Healio: Driver training software program associated with fewer distractions in ADHD youth

Healio highlighted a recent trial published by University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center researchers that found a driver training software program reduced how often adolescent drivers with ADHD took long glances away from the roadway.

Led by Jeffery N. Epstein, PhD, professor in UC's Department of Pediatrics in the College of Medicine, director of the Cincinnati Children's Center for ADHD and a pediatric psychologist, the research was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Teenage drivers with ADHD are twice as likely than neurotypical teens to be in an accident, the researchers wrote, noting a struggle for these teens to sustain visual attention while driving.

In the trial, the researchers evaluated the effectiveness of an enhanced version of the Focused Concentration and Attention Learning (FOCAL+) program, a desktop-based software program that features multiple sessions and simulator training "with immediate auditory feedback" designed to reduce long glances away from the road of 2 seconds or longer.

The teen drivers with ADHD randomly assigned to the FOCAL+ program were found to have significantly fewer long glances from the roadway.

Read the Healio article.

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