A Controlled Clinical Comparison of Attention Performance in Children with ADHD in a Virtual Reality Classroom Compared to Standard Neuropsychological Methods

Abstract

In this initial pilot study, a controlled clinical comparison was made of attention perforance in children with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in a virtual reality (VR) classroom. Ten boys diagnosed with ADHD and ten normal control boys participated in the study. Groups did not significantly differ in mean age, grade level, ethnicity, or handedness. No participants reported simulator sickness following VR exposure. Children with ADHD exhibited more omission errors, commission errors, and overall body movement than normal control children in the VR classroom. Children with ADHD were more impacted by distraction in the VR classroom. VR classroom measures were correlated with traditional ADHD assessment tools and the flatscreen CPT. Of note, the small sample size incorporated in each group and higher WISC-III scores of normal controls might have some bearing on the overall interpretation of results. These data suggested that the Virtual Classroom had good potential for controlled performance assessment within an ecologically valid environment and appeared to parse out significant effects due to the presence of distraction stimuli.