Virtual Reality Attention Management

The registry criteria, word for word

Check if you might fit

Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.

• Are you between 8 and 12 years old?YesNo

What the trial wants to find out

Problems with distraction are widespread in the 21st century, but for people with developmental delays or behavioral challenges they can have more damaging effects. For example, susceptibility to distraction is associated with worse school and social performance, lower high school graduation rates, and increased incidence of serious accidents. The investigators' goal is to improve understanding of distractibility and develop a targeted treatment. The proposed intervention is based on models of habituation, which is a term that means reduced physiological and emotional response to a stimulus (e.g. moving object, or loud noise, etc.) as it is seen repeatedly. The investigators use virtual reality technology to show study participants distracting stimuli repeatedly in a virtual classroom setting, and their hypothesis states that participants will improve attention in the face of distraction by training with this technology intervention. The virtual classroom setting is especially relevant for children who have significant challenges with distractibility, such as children with ADHD. This intervention will likely be effective in helping individuals with other clinical disorders and perhaps the general population as well.

The 2 groups in the trial

• VR TreatmentTreatment being tested

  The "VR distractor condition" is an adaptive training, experimental treatment. Participants will wear a headset VR system programmed to simulate a virtual classroom. They will be asked to perform computer tests of math, attention, or working memory in the virtual reality context. Distractors will be presented intermittently throughout the test session. During training sessions, distractor saliency and frequency will increase or decrease based on performance on the tests. 25 sessions should be completed in approximately 5-7 weeks. In-home VR training sessions will each be about 20-30 minutes in length. The investigators expect a decrease in distraction after adaptive distractor exposure in the VR classroom.

• VR Active ControlExisting treatment, for comparison

  The "VR classroom with no distractors presented" is an active control group. This group will undergo the same training regimen, only their virtual classroom environment will not contain adaptive distractors. Participants will wear a headset VR system programmed to simulate a virtual classroom. They will be asked to perform computer tests of math, attention, or working memory in the virtual reality context. 25 sessions should be completed in approximately 5-7 weeks. In-home VR training sessions will each be about 20-30 minutes in length. The investigators expect no change in response to distraction in the ADHD group after control exposure to the VR classroom.