill the child needs to improve such

as focus, planning, or time management.

• It promotes persistence of effort and a willingness to

overcome obstacles.

• It is complex and interesting enough to result in duration

and intensity of game play.

• Generalization of game-based skills can be applied to the

real world.

What makes a game or app a good

teaching tool for children with ADHD?

• Birds are used as

projectiles to hit pigs that

are protected by

structures.

• Players plan out each shot

and predict the

consequences of his shot.

• Each level is set out

uniquely so the player to

flexibly change strategies.

Angry Birds

Strategies for Improving Executive

Functioning Skills and Attention

• Traditional behavioral, classroom, and cognitive strategies

• Medication and brain-based strategies

• Organizational, study skills, and executive function coaching

approaches

• Meditation, mindfulness training, yoga

• Physical exercise

• Technology-based interventions

What Skills Can You Learn from Video

Games and Technology?

• Focus and attention

• Knowledge acquisition

• Social awareness

• Spatial reasoning skills

• Fluid reasoning skills

• Executive functions and executive control

Poor Executive Functions

• LWK pilot research on differentiated instruction, targeting areas of EF weakness with video games

• Combination of board and video games improve fluid reasoning and processing speed (Mackey, 2011)

• Working memory video games improve WM, fluid reasoning skills (Cogmed ) Intensity/duration

• Computer-based training improves executive attention in preschoolers (Rueda, 2005)

• Video game like math and reading programs improves learning, reduces attention symptoms

• Games (non video) increase cognitive load teaching tool by parents reduce ADHD signs in Preschoolers (Halperin, 2012)

• Dovis (2011) study on games to improve working memory

Research on Executive/Thinking Skills and

Video Games

What Tech Tools are Used to Teach Attention

and other Skills?

• Working memory training programs- Cogmed

• Neurofeedback/ biofeedback

• Attention trainers- Akilli, Play Attention

• Brain Training suites such as Lumosity and Fit Brains

• Apps and games designed for special needs kids with Autism,

ADHD, LD

• Popular games, apps, and technologies

How Popular Games and Apps Improve

Executive Functions

• Support, primarily apps where a

skill is scaffold it by the

functionality

• Practice – primarily with games with the

scale is used repeatedly in order to

achieve goals

• Mastery, primarily apps and

games that built in

generalizability and practice

Why Use Popular Games, Apps and Technologies

to Improve Executive Functions

• Engagement, fun, attention, and persistence

• Many games use the same types of activities and exercises that

are used in brain training games

• Game mechanics- adaptive, challenges adapt to mastery level

• Variability- an opportunity to practice similar, but complementary

skills with different games

• Quality and depth of many of the games

• Low-cost and accessibility

Limitations of using popular games and

technologies to prove executive functions

• Lack of peer-reviewed research

• Difficulty in tracking engagement and progress in the game and relating

it to real world skills and improvement

• Skills that are practiced may be less focused or lack intensity and

duration

• Extraneous information and objectives that occur within the game

• Focuses on fun and not skill development

• Attitude of educators and researcher is often negative and skeptical

• No evidence of generalizability

Improving Generalization by Building it into the

Games

• New games such as IF (If You Can)

o For improving social awareness and self-control skills

• Innovations in technology to create

brain change such as a Akili and

other potential tools

• Cogmed working memory training

• Luminosity/ other brain training tools

• Still very limited and the critics of

brain training tools are quite vocal

• Game play alone results in modest improvements in real-

world executive skills

• Children with learning and attention problems have

problems in generalizing strategies

• Kids like to talk about playing video games and may be

willing to learn from that

• Games prompt partnering and motivation to learn

executive skills

• Practice and rehearsal of executive skills

How well do game based skills

transfer to the real world?

• The key to success is effective teaching or mediation

(can be done in the game)

• Teachers (including peers, parents, and imbedded

instruction) make the connection between game-based

learning and real-world skills

• Actual learning requires knowledge of the skill,

understanding how and when to use it, and practice

across many situations

BUT…games are not enough!!!

Strategies for using popular games and apps

to improve executive functioning skills

• Typically requires more than game play alone

• Modeled after the SharpBrains method of effective brain

training • Training engages a specific brain-based

skill such as speed of processing or

working memory

• Training targets an area of weakness,

assessed by tools such as the TEAS

(Test of Executive and Academic Skills)

• Adaptive- games and prescriptions increase the demands on

cognitive resources

Strategies for using popular games and apps to

improve executive functioning skills- 2

• Dosage and intensity -needs to be sufficient

minimum dose of (Approx 15 hours per target

area over eight weeks)

• Choose games that target slightly different

aspects of the same skill, similar to doing a

variety of exercises to build biceps

• Continued long-term practice is necessary to maintain benefits

• Additional training outside of the game using metacognition and

practice opportunities improves generalization

Implementing a game and app

prescription

• Assess the executive functioning skills

• Choose a variety of games that practice targeted skills, or apps to

support the skills

• Create a prescription of games and apps that is age appropriate,

adaptable, enduring, and intense

• Provide specific instructions on how much to play

• Use generalization and metacognitive strategies proven to be

successful in the classroom to promote real world learning

• Identify a variety of sub skills that can build on the initial

prescriptions

• Detect, Reflect, and Connect

LearningWorks for Kids Prescription Model

• Talk before, during, and after gameplay. Choose

gameplay goals with your child.

• Have fun playing the game with your child!

• Reflect on gameplay, emphasizing the use of

the targeted thinking or academic skills.

• Direct your discussion to how these same skills

are useful in daily activities.

Play Together

• Explain the benefits of digital play, and introduce

the skills being exercised in the game.

• Encourage non-digital activities that use the

same skills.

• Regularly connect game-based skills to things

your child is struggling with in the real-world.

• Try different games and skills

Make it Work

Minecraft

Building a Home

Amazing Alex

– Physics-based puzzle game

where players create chain

reactions using everyday

items

– Skills of planning, flexibility,

and focus

– Foresight and working

memory in order to succeed

– Attention to detail is important

in order to obtain perfect

score across many levels

Games for practicing executive skills

Amazing Alex

Evernote

• A smartpen that records voice notes that is connected to

written notes

• Child takes notes on digitally-equipped paper and when

going over those notes can listen to

• Recordings of lectures

• Helps with children who

struggle with working

memory

• Very helpful for children who

process information or have

slow clerical motor speed

LiveScribe

LiveScribe

• 50+ peer review studies -

demonstrated to improve

reading, math, and sustained

attention

• Generalization is improved

by using additional tools and

strategies in conjunction with

Cogmed

• Research-based, clinically-proven computer program to

improve working-memory capacities of

• Targeted regimented exercises

• Demonstrated to promote structural changes in the brain

based upon principles of neuroplasticity

Cogmed Working Memory training

Cogmed Working Memory training

• Players use tennis rackets and can get vigorous

exercise

• Self-control and flexibility required while playing

the game

• Primarily the game is good

for children with ADHD,

as it promotes vigorous

exercise using complex

body movements when

done properly

Wii Sports: Tennis

Thank You

• Randy Kulman, Ph.D• randy@learningworksforkids.com

• @lw4k and @rkulman on Twitter

• www.pinterest.com/lw4k

• www.learningworksforkids.com

• Gary Stoner, Ph.D.

• Gstoner@uri.edu