The Good, Bad, and Ugly of Video Games—and How Parents Can Tell the Difference and Take Action
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Watch the free replay of the webinar The Good, Bad, and Ugly of Video Games—and How Parents Can Tell the Difference and Take Action with Wes Crenshaw, Ph.D, and Ryan Sipes, which originally aired Thursday, November 17th, 2016 and download the expert slides.
Video games are engaging, challenging, and sometimes even social outlets for kids’ creativity and energy. They can teach problem-solving skills, critical thinking, and team play. They can also suck a child’s attention and time away from important people and experiences in the real world. For children with ADHD, especially, video games can be the source of serious family anguish.
Because video games stimulate the pleasure centers of the brain and deliver the dopamine they so naturally crave, teens and young adults may fall into an unhealthy hyperfocus. At its worst, gaming can become a behavioral addiction that, because of difficulties with self-regulation, disproportionately affects kids with ADHD. The good news is that there are strategies that parents can use to prevent a gamer from reaching that point.
In this webinar, parents will learn:
> How video games stimulate the ADHD brain
> How the right games enhance learning, socialization, and critical thinking for kids with ADHD — and how the wrong ones impair those skills
> How “micro-achievements” while gaming trick the brain into thinking it’s done something important and how that can keep kids with ADHD from actually doing important things
> How to “gamify” daily activities to enhance positive outcomes for kids with ADHD
> How to detect the differences between avid game play, habitual game play, and behavioral addiction
> How to develop an “ethics manual” for all new devices in the home, and come to see screen time as a “dessert”
About the Expert Speakers
Wes Crenshaw, Ph.D., ABPP, is a psychologist, sex therapist, and author of I Always Want to Be Where I’m Not: Successful Living with ADD and ADHD and the forthcoming ADHD and Zombies. He’s logged over 25,000 hours face-to-face with clients in his 26-year career at his practice in Lawrence, Kansas.
Ryan Sipes is community manager at System76, a computer manufacturer focused on building machines for creators. Ryan is a long-time gamer, especially role playing and fighting games. Ryan is an expert at managing ADHD in his professional life, including instituting reasonable, easy-to-follow restrictions on his gaming.
The sponsor of this week's ADDitude webinar is....Play Attention: Use your screen time wisely. Play a game that can HELP a person with ADHD improve skills and impulse control. Play Attention is the only brain training system that combines both advanced neurofeedback and cognitive training to effectively improve attention, behavior, and learning skills in children and adults with ADHD. www.playattention.com.
ADDitude webinar sponsors have no role in the selection of guest speakers, the speaker's presentation, or any other aspect of the webinar production.
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