Abstract
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common disorders worldwide, affecting both children and adults. It has significant impacts on the social, academic, behavioral, life aspects, and the quality of physical and mental health in general. Thus, prompting the need for effective intervention programs, accurate diagnosis assessment, and other services to support children with the disorder to develop their skills and enhance their lives is necessary. Technology is making tremendous contributions in the field of special education through its growing development in many fields and specialties. The main purpose of this chapter is to highlight, by presenting different types and contributions, the existing assistive technology for children living with ADHD. Steps for choosing appropriate devices as well as challenges that meet some Arabian country teachers in using assistive technology and recommendations for the effective use for students with ADHD in education are presented and discussed.
TopIntroduction
We are living in a modern world in which technology plays a central role, impacts every sector and specialty, manifesting in various forms and types in our everyday life. Technology, as it advances, contributes to the development of several services and devices introduced to people with disabilities, ADHD’s people are one of those beneficiaries. Although Assistive Technology that is used with ADHD is a newborn branch of searching and studying, it strikes major steps into the field of assisting people with ADHD. Assistive Technology can be as simple as “a press ball” to release hyperactivity or as complex as an ADHD web portal or a robotic device. Assistive Technology for students with ADHD can take the form of cognitive aids, to help children with behavior, attention, or other challenges in their learning skills. It can be simple as a reminder device to be held on a child’s rest (as a watch minder) to help them refocus on the classwork when they get off it. It can take the form of mobile apps to remind them of important appointments and/or to organize their daily schedules. Assistive technology can assist in accessing various websites and perform many mathematical problems, transactions, and calculations with high accuracy with the help of a mobile assistant.
Despite these available technologies, educational professionals, class teachers, parents, or even policymakers may not have adequate knowledge about them in many countries. The main purpose of this chapter is to highlight the current existing assistive technology used for children with ADHD as well as, the challenges that face teachers while using assistive technology in some of the Arabian countries. How to select an appropriate assistive device is also presented along with recommendations about using assistive technologies in a school setting. This chapter may help researchers and professionals working with students with ADHD by presenting some of the current effective assistive technologies used with ADHD students in different fields. It may also help policymakers responsible for education and policy development in different countries to replicate these technologies in their systems. It may help teachers, parents, and people with ADHD themselves to find out how new technologies can help and select the proper devices that suit their abilities and needs. Moreover, it can stand as the first step for some researchers in developing more promising technologies.
The chapter focuses on:
- •
The current promising assistive technologies for children with ADHD
- •
Steps in selecting the most suitable assistive technology for students with ADHD
- •
Using assistive technology in United Arab Emirates (UAE): Challenges and Benefits
- •
Recommendations for the effective use of Assistive Technology
TopBackground
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is considered one of the most prevalent and serious pediatric neurodevelopmental disorders that often remain into adulthood having a prevalence across cultures was about 5% in children and about 2.5% in adults (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013). It reached 9.4% in the USA for children aged 2 to 17 years in 2016 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2021a). Children with ADHD have difficulty paying attention, managing impulsive behavior (acting without considering the consequences), and/or being hyperactive to the extent that it impairs it impairs one's ability to function or develop (APA, 2013; CDC, 2021; Wolraich et al., 2019). ADHD symptoms appear before the age of 12, persist at least six months, and have a negative direct impact on the social functioning, academic or occupational activities (ADHD Institute, 2021; APA, 2013).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Online Therapy: Is also known as e-therapy, e-counseling, teletherapy, or cyber-counseling, and it entails delivering mental health treatments and support through the internet such as Email, video conferencing, messaging, online chat, and internet phone. Online treatment can occur in real-time, such as via phone, or in a time-delayed manner, such as by email. Despite its limits, it has evolved into an important option for an increasing number of individuals.
Assistive Technology: Is the technological devices or served tools whether they are produced commercially, modified, or customized to be used, selected, or acquired to assist people with disabilities in enhancing, developing, or maintaining their functional skills.
Virtual Reality (VR): It is a computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional picture or environment that may be interacted with in a supposedly real or physical manner by a person wearing specific electronic equipment, such as a helmet with a screen inside or gloves equipped with sensors. VR has numerous advantages, including the ability to recreate an environment in which users feel as if they are experiencing real life.
Rehabilitative Technology: Any equipment, tools, or supplies that can assist people with disabilities in successfully completing activities at school, home, work, and in the community. In addition, it refers to aids that assist people in regaining their function following injury or illness, benefit people with disabilities in their daily lives, and make caregivers' jobs easier.
Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD): Is a behavioral disorder. Typically, it is diagnosed in childhood. Children who have ODD are resistant, rebellious, and aggressive toward classmates, parents, educators, and other people in authority. They irritate others more than they irritate themselves.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): Is considered one of the most prevalent and serious pediatric neurodevelopmental disorders that often remain into adulthood having a prevalence across cultures was about 5% according to the American Psychiatric Association (APA,2013).
QbTest: Is a computer program that generates an objective assessment of impulsivity and attentiveness. It uses a head-mounted motion tracking device to measure activity during a computer-based test in which patients respond to predefined targets by pushing a button.