ADHD: Is there an app for that?

This month Lauren Powell attended the Royal College of Psychiatrists International Congress 2017 in Edinburgh. 

Here she presented a poster that showcased a project conducted by Lauren Powell, Miss Naomi Robertson (University of Sheffield Psychology student), Dr Jack Parker and Dr Val Harpin (Sheffield Children's Hospital consultant paediatrician). 

We used Lego to involve children with ADHD and their parents in our research!

Children and young people with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can encounter a number of difficulties including finding it difficult to concentrate at school, finding it difficult to communicate with others, struggling with change and school life, finding it challenging to form and retain friendships with others…the list goes on!

There are also some really great things about having ADHD such as often having a great sense of humour, being very creative, and when managing their condition in the correct way, can go on to lead extremely successful lives. 

My research attachment at ScHARR

Pim Taleongpong

Pim is a second year medical student who worked with Miss Lauren Powell to produce a review about the use of apps with children and young people with ADHD. This is how she found her experience:

I was placed within the School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR) for six weeks and worked on a project titled “Children and young people with ADHD – is there an app for that?”. During this time, I performed a scoping review to find out if there is evidence to suggest that apps can be beneficial in the management of paediatric ADHD. We have found that there are many apps for children and young people with ADHD most of which serve as a tool to help children with self-monitoring, time management, task scheduling and cognitive training. There are also apps that are designed for clinicians to help with decision making and treatment planning for patients with ADHD. These apps have great potential to improve ADHD management in children and young people

As a medical student, this was both an educational and eye opening experience for me as I began with very little knowledge about scoping reviews and also ADHD. Over the past six weeks I have had the chance to develop my critical appraisal skills and learnt new techniques to perform enhanced literature searches. It has been amazing to see how rapidly technology is changing medicine in the 21^st century, this has reinforced to me how important it is to be aware of new and unconventional treatments. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at ScHARR and believe that the skills that I have learnt will positively impact on my future practice.

Written by Pim Taleongpong

6 weeks in research- My experience

Izzy Faulkner

Izzy is a second year medial student who attended a 6-week placement with Miss Lauren Powell. It was her first experience of working independently within a research setting...

Having never properly experienced research before, I was apprehensive about starting my research attachment. The world of research seemed a scary place to just a second-year student, having come to University straight from sixth form. My school was a relatively small school with small class sizes and plenty of guidance, so 6 weeks of independent learning was a new concept to me.

The main thing that my time in research has taught me is that time management is key, this is the part I struggled the most with, as the majority of my past learning experiences (school and lectures) were fairly structured. I think that my time management skills improved as the 6 weeks progressed and I hope that the experience has made me a more independent learner and made me less reliant on structured timetables.

The 6-week placement has also made me appreciate the importance of research to the practice of medicine. Having researched the use of apps for ADHD for my placement, I now (think) I understand how much technology can impact on your practice as a doctor. This will hopefully mean that I can use the research skills that I have gained in the future to keep up-to-date with the latest research, in order to be the best doctor I can possibly be. I am very grateful for the opportunity to have a brief encounter of the research world and hope that it has made me a better doctor-to-be.

Written by Izzy Faulkner

Is Pokémon Go lighting the way for a new wave of physical activity in people with autism?

People of all abilities experience barriers to physical activity throughout their lifetime but barriers may be more pronounced for people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Rigid adherences to routine and sensory sensitivities are just some of the symptoms commonly associated with ASD that can reduce motivation to engage in physical activities. However, I recently conducted a systematic review, which found that there are also a number of facilitators of physical activity for people with ASD, one of which provides a unique perspective on the Pokémon Go phenomenon.

The literature explored in my systematic review revealed that children with ASD have a preference for technology-based activities. Children also expressed more excitement for physical activities that involved their favourite fictional characters than typical physical activities. This suggests that media technologies that combine movement and exercise with pop culture interests can encourage many of those with ASD to take up a form of physical activity. One device that aptly demonstrates this theory in action is Pokémon Go, which encourages players to walk distances in order to catch creatures through their mobile phones. One of the successful aspects of Pokémon Go is that it is not a game specifically designed for people with mental health conditions. It is a universal game, targeted at both children and adults. Perhaps if the game were only targeted at people with ASD, they would be less inclined to use it. Instead, Pokémon Go took the world by storm and it just so happened to meet the needs of a physical activity facilitator for ASD individuals.

