IS A VIDEO-GAME BASED TRAINING FEASIBLE TO ENHANCE EXECUTIVE FUNCTION IN CHILDREN WITH NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS?

Introduction Executive function (EF) impairment is present across various neurodevelopmental disorders, and it is considered as a transdiagnostic marker of atypical development. Given the ubiquitous presence of EF impairment in neurodevelopmental disorders and its significant impact on quality of life, the development of EF training tools is particularly relevant. The aim of this study is to assess the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of a videogame-based EF training in a sample of primary school children with a diagnosis of neurodevelopmental disorder. The videogame was previously tested in a sample of typical children (Rivella et al., 2024; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LC23IgF2Fg). The player must help Little Ello, a young brain, explore Elli's World to reach the treasure rooms, in which the child will encounter the tasks for the enhancement of EF skills (interference control, response inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility) in both auditory and visual format. The game is auto-adaptive so that difficulty increases as the child gets better. Methods A total of 16 clinical professionals compiled a usability questionnaire (USE, Lund, 2001) assessing usefulness, ease of use, ease of learning, satisfaction and attractiveness of the training and were administered a semi-structured interview regarding their experience with the training. In addition, 43 children with various diagnoses of neurodevelopmental disorder, aged 7-11, played with the video-game for nine weeks, at home. Children were administered a standardized battery of EF tasks (TeleFE, Rivella et al., 2023) before and after the training. Results The training received positive evaluations across all usability scales. From the interviews, it emerged that the training was assessed as attractive due to its gamified features and helpful as a tool to enhance EFs. Auto-adaptiveness and ease of use were evaluated as two particularly positive characteristics. Among the critical aspects, operators noted that explanations were sometimes too lengthy, and activities were occasionally repetitive. The paired samples t-test indicates an improvement in scores on the interference control and cognitive flexibility subscales. Discussion Preliminary data suggest that the training is usable even within the context of neurodevelopmental disorders. However, without a control group, it is currently not possible to evaluate the efficacy of the training.