Comparing the Effects of Cognitive/Metacognitive Strategy Training and Kilo Computer Games on Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Students

Attention–Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a childhood developmental neurological disorder. This disorder has a high prevalence among schoolchildren. ADHD occurs in three cases of inattention, hyperactivity, or hyperactivity, and inattention. These children encounter impulsiveness, inattention, restlessness, memory and focus deficits, interpersonal challenges, and inadequate self–regulation and inflexibility in various situations. These signs impose irreparable effects on communication with peers and relationships with parents, school, society, and the child's home environment and the problems in education. The major problem of children with ADHD is maintaining attention. Therefore, the necessity of appropriate interventions in this disorder is determined. The related interventions of this disorder were categorized into two main classes psychosocial therapy and pharmacotherapy. This study compared the effects of cognitive/metacognitive strategy training and Kailo computer games on attention in students with ADHD.

This was a quasi–experimental study with an inequivalent control group design. The study's statistical population included students with ADHD in elementary schools in Kahrizak Region, Iran, in 2017. The study sample was selected by the convenience sampling method (N=36); they were assigned to two experimental and a control group (n=12/group) using the random replacement method. The measurement tools were: A researcher–made questionnaire for demographic data collection, Children Symptom Inventory (CSI–4), and Continuous Performance Test (CPT). The CSI–4 is a standard screening tool for psychiatric disorders based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). The latest version of CSI used in this study has two parent and teacher forms. In this study, both forms were used. The parent and teacher forms contain 112 and 77 questions and include 9 groups of behavioral disorders. The CPT is used to measure stimulus processing speed and selective attention. This computer–based assessment task aims to evaluate neuropsychological and neuropsychiatric, screen for attention disorders, measure critical components of attention disorders, determine response to treatment, and monitor response to treatment over time. In this test, the subject must, for some time, draw attention to a relatively simple set of visual stimuli (images or numbers) and respond by pressing the space key when the target stimulus appears. The results of this assignment are presented in 4 components. These sections are response error, deletion response number, correct response count, and response time. Both questionnaires have the required internal and external validity and reliability. One experimental group received cognitive/metacognitive strategies training, while the other experimental group practiced Kailo computer games. Both experimental groups received 10 sessions of training. During these sessions, the control group remained untarined.

The Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) data indicated that the correct image response and the correct number response of experimental groups after intervention and cognitive reconstruction were different (p>0.001. (

Based on the obtained findings, providing intervention based on cognitive/meta–cognitive strategies and Kailo computer games has effectively affected attention in students with ADHD. Therefore, this research suggests the use of these methods.