When people think of technology-based activities, they tend to think of sedentary activities that involve sitting down in front of a screen and not moving all that much for hours on end. In many circumstances, this is still an accurate reflection of the type of behaviour that technology can facilitate, especially in people with ASD. Pokémon Go has shown that technology does not always have to be like this. It can be a way of connecting with people that do not take to traditional health intervention and promotion strategies.

It will be interesting to see if more media technologies follow in the footsteps of Pokémon Go. There are hundreds of television shows and films and comics and video games that are ripe for the Pokémon Go treatment. There is unlimited potential in how far this can be taken but there is no evidence yet on the long-term implications of these types of technologies on physical activity levels. What happens when the players get bored? What happens when you have to start paying to keep on playing? These questions are unlikely to be answered in the near future but what is clear right now is the appeal of technologies, like Pokémon Go, to people with ASD.

Written by Liam Robson

ADHD: is there an app for that?

My name is Naomi Robertson and I am an undergraduate Psychology student taking part in

Naomi robertson

an 8 week research project as a Research Assistant alongside supervisor Lauren Powell and co- supervisor Dr Jack Parker. For this project I have conducted a content analysis for ten apps that claim to be suitable for children and young people diagnosed with the neurodisabiity, Attention Deficit Hyper Activity Disorder (ADHD). My placement is part of the Teaching Assistant Sheffield Undergraduate Research Scheme (TA SURE). The project is being conducted within the Telehealth and care technologies (TaCT) theme of the National Institute of Health’s Collaboration for Leadership and Applied Health Research and Care Yorkshire Humber (NIHR CLAHRC YH). The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) have funded my placement.

This research topic appealed to me, as it is contemporary, investigating how the growth in technology can be harnessed and used as a tool for the management of ADHD, which affects 5% of the population. This area of research I also find very exciting as it is in its infancy meaning the findings may offer new insights, which have not yet been published by other researchers.

So far my role as a Research Assistant has involved the identification of ten apps for children and young people with ADHD, which were screened based on a strict inclusion and exclusion criteria. The final list of 10 apps have been presented to five clinicians who work with young people with ADHD. These clinicians were interviewed on their perspective on how useful the apps would be for young people as they seek to manage their ADHD.

This research placement has given me new insight into what carrying out research first hand looks like, when it previously seemed so distant simply citing studies throughout my degree. Having the opportunity to experience the practicalities of research as well as the enthusiasm of the researchers is unique and something I feel very lucky to have.

Throughout my time in TaCT I have also had countless opportunities to develop new skills from conducting and transcribing interviews, writing research documents, undertaking interview data analysis and learning more about ADHD as a disorder which has many parallels with my Psychology degree.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with TaCT and the chance to conduct independent research whilst having the support of such great supervisors. It has allowed me to have an idea about what conducting research involves without feeling overwhelmed in something I have never done before. I am excited about completing my placement and presenting my findings to an audience which I have gained more enthusiasm for than I could ever have anticipated.  

Written by Naomi Robertson

Simple computer task to help ADHD diagnosis

Interesting article in the Guardian speaks of how  a simple computer task the QbTest could help to diagnose Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) by measuring the neurodisability's three core symptoms; hyperactivity, inattention and impulsivity.

Please click here to view the article.

Telehealth and Telecare Technologies Newseltter Edition 4

The new TaCT theme of the National Institute for Health Research, Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care Yorkshire and Humber (NIHR CLAHRC YH) newsletter has been published (see link below)

TaCT Theme Newsletter Issue Four, May 2016

The aim of the TaCT theme is to harness new technologies to support health and social care in the community and to improve the quality of life and in-dependence of the growing number of people living with long-term conditions and disability. Our team comprises researchers from universities, the NHS and care organisations across Yorkshire and Humber and together we are carrying out projects re-searching, developing, evaluating and implementing innovative technology supported interventions. Our aim with this newsletter is to keep you up to date with progress in the theme and to give a taster of the projects we are involved with.

More information about the theme can be found on our website
http://clahrc-yh.nihr.ac.uk/our-themes/telehealth-and-care-technologies

Our Theme Lead is Professor Mark Hawley, please contact Lauren Powell (l.a.powell@sheffield.ac.uk) if you have any queries regarding the newsletter and Dr Jack Parker (j.parker@sheffield.ac.uk) for TaCT Theme queries.