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EndeavorRX is a surprising, FDA-approved video game that aims to be a new kind of treatment to help kids with ADHD ease their symptoms.
Perscription video games may seem like an odd idea, but the United States Food and Drug Administration has approved a mobile game that could help treat ADHD in children. While some mobile games can be hit or miss, Akili Interactive’s EndeavorRX could be the future of ADHD treatment for children. The game itself has some interesting concepts and has undergone a ton of clinical testing before its approval.
The kids game itself appears to be a fairly standard on-rails infinite runner on the surface, similar to games like Subway Surfers and Temple Run. Players dodge obstacles as they navigate through multiple different worlds, though there’s a bit more going on that plays directly into how the game helps kids with ADHD. It should be noted that while the FDA does allow EndeavorRX to be used as a medication for ADHD, it isn’t recommended as a complete replacement for normal medication.
Akili Interactive’s website talks about how their team has a background in neuroscience and game development, giving them a strong knowledge base to create a project like EndeavorRX. Their goals with the game are to challenge motor skills and attention in kids, which tend to be two areas that people with ADHD struggle with. Supporting these skills young would tackle these problems when the brain is still developing, making treatments like EndeavorRX far more effective.
So far as how the game helps, the gameplay specifically challenges kids to manage multiple tasks at once while avoiding distractions that the game throws at them. The game’s website says that it’s supposed to be challenging, though the difficulty level adapts to how well the player is performing. With short playtimes of 25 minutes a day, five days a week, studies found that kids with ADHD had improved attention.
Players have to tap on a certain kind of colored target while avoiding others as they avoid obstacles. Not only does this help train the brain to quickly jump between different focuses, but the fact that it adapts to how well the player is doing means EndeavorRX doesn’t overwhelm kids with its difficulty early on. The developers clearly state on their website that the game is meant to be difficult, so parents must encourage their kids to keep up with it if they get frustrated.
EndeavorRX isn’t currently publically available, though there is a waitlist on the developer’s website. Depending on how well a major launch goes for EndeavorRX, it could mark a new way for video games to help children’s development. The game’s approval by the FDA is a great sign since it backs up the studies that have been conducted. While these studies have been paid for by Akili Interactive, the FDA does validate them.
Seven total clinical studies back up EndeavorRX as a viable treatment for ADHD, though these studies were paid for by the game’s developers. The FDA still confirmed the studies and supported their findings. The actual numbers reported by Akili Interactive are that 63% of parents reported their children’s ADHD symptoms lessening after playing EndeavorRX for the previously mentioned amount of playtime.
Those who’ve tried EndeavorRX describe it more like therapy in video game form, which ends up being an incredibly engaging way to walk kids through exercises that a therapist would otherwise do. While the game isn’t meant to replace the usually prescribed medication for ADHD, at least not yet, it does seem to be a great tool to help deal with some of ADHD’s more limiting symptoms. This could be an amazing first step for educational video games in more ways than just teaching skills.
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