Attention Magazine October 2022

Imagine if Minecraft, Fortnite, Roblox, and other popular video games could be used to help children with ADHD improve their executive function and social-emotional learning skills at school, at home, and in life. According to Rhode Island clinical psychologist Randy Kulman, PhD, they actually can—and he developed a program dedicated to doing just that.

Known as LearningWorks for Kids (LW4K), the program uses instructor-led and self-guided video game-based classes to teach executive function skills to children with ADHD, executive function challenges, and other learning related differences.

LW4K has grown considerably since it was highlighted as a promising practice in 2013 and 2019. Interest in the program among both parents and professionals has increased as well.

Known as
LearningWorks for Kids
(LW4K), the program uses
instructor-led and self-guided
video game-based classes to
teach executive function skills
to children with ADHD,
executive function challenges,
and other learning-related
differences.

Detect, reflect, and connect
During the course of the program, children are instructed on ways to master three simple steps when playing their favorite video games: Step 1, Detect; Step 2, Reflect; and Step 3, Connect.

While still enjoying all of the benefits of their favorite video game, children are simultaneously taught to recognize (or detect) the skills they are using at the same time they are playing the game. Next, they are asked to reflect upon these skills and how they are using them to improve their gameplay. Finally, they are shown how they can apply (connect) these skills to day-to-day activities.

Thus, Minecraft and other video games actually become teaching tools, ones that Dr. Kulman says are helping children with ADHD, executive function, and other challenges perform better at school, at home, and in life.

Helping teens set personal limits on screen time
Parents who hope to help their teens with ADHD learn to set personal limits on screen time may find Dr. Kulman’s newest book very helpful. Written specifically for teens, it is titled, The Gaming Overload Workbook: A Teen’s Guide to Balancing Screen Time, Video Games, and Real Life.
While serving as a guide to help teens learn to set their own limits, Dr. Kulman says it will also help them to apply their interest and enthusiasm for gaming to a wider variety of activities—such as connecting with friends and family, excelling in school or sports, and just spending more time outdoors. Says Dr. Kulman, “It’s not a workbook about giving up on gaming.”

To learn more about Dr. Kulman’s thoughts on how children can be taught to generalize strategies used in video games to the real world, read his recent blog for Psychology Today: Can Popular Video Games Improve Intelligence and IQ? 

More information about LW4K and its many features is available at www.LW4K.com. Dr. Kulman will participate in the Innovative Programs session during this year’s Annual International Conference on ADHD from November 17-19, 2022, in Dallas, Texas.

A clinical and consulting psychologist, Mark Katz, PhD, is the director of Learning Development Services, an educational, psychological, and neuropsychological center in San Diego, California. As a contributing editor to Attention magazine, he writes the Promising Practices column and serves on the editorial advisory board. He is also a former member of CHADD’s professional advisory board and a recipient of the CHADD Hall of Fame Award.