Why can children with A.D.D. play video games for hours on end?

Answer 1

Mr. Right. ADD has become so disproportionately prevalent amongst the US population. In fact, not every child diagnosed with ADD is actually suffering from a disorder, au contraire he is probably just lacking in motivation and is not properly disciplined. Once upon a time, befor the great discovery of ADD and ADHD disorders, kids who couldn't or wouldn't sit and learn properly, were just considered wild. However, today every second person is eagerly awaiting to be diagnosed with something and some doctor's pet theory about attention become pretty popular so now we have a new generation of ritalin popping, overexposed children and we should probably be asking questions about that.

Answer 2

Video games a very interactive and engage many of the brains functions. Plus people with ADD can focus on some specific things - it just has to be something they care about. If they are forced to try and pay attention to something that seems pointless and boring to them they will have a very difficult time completing the task. People without ADD are able to do tasks they don't enjoy because there is still a usefullness to them and they can see an end in site. People with ADD usually only see what is occuring in the moment, and have a hard time resigning themselves to something that doesn't seem to end - because they may not be able to see the end in sight, and because their focus is so short the task takes 10 times as long. Its kind of a vicious circle.

Answer 3

My son has ADD and his school psychologist told me that the reason he loves to play video games is because he's not concentrating on one thing for a long period of time. I mean a video game is "one thing" but the challenge keeps changing, so does the background and the missions. The best thing to do is find educational video games,

Answer 4

it keeps their mind busy, not only some boring thing, like if it was pong they would probably stop. my brother has add and he can play video games for hours, but read a book for a multi second. it is more entertaining to the mind with different graphics and things popping into ur head every 2 seconds, thats why they dont get bored

Answer 5

Well before you go and make a fool out of yourself by claiming that A.D.D. doesn't exist let me educate you. A.D.D is a real disorder. It can be misdiagnosed by parents who don't know how to deal with their hyper kids so they look to blame something. However the disorder itself is real. It comes from a lack of dopamine in brain. Whether its a dopamine deficiency or a problem with the receptors, this lack produces an inability to focus on most boring, mundane tasks. While most would say "Ofcourse no one wants to do these mundane tasks" this isn't an option for someone with A.D.D. Check out this site if you are actually interested in educating yourself. http://www.add.org/

Now as to why they play video games on end.

When playing games that seem repetitive to most, the A.D.D. brain is craving dopamine. It has been proven that these games (World of Warcraft, Grand Theft Auto, and other open world environment games with looting and searching for "prizes") produce a large amount of dopamine for the player. Thus creating an environment where the user feels large amounts of pleasure that they can't find in most other activities. It produces a sense of "winning" as Charlie Sheen would have put it. Now most would find that this would create a laziness that almost borders on addiction, and in some cases if not controlled can lead to said addiction. Don't get me twisted though the addiction is not to the video game. It is to the dopamine. In fact most people are addicted to dopamine, you just don't realize it because your levels never drop below a dangerous level because your brain produces it naturally. However it is possible for someone without A.D.D. to show a lack of dopamine. Usually when someone gets extremely depressed and stays inside and lays on the couch, watching t.v., not getting exercise this will allow your dopamine levels to drop. This type of depression is usually associated with grief/loss of life/dramatic events/breaking up with a significant other.

So imagine if you have ever dealt with that type of depression, dealing with that 24/7 but not having a reason. You just don't feel like doing anything. When someone asks you to do a basic, everyday task (cleaning, basic work, your job/chores) it seems like an extreme stretch on you capabilities.

They recently have even started to treat A.D.D. ( on a trial basis ) with video games. These are not mainstream games, but games with educational value. These studies have shown excellent increase in student production in school, and have lead to most of the modern changes we see in schooling in the lowest levels. Including but not limited to using computers in most classrooms and applications that are used in homework that make the work feel like games.

*I realize this post is 7 years old. So your opinion might have changed recently. However I encourage you to read up on these studies. I personally have A.D.D. and was as skeptical for a while too. So everything I say is from both personal research and experience. With this knowledge and proper treatment I was finally (at age 27) able to attend college and able to better my life.

Sincerely,

Someone Who Cares

Answer 6

i have A.D.D. and i used to play video games all day and night when i was 12 and 13

Answer 7

Stimulation to the brain... people who have ADD seem to zone out, daydream, fantasize.. whatever you wanna call it. Video games tend to bring you into a whole new world and allows you to being "inside" whats on the TV. Plus... we hyperfocus hehehe

Answer 8

i am 21, have ADD and i used to play video games all day like you said. but now that i have bad eyes, i have to wear glasses and contacts, i limit my amount of play time, but i still play.

Answer 9

because they are children