Project - Development of a mobile training software for use in ADHD therapy

Project Description: 

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a psychological developmental disorder that begins in early childhood and poses a high risk for the occurrence of serious difficulties in everyday family, school or work life. The core symptoms of ADHD are inattention, impulsivity as well as motor restlessness, which usually have a negative impact on the learning and social behavior of students during their school years.

The goal of this project is to develop a mobile training app as a supplement to regular therapy for elementary school children (2nd to 4th grade) with ADHD. For this purpose, evidence-based, established therapy concepts for children that aim to treat the core symptomatology of ADHD will be transferred into a digital, playful learning and concentration environment. The development process of the training app is user-centered in the sense of a constant exchange with experts, parents and the children themselves. Based on prototypes, an initial evaluation of exercises that address the core deficits of ADHD will be conducted, with the results being incorporated into the further development of the exercises.

Following the design phase, an experimental evaluation study (randomized control group design) will be conducted to examine the effects of the training app. By closely linking findings from video game research, it should generate a particularly high level of motivation and sustain it by addressing the specific needs of the target group. In this way, the training app can be a component of individualized cognitive and behavioral training, which differs considerably from existing concepts in terms of motivation and acceptance of the users, data collection and access.

Project partner: Prof. Dr. Maic Masuch, Universität Duisburg-Essen; Meister Cody GmbH, Düsseldorf

Project duration: 2019-2022

Funding: This project is supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) of the European Union and by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Brief introduction: The project is presented in the ATLAS der digitalen Gesundheitswirtschaft (Short video).