Can video games improve children's processing speed?

Slow processing speed affects children in many ways. Slow processing speed often has a dramatic impact on school performance and ability to catch up with peers. It can have a negative impact on self-esteem. They are so often misidentified that they can cause children to develop confrontational tendencies toward their parents and teachers. Slow processing speed often manifests itself as children having difficulty completing school assignments on time, acting slowly, or conversely, rushing through work haphazardly. . Longer homework assignments, especially those that involve writing, are the beginning of frustration and oppositionalism.

The impact of slow processing speed on children is often underestimated. Slow processing speed is poorly understood or misrecognized by parents, educators, and perhaps most importantly, children. Its impact on academic and social-emotional functioning needs to be better recognized. For example, many family conflicts over activities such as completing homework or getting ready for school in the morning are due to unrecognized processing speed. Children's frustration and lack of awareness of their own slow processing speed can affect motivation, self-esteem, continued effort, and school performance. It's common to give up on the demands of continuing to do homework, taking notes, and completing tests on time. The long-term effects of slow processing problems in childhood are thought to be associated with depression and psychological distress in adulthood.

It can also exacerbate the struggles of children with slow processing speeds, such as anxiety about their performance, feelings of isolation from others, and difficulty keeping up with the pace of social interactions with peers. Children with slow processing speed also tend to have difficulty with a variety of executive function skills, such as task initiation, planning, task persistence, and time management problems.

In a world where speed and efficiency are highly valued, it is valuable to use video games and other emerging technologies as tools to help children with slow processing speeds. Neuroplasticity research suggests that small increases in processing speed are possible. More promising interventions for improving children's processing speed include video games and other screen-based technologies. So far, the most convincing studies have focused on older adults. Posit Science reports that its brain training program BrainHQ improved the speed of language and visual processing in older adults in a series of studies conducted at six major universities. The organization reports that the results generalized beyond the tasks measured in the study, and improvements continued to be observed at five- and 10-year follow-ups. Other studies have shown how action video games can improve processing speed. Recent research suggests that video games that target visual cognitive functions related to visual-motor integration can improve processing speed.

However, playing endless video games to improve slow processing speed is not a recommended prescription. Available data suggests that small improvements in slow processing speed can be achieved through targeted video gameplay. Applying other cognitive training techniques and making appropriate adjustments is a much better course of action.

Processing speed is a cognitive process, and the combination of technology and targeted training appears to be an ideal combination. If you were to physically compare speed, you might look no further than running tracks, where advances in technology, training, equipment, and evaluation have all contributed to faster times in many events. These technologies have led to world records, but more importantly, they have increased the speed of track and field athletes of all skill levels. As with trucks, there is a limit to how much an individual can improve their processing speed as a result of training and the use of technology.

Traditional interventions for children with slow processing speed or ADHD include the use of accommodations and alternative instructional strategies. In most cases, educators do not make efforts to improve processing speed. Instead, these children receive additional time to complete tasks, a reduced expected amount of work, instruction in smaller units, writing and note-taking, and quality rather than quantity of work. They often create a 504 plan that includes an emphasis on.

Until recently, these were the main interventions to help children with slow processing speed. This approach was based on the aforementioned assumption that processing speed capabilities are fixed rather than malleable. The science of neuroplasticity and the use of neurotechnology and productivity tools has changed this view. Psychologists are also beginning to consider how other types of interventions and techniques, such as exercise, direct instruction in executive function skills, and complementary skill development, can improve slow processing speed in children with ADHD. Masu.

The time is now to accelerate the development of new interventions for children with slow processing speeds. While the use of video games may be the preferred intervention for many children, other common methods such as audiobooks for slow readers, dictation apps for slow writers, and apps for time management You can also improve slow processing speed by applying advanced technology. There is no reason not to leverage both appropriate accommodations and available technology to support these children.

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