Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the common neurodevelopmental disorder of childhood. According to data from WHO, more than 7% of children in the world suffer from this disorder, and 70% of them will persist in adolescence and adulthood if the patients do not have the proper treatment. The patients are characterized by difficulty in maintaining attention, hyperactivity, and impulsive behavior that interfere with their daily work, social behavior, and schoolwork. More over, people with this disorder may also have low self-esteem, relationship troubles, and poor academic performance. Psychotherapy, behavioral therapy, and medication can be used to treat this disorder. Now, it is confirmed that virtual reality technology can also be used to treat this disorder, which adds more options to help kids improve their attention, and treat the disorder.
How virtual reality technology can be used to overcome ADHD? It provides immersive environment making users to feel the same as real world. The scene can simulate a space full of distractions, but can be controlled. For example, children in the simulate classroom with a teacher, the training can be hold in anywhere and anytime regardless of time and place restrictions. According to the children performance, teacher can increase or decrease the distractions during the training. The goal is to train children to learn how to ignore distractions and control them. Most of children and their parents said they are already seeing the improvement for the treatment of ADHD in virtual reality therapy.
Suitable treatment solution with excellent VR headset can maximize the therapeutic effect. Considering the comfort of wearing for children to longtime use, the lighter the VR headset the better. With immersive technology continues to be more mature, time for parents, teachers, physicians and developers to recognize the potential power of VR-based approaches, it makes a profound difference in the lives of children with ADHD.