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Mushroom Hunters: A Digital Game for Assessing and Training Sustained Attention in Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders

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Methodologies and Intelligent Systems for Technology Enhanced Learning, Workshops - 13th International Conference (MIS4TEL 2023)

Abstract

Children with neurodevelopmental disorders have executive function deficits that can interfere with their academic performance and school adaptation. The use of computerized training programs has proven to be useful to improve executive functions, as well as reading and math performance. We developed a digital game for assessing and improving sustained attention in children aged between 6 and 9 years with neurodevelopmental disorders. The game was developed based on a standardized task called Continuous Performance Test. This study aims to investigate teachers’ acceptability of the game and their perception and feedback in regard to different aspects of the game. Nine teachers from a special school in Romania participated in a focus group and completed the reflection sheets after playing the game. Our results showed that the participants really enjoyed playing the game and considered it appropriate for children with neurodevelopmental disorders. Findings provide important contributions to the domains of gamified psychological assessment in children with neurodevelopmental disorders.

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Acknowledgements

The research leading to these results is in the frame of the “EMPOWER. Design and evaluation of technological support tools to empower stakeholders in digital education” project, which has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme under grant agreement No 101060918. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the authors(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.”

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Correspondence to Gerardo Herrera .

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Costescu, C. et al. (2023). Mushroom Hunters: A Digital Game for Assessing and Training Sustained Attention in Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders. In: Kubincová, Z., Caruso, F., Kim, Te., Ivanova, M., Lancia, L., Pellegrino, M.A. (eds) Methodologies and Intelligent Systems for Technology Enhanced Learning, Workshops - 13th International Conference. MIS4TEL 2023. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 769. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-42134-1_8

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