Can preschool games improve ADHD symptoms and focus?
Preschoolers showing ADHD symptoms improved their attention and impulse control after a school-based cognitive training program, although teacher-rated symptoms also decreased in the control group.
Source
Effect of training focused on executive functions (attention, inhibition, and working memory) in preschoolers exhibiting ADHD symptoms
What they did
Researchers evaluated a group-based cognitive training program for 26 Italian preschoolers exhibiting ADHD symptoms and 26 typically developing children. Specifically, 13 children with ADHD symptoms and 13 typically developing children participated in 17 one-hour training sessions distributed over a 9-week period focused on attention, inhibition, and working memory, while the remaining children served as controls. The researchers measured performance before and after the training using a stop-signal frog task, a working memory task, and a figure matching test, alongside teacher rating scales.
What they found
Children with ADHD symptoms who received the training showed significant improvements in their attention and impulse control on the stop-signal frog task and made fewer errors on the matching figures test. However, both the training and control groups showed similar reductions in ADHD symptoms according to teacher ratings, suggesting some improvements were due to standard school activities or developmental maturation. Typically developing children who completed the training also showed modest improvements in their working memory and attention task performance.
The limits
What it doesn't show
The study does not prove long-term benefits because there was no long-term follow-up assessment of the children. It also cannot rule out teacher bias, as teachers were aware of which children were assigned to the training group, which may have influenced their behavior ratings. Furthermore, due to school constraints, the researchers used different supplementary cognitive tests in different schools, and the study's small sample size limits the generalizability of its findings.
Key terms
- Executive Functions (EFs)
- A set of cognitive processes that allow people to plan, focus attention, remember instructions, and juggle multiple tasks successfully.
- Inhibition
- The cognitive ability to actively suppress or delay an impulsive response or ignore distracting stimuli.
- Working Memory
- A cognitive system with a limited capacity that is responsible for temporarily holding and processing information.
- Stop-Signal Task
- A psychological test used to measure response inhibition by instructing participants to stop an ongoing action when a specific signal occurs.
- ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder)
- A neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by persistent patterns of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity.
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Why is early intervention for preschoolers with ADHD symptoms particularly critical before they transition to primary school?
Common questions
Why did the typically developing children participate in the training alongside the children with ADHD symptoms?
Italian schools requested an integration model where children in difficulty work together with their typically developing peers, preventing the isolation of children with ADHD symptoms and ensuring the intervention was integrated into the normal school routine.
Why weren't the children in the study formally diagnosed with ADHD?
Under Italian medical guidelines, formal assessments and diagnoses for ADHD are generally avoided for children under six years of age, so the researchers selected participants who exhibited clear symptoms based on teacher and parent rating scales.
Did the parents participate in the training sessions?
No, the training sessions were conducted entirely at school by trained psychologists during everyday classroom activities, although parents were interviewed beforehand and expressed positive impressions of the project.
How did the control group spend their time during the training sessions?
Children in the control group spent an equivalent amount of time participating in typical pre-school preparation activities, such as pre-reading and pre-writing exercises, led by the same psychologists.
